Purpose

This study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of the interdisciplinary literature on drones in last-mile delivery (LMD) to extrapolate pertinent insights from and into the logistics management field.

Design/methodology/approach

Rooting their analytical categories in the LMD literature, the authors performed a deductive, theory refinement SLR on 307 interdisciplinary journal articles published during 2015–2022 to integrate this emergent phenomenon into the field.FindingsThe authors derived the potentials, challenges and solutions of drone deliveries in relation to 12 LMD criteria dispersed across four stakeholder groups: senders, receivers, regulators and societies. Relationships between these criteria were also identified.

Research limitations/implications

This review contributes to logistics management by offering a current, nuanced and multifaceted discussion of drones' potential to improve the LMD process together with the challenges and solutions involved.

Practical implications

The authors provide logistics managers with a holistic roadmap to help them make informed decisions about adopting drones in their delivery systems. Regulators and society members also gain insights into the prospects, requirements and repercussions of drone deliveries.

Originality/value

This is one of the first SLRs on drone applications in LMD from a logistics management perspective.

Due to increasing emission reduction requirements and higher energy prices, manufacturing companies have started to pay attention to the energy efficiency of supply chains, instead of focusing solely on operations. As emission reduction and energy efficiency often share the same objectives, these are frequently addressed together in earlier research. The aim of this research is to examine, through a survey, the level of energy efficiency work conducted by manufacturers with suppliers, and the drivers behind such activities. Based on survey findings completed in 2024, Swedish manufacturers are taking initial steps in energy efficiency work along with suppliers. Typically, suppliers are asked to provide energy use information and analyses. Top management support is the most important driver for this work, followed by a company’s environmental profile, production cost reduction, and an emphasis on Scope 3 emission reduction. There is also some evidence that companies with the public sector as their main customer are more active in energy efficiency work with suppliers.

Purpose

The objective of this paper is to provide insights into the significance of communication factors for sustainability practices and their interconnections within organisations. In order to achieve this, the paper explores the differences between civil society organisations (CSOs), corporations and public sector organisations (PSOs). Furthermore, it analyses the relationship between these factors and the performance of organisations in relation to environmental, social and economic sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review was conducted to identify eight relevant communication factors. A survey was then carried out to explore sustainability integration, focusing on communication factors and sustainability performance. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and ANOVA to identify patterns and relationships.

Findings

The results show that all communication factors are critical for organisational sustainability, with policies ranked first. The results of the correlation analyses indicate that all eight communication factors are interconnected, though the strength of these relationships varies. The reporting shows a low correlation with other communication factors. While there are statistical differences in communication factors across different types of organisations, the “policy” factor is ranked first in all three types. The results also indicate that employee engagement has a significant correlation with all three aspects of sustainability performance. The overall results show that communication factors, including leadership, employee engagement, training, diversity and inclusion, policies, vision and mission and support, have a significant impact on sustainability performance in organisations.

Practical implications

This paper explores key communication factors in sustainability, analysing their interrelations in different type of organisations and links to performance. By mapping factors such as policy, support, reporting and training, the paper highlights how integrated communication structures influence sustainability outcomes. The central roles of support and policy suggest that formal structures are vital for embedding sustainability. PSOs, CSOs and corporations can strengthen their impact through tailored strategies, such as mandatory training, cross-functional teams or incentive-based programs. Improving communication factors enables better alignment with sustainability goals, enhances employee engagement and supports more effective organisation-wide efforts to drive sustainability outcomes and broader societal impact.

Social implications

This study underscores the societal benefits of effective communication strategies for sustainability. Enhanced communication channels can promote transparency, inclusivity and stakeholder collaboration, shaping public policy and fostering community engagement. By integrating sustainability-focused factors, including leadership and support, into policy frameworks, organisations and policymakers can address sustainability challenges more cohesively. These strategies promote collective action and catalyse progress toward sustainable development goals through increased awareness and collaboration.

Originality/value

This paper provides insights into the interconnections of communication factors for sustainability in different types of organisations and their relationship with performance, emphasising the need for a holistic and integrated approach.

