Bossong, Paul; Reinha d , Anne; Elbe , Ral
A icle — Published Ve sion
Adop ion d i e s and ba ie s o digi al eigh anspo
pla o ms—An in e modal case s udy
Elec onic Ma ke s
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Sp inge Na u e
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Bossong, Paul; Reinha d , Anne; Elbe , Ral (2025) : Adop ion d i e s and
ba ie s o digi al eigh anspo pla o ms—An in e modal case s udy, Elec onic Ma ke s, ISSN
1422-8890, Sp inge , Be lin, Heidelbe g, Vol. 35, Iss. 1,
h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s12525-025-00780-0
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/323633
S anda d-Nu zungsbedingungen:
Die Dokumen e au EconS o dü en zu eigenen wissenscha lichen
Zwecken und zum P i a geb auch gespeiche und kopie we den.
Sie dü en die Dokumen e nich ü ö en liche ode komme zielle
Zwecke e iel äl igen, ö en lich auss ellen, ö en lich zugänglich
machen, e eiben ode ande wei ig nu zen.
So e n die Ve asse die Dokumen e un e Open-Con en -Lizenzen
(insbesonde e CC-Lizenzen) zu Ve ügung ges ell haben soll en,
gel en abweichend on diesen Nu zungsbedingungen die in de do
genann en Lizenz gewäh en Nu zungs ech e.
Te ms o use:
Documen s in EconS o may be sa ed and copied o you pe sonal
and schola ly pu poses.
You a e no o copy documen s o public o comme cial pu poses, o
exhibi he documen s publicly, o make hem publicly a ailable on he
in e ne , o o dis ibu e o o he wise use he documen s in public.
I he documen s ha e been made a ailable unde an Open Con en
Licence (especially C ea i e Commons Licences), you may exe cise
u he usage igh s as speci ied in he indica ed licence.
h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/
Vol.:(0123456789)
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43
h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/s12525-025-00780-0
RESEARCH PAPER
Adop ion d i e s andba ie s o digi al eigh anspo
pla o ms—An in e modal case s udy
PaulBossong1 · AnneReinha d 1· Ral Elbe 1
Recei ed: 28 June 2024 / Accep ed: 2 Ap il 2025
© The Au ho (s) 2025
Abs ac
Inc easing en i onmen al p essu e u ges i ms o deca bonize hei supply chains by educing emissions caused by eigh
anspo . This pu s in e modal eigh anspo (IFT) on he agenda. IFT combines he ecological ad an ages o ail ans-
po wi h he lexibili y o oad anspo . Howe e , i inc eases supply chain complexi y by c ea ing addi ional in e aces
be ween he ac o s in ol ed. This hampe s e iciency and calls o au oma ion h ough digi al pla o ms. By con ex ualizing
he Technology-O ganiza ion-En i onmen (TOE) amewo k and applying a mul iple-case s udy app oach, we aim o in es-
iga e why use s op o o agains adop ing IFT pla o ms and how adop ion can be os e ed. Among 30 adop ion ac o s
iden i ied, we ind ha selle s o IFT se ices ea inc eased ma ke anspa ency and in e ace s anda diza ion h ough pla -
o ms, while demande s o IFT se ices a o hese a ibu es. We con ibu e o he ex an li e a u e by p o iding a nuanced
unde s anding o he unde lying decision a ionales om he pe spec i es o pla o m use s and p o ide s and de i e nine
le e s sui able o inc ease pla o m adop ion and, hence, supply chain au oma ion.
Keywo ds Case s udy esea ch· Digi al pla o m· Adop ion decision· In e modal eigh anspo · Mul i-sided pla o ms
JEL Classi ica ion O33
In oduc ion
The “ ine-sliced”, disagg ega ed cha ac e o oday’s global
supply chains challenges i ms o ensu e e icien , espon-
si e, and esilien ope a ions (Buckley & S ange, 2015, p.
237). A he same ime, i ms a e unde p essu e o educe
hei en i onmen al oo p in . T anspo accoun s o a
la ge sha e o emissions in supply chains. Shi ing eigh
anspo o mo e en i onmen ally iendly anspo modes
(e.g., ail) is a s epping s one o mi iga e he en i onmen-
al oo p in o supply chains, and i is an essen ial goal o
he EU clima e policy (Eu opean Commission, 2019). This
shi can be ealized h ough in e modal eigh anspo
(IFT). As he backbone o ma i ime supply chains and long
inland supply chains, IFT combines he sus ainabili y o ail-
based eigh anspo on he long haul wi h he lexibili y o
oad-based ucking on he i s and las mile. I is, he e o e,
p edes ined o dec ease eigh anspo - ela ed emissions
(Pe akis & Denisis, 2008). Howe e , addi ional ac o s a e
equi ed o o ganize and physically conduc IFT se ices.
