Research Article
The Effect of Strategic Environmental Fit and Internal Organizational Fit on Logistics Performance
Published: January 2006 · Vol. 35, No. 1 · pp. 155-182
Full Text
Abstract
This study recognizes the importance of competitive strategy variables within structural contingency theory, which focuses on the business environment and organizational structure. The primary research objective is to examine the implications of the fit among environmental variables, logistics competitive strategy, and organizational structure on firms' logistics performance, thereby providing rational guidelines for policy formulation aimed at maximizing logistics performance. The empirical analysis reveals that to maximize logistics performance, it is a prerequisite to manage both environmental fit and intra-organizational fit in a balanced manner. However, when such harmony is not achieved, the findings indicate that logistics performance can be maximized when environmental fit—the adaptability to the environment achieved through the fit between the external environment and competitive strategy—is first attained, followed by the achievement of intra-organizational fit. These findings suggest that logistics management practices, which have focused solely on strategy formulation and execution, need to explicitly consider environmental variables. Furthermore, the significance of this study lies in demonstrating that logistics management practices that have excluded the issue of strategy execution also need to consider the selection of strategies appropriate to the environment in order to analyze performance implications.