Sustainable public procurement (SPP) has been incorporating sustainability issues into commercial relationships between governments and businesses. SPP implementation can be undertaken with the support of organisational changes. Research has highlighted the role of stakeholders' collaboration in driving changes for SPP. However, there is limited understanding of the forces fostering and blocking the implementation of collaboration. This paper analyses drivers for and barriers to implementing collaboration in SPP, based on semi-structured interviews with SPP practitioners from different world regions (Brazil and Sweden). This paper provides a catalogue of forces influencing organisational changes towards collaboration in SPP (categorised into internal, connecting-protagonist, connecting-supporting and external), including 23 drivers, 40 barriers and 24 strategies to overcome such barriers. This paper also proposes an understanding of how organisational changes for collaboration are interconnected with changes for implementing SPP. Organisational changes for SPP must be understood as multiple and composite instead of single and monolithic.

Lean production has been the most prominent method for improving operational performance in manufacturing companies. Recently, research has shifted to examining how digital technologies can make Lean more effective. The purpose of this paper is to explore which digital technologies used in production are associated with which internal Lean practices. The paper is based on a large-scale survey of manufacturing plants in Sweden and Croatia, and the data is analysed using correlation-, principal component- and regression analysis. Eight commonly used technologies in production were selected and linked to six internal dimensions of Lean. Statistically significant associations were found between around half of the digital technologies and the six dimensions of Lean. The overall conclusion is that the internal dimensions of Lean are highly intertwined with the usage of digital technologies in production. The paper thus offers insights for managers in Lean organisations that seek to implement digital technologies in production. The paper contributes to the digital Lean discussion by providing quantitative evidence on specific links between Digital technologies and specific Lean dimensions in manufacturing.

Recent behaviors of manufacturing firms are to relocate their manufacturing activities from previous offshored locations. To assess if it is optimal to start investigating a relocation of manufacturing activities, decision-makers apply pre-assessments in the initiation of the manufacturing relocation process. However, this topic is underdeveloped, thus the purpose of this study is to investigate how firms implement pre-assessments performed in the initiation of the manufacturing relocation process. The results of the single case study highlight two paths for initiation of the relocation process (procurement and manufacturing), and the implemented pre-assessments were performance, investment, make-or-buy, supplier, risk, and scenario assessments. 

Purpose

This research examines what motivates professional truck drivers to engage in eco-driving by linking their self-reports with objective driving scores.

Design/methodology/approach

Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is illustrated in an embedded, single-case study of a Finnish carrier with 17 of its truck drivers. Data are obtained through in-depth interviews with drivers, their fuel-efficiency scores generated by fleet telematics and a focus group session with the management.

Findings

Discrepancies between drivers’ intentions and eco-driving behaviors are illustrated in a two-by-two matrix that classifies drivers into four categories: ideal eco-drivers, wildcards, wannabes and non-eco-drivers. Attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are examined for drivers within each category, revealing that drivers’ perceptions did not always align with the reality of their driving.Research limitations/implicationsThis study strengthens the utility of TPB through data triangulation while also revealing the theory’s inherent limitations in elucidating the underlying causes of its three antecedents and their impact on the variance in driving behaviors.

Practical implications

Managerial insights are offered to fleet managers and eco-driving solution providers to stipulate the right conditions for drivers to enhance fuel-efficiency outcomes of transport fleets.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to give a voice to professional truck drivers about their daily eco-driving practice.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate digitalized visual management, with a focus on the relative advantages and disadvantages of digital and analogue boards in manufacturing.

Design/methodology/approach: The case study of this paper was conducted at two different business units within the same large multinational company, Sandvik. Data was collected through 15 unstructured and semi-structured interviews with managers and machine operators.

Findings: More advantages than disadvantages with digital boards were found. Only two disadvantages are absolute, while the other disadvantages can be counteracted to some extent.

Originality: Currently there is a shortage of studies exploring advantages and disadvantages of digital boards as visualization tools

Research limitations/implications: This paper is based on a single case study focusing on stoppage causes, and thus cannot be fully generalised to all manufacturing companies or all contexts. The actual performance effects of analogue and digital boards were not examined in this paper.

Practical implications: The findings are applicable to for managers considering investing in digital boards in manufacturing, to be used for continuous improvement but also for other production-related applications.

This paper is based on European Manufacturing Survey collected in 2019 for five countries -Sweden, Spain, Croatia, Austria, and Slovenia. The study reveals that majority of companieshave technologies that allow them automatically to collect data. Companies are also using thedata for different purposes, and often more than one purposes. We also found that many ofcommonly used digital technologies are also associated with automatically collected data.Although the literature suggests that ignorance of data collection may lead to defects, we findno connection to actual waste in this study.