Such segmen a ion inc eases supply chain complexi y and
commonly causes manual in e ac ion and da a exchange
p oblems a poin s whe e in o ma ion and physical goods
a e exchanged (see Ka am e al., 2023; K ama z e al., 2022).
Supply chain au oma ion can ackle he challenges o
IFT. By eplacing o suppo ing “human-pe o med physi-
cal o in o ma ional p ocess[es]” (Ni sche e al., 2021, p. 3),
i has he po en ial o enable e icien communica ion and
inc ease supply chain isibili y despi e addi ional in e aces
and s akeholde s. Pa icula ly, digi al mul i-sided pla o ms
p omise o au oma e mo e sus ainable ye agmen ed in e -
modal supply chains. Acco ding o Bossong e al. (2025),
wo co e unc ions o IFT pla o ms a e cu en ly e ol ing
Responsible Edi o : Gio anni Mi aglio a
* Paul Bossong
[email p o ec ed]ms ad .de
Anne Reinha d
[email p o ec ed]
Ral Elbe
elbe [email p o ec ed]
1 Technical Uni e si y o Da ms ad , Hochschuls aße 1,
64289Da ms ad , Ge many
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 43 Page 2 o 24
ha a e sui able o dis inguish hese pla o ms: Fi s , pla -
o ms like he in e modal capaci y b oke o Rail-Flow a e
ad e ised o p o ide “a anspa en iew on a ailable capac-
i ies in a la ge ne wo k o us ed ca ie s and ail ope a o s”
(Rail-Flow, 2024). Hence, such pla o ms se e as ma ch-
make s be ween he demande s and selle s o IFT se ices.
They suppo eigh dispa che s in inding and compa ing
sui able IFT o e ings. Second, pla o ms like DX In e -
modal call hemsel es a “common da a hub o he en i e
physical anspo chain” (DX In e modal, 2024). Such pla -
o ms digi ize ime-consuming manual communica ion (e.g.,
ia phone and email) h ough s anda dized da a exchange.
Addi ional alue-added se ices, anging om da a analy -
ics o paymen p ocessing, complemen hese co e pla o m
unc ions.
Howe e , despi e hei po en ial o ackle he inhe en
challenges o IFT, he p e alence o digi al pla o ms in IFT
is limi ed so a , and knowledge abou he use s’ a ionales
o o agains adop ing pla o ms (and po en ially shi ing
eigh olumes o IFT) is lacking in he li e a u e. The e-
o e, as a complex B2B ma ke o eigh anspo se ices,
IFT is ideally sui ed o in es iga ing how eigh logis ics
as he backbone o supply chains (Lysons and Fa ing on
2020) can be au oma ed h ough he ma chmaking and da a
exchange unc ionali y o digi al pla o ms.
The ex an li e a u e has ocused on digi al logis ics
s a ups, in pa icula , so-called digi al eigh o wa de s,
en e ing he anspo indus y wi h digi al business models
o unimodal (mainly oad eigh ) anspo (e.g., Heinbach
e al., 2022; He old e al., 2023; Jain e al., 2020). The li -
e a u e has, in addi ion, in es iga ed he digi iza ion o p o-
cesses a speci ic nodes o he supply chain (e.g., e minals,
po s, and ai po s) and has explo ed associa ed business
models (Tessmann & Elbe , 2022b) as well as he adop-
ion o pla o ms spa ially linked o hese nodes (Tessmann
& Elbe , 2022a; Wallbach e al., 2019). Fo he IFT ma -
ke , he li e a u e ecognizes he po en ial o digi iza ion o
educe ma ke en y ba ie s (Al un aş Vu al e al., 2020),
and i has p oposed ea ly on ha his ma ke is a e ile
g ound o inno a ions in in o ma ion and communica ion
echnologies and associa ed esea ch (Ca is e al., 2013).
Howe e , conc e e s udies ocusing on he newly eme ging
digi al pla o ms a e sca ce. Hence, he impo ance o IFT
o u u e supply chains se s his ma ke apa as an inc eas-
ingly ele an esea ch con ex . In his con ex , i is possible
o explo e he adop ion o pla o ms wi hou limi ing he
esea ch ocus o speci ic nodes o anspo modes.
To na ow he esea ch gap iden i ied, his s udy aims o
p o ide an in-dep h unde s anding o IFT pla o m adop ion as
a newly eme ging phenomenon. Mo eo e , due o he po en-
ial o IFT pla o ms o au oma e day- o-day p ocesses (such
as booking o IFT se ices and da a exchange), o inc ease
IFT adop ion and, hus, o con ibu e o he deca boniza ion o
supply chains, his s udy aims o de elop le e s ha can os e
pla o m adop ion. To achie e his wo old esea ch objec i e,
we unde s and he adop ion p ocess as a causal decision-mak-
ing p ocess o po en ial pla o m use s who a e in luenced by
hei a ionales (i.e., d i e s and ba ie s o adop ion). Since
mul i-sided pla o ms a e commonly desc ibed as wo-sided
pla o ms in he li e a u e, po en ial use s can be di ided in o
selle s and buye s (see Coleman, 2019). The e o e, i is c u-
cial, ye neglec ed by he li e a u e, o dis inguish he adop ion
a ionales o selle s (i.e., he selle o IFT se ices) and buye s
(i.e., he demande s o IFT se ices). In addi ion, we conside
he pe spec i e o pla o m p o ide s who a e in a p edes ined
posi ion o obse e and in luence use s’ adop ion decisions.
Consequen ly, we de ine he ollowing esea ch ques ions o
add ess ou esea ch objec i es:
RQ1: Why do use s (i.e., selle s and demande s o IFT
se ices) op o o agains adop ing digi al IFT pla -
o ms? Hence, which d i e s and ba ie s in luence
hei adop ion decisions?
RQ2: How can IFT pla o m adop ion be os e ed?
Hence, which le e s exis o inc ease pla o m di u-
sion in he IFT indus y as one co ne s one o supply
chain au oma ion?
Case s udies a e sui able o add ess hese “why” and
“how” ques ions om ich, eal-wo ld da a (Eisenha d ,
1989b; Yin, 2014). We, hus, selec ed a mul iple-case s udy
esea ch design wi h h ee cases: IFT demande s, IFT sell-
e s, and IFT pla o m p o ide s. In a wi hin-case analysis,
we in es iga e how he adop ion decision made by pla o m
use s (i.e., selle s and demande s o IFT se ices) is pe -
cei ed by he use s and he pla o m p o ide s, espec i ely.
To analyze he a ionales behind he use s’ adop ion deci-
sions (“why”, RQ1), we d aw on he Technology-O ganiza-
ion-En i onmen (TOE) amewo k (To na zky & Fleische ,
1990) as an es ablished heo e ical lens o explain echnol-
ogy adop ion in o ganiza ions. Selec ing his heo e ical lens
enabled us o iden i y 30 ac o s in luencing pla o m adop-
ion. Mo eo e , we de i ed a se o esea ch p oposi ions
ou lining he mechanisms o how hese ac o s impac he
speci ic adop ion decisions o selle s and demande s. A sub-
sequen c oss-case analysis compa es and con as s he adop-
ion a ionales. Such sea ch o pa e ns ac oss cases se ed
as a basis o de eloping nine le e s sui able o inc ease
pla o m adop ion (“how”, RQ2).
The indings o RQ1 se e as a basis o ou h ee old
heo e ical con ibu ion: Fo emos , ou s udy is he i s o
in es iga e pla o m adop ion in he inc easingly ele an
IFT con ex . Ou s udy en iches he digi al pla o m li e a-
u e by sys ema ically explo ing he d i e s and ba ie s o
digi al IFT pla o m adop ion. By de eloping speci ic ca -
ego ies o d i e s and ba ie s, we con ex ualize he TOE
amewo k o i s applica ion in he IFT ma ke . The eby,
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 Page 3 o 24 43
we espond o he call o Sh ee e al. (2021) o mo e indus-
y-speci ic, case-based explo a ions o pla o m adop ion.
Second, we analyze he adop ion p ocess om he pe spec-
i es o di e en ac o s in he IFT ecosys em and in e p e
ou indings in ligh o he nuanced a ionales and eme g-
ing ensions be ween bo h pla o m use g oups. Thi d, we
con ibu e o he unde s anding o B2B pla o m adop ion
in he con ex o supply chain au oma ion by s essing he
p e alence o p e ex s, he need o change managemen , and
ou lining u he supply chain au oma ion po en ial.
F om a manage ial pe spec i e, ou indings o RQ2 gi e
pla o m p o ide s, pla o m use s, and poli ical s akeholde s
a clea pe spec i e on why pla o m adop ion is lacking in
IFT. The de i ed le e s se e as “puzzle pieces” o unde -
s and why digi iza ion is, in gene al, s ill in an ea ly s age
in IFT (see Al un aş Vu al e al., 2020) and se he g ound
o de elop p ac ical measu es ha os e pla o m adop ion.
The eby, we show how IFT pla o ms can suppo demande s
and selle s in na iga ing ou o a p incipal-agen dilemma.
Ou s udy is s uc u ed as ollows: Fi s , we p o ide
heo e ical ounda ions ollowed by ou me hodological
app oach. Nex , we p esen ou indings, s uc u ed along he
wi hin-case and c oss-case analyses o he use s’ and p o-
ide s’ pe cep ions o he pla o m adop ion decision. The
subsequen discussion delinea es ou heo e ical con ibu ion
and manage ial insigh s be o e we conclude ou s udy.
Theo e ical backg ound
Supply chain au oma ion in hecon ex
o in e modal eigh anspo
Mode n supply chains encompass a wide a ie y o di e -
en ac i i ies wi h possible applica ions o au oma ion (see
Ni sche e al., 2021). Rising complexi y (Klumpp, 2018),
high compe i i e p essu e (Capine i & Leinbach, 2006),
labo sho age (Kiliba da e al., 2019), and he need o deca -
bonize eigh anspo p omp i ms o au oma e logis ics
and supply chain ac i i ies. IFT can help deca bonize eigh
anspo by combining he sus ainabili y and e iciency o
ail-based anspo on he long haul wi h he lexibili y o
oad-based anspo on he i s and las mile. Howe e , as
shown in Fig.1, IFT leads o a high di ision o labo and
equi es he collabo a ion o mul iple ac o s, esul ing in
many physical and in o ma ional in e aces (Faulin e al.,
2019). Pa icula ly, au oma ing he sou cing o eigh ans-
po se ices and da a exchange ac i i ies p omises o ackle
he a o emen ioned challenges bu , su p isingly, au oma ion
(e.g., h ough digi iza ion) is lacking in IFT (Al un aş Vu al
e al., 2020). High complexi y and missing au oma ion lead
o a low sha e o IFT wi hin he Eu opean Union, wi h 54%
o eigh anspo s ill being p edominan ly conduc ed on
oad e sus 12% on ail (Eu opean Commission, 2023).
Figu e1 p esen s an o e iew o he ac o s ypically
in ol ed in IFT: Shippe s usually ou sou ce hei logis ics
unc ion. Thei choice o anspo p o ide s (i.e., eigh
o wa de s) and associa ed modes o anspo is decisi e
o supply chain emissions esul ing om anspo (Ell am
e al., 2022). F eigh o wa de s o ganize he anspo o
shippe s’ goods by consolida ing mul iple shipmen s and
pu chasing adequa e anspo se ices like IFT (Reis &
Macá io, 2019). While eigh o wa de s migh conduc he
uck-based i s and las mile wi h hei own uck lee s,
hey commonly pu chase IFT se ices om in e modal ope -
a o s. In e modal ope a o s, in u n, o ganize ansshipmen s
and ail anspo ca ied ou by e minal and ail ope a-
o s. Hence, as depic ed in Fig.1, eigh o wa de s can be
conside ed he demande s o IFT se ices, while e minal
ope a o s, ail ope a o s, and in e modal ope a o s a e he
Fig. 1 In e modal eigh anspo (IFT) low o goods and in o ma ion (wi hou digi al pla o m)
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 43 Page 4 o 24
selle s o IFT se ices (Woxenius & Bä hel, 2008). E en
hough he e has been a consolida ion end in he eigh
o wa de indus y in ecen yea s, he demande side is s ill
agmen ed, wi h small, egionally ocused eigh o wa d-
e s domina ing he indus y (Reis & Macá io, 2019). In
con as , he selle landscape is cha ac e ized by la ge IFT
se ice p o ide s exhibi ing an oligopolis ic ma ke s uc u e
(Monios, 2018).
A common communica ion s anda d among he ac o sin
IFT is missing, and communica ion is o en o mless and
pape - o email-based, as examples om he eigh o -
wa de indus y show (Heinbach e al., 2022). Mo eo e , a
lack o anspa ency (e.g., on p ices and se ices o e ed),
which esul s om he agmen ed ac o landscape and miss-
ing digi iza ion (He old e al., 2023), hinde s he sou cing
p ocess o eigh se ice demande s and he selling p o-
cess o eigh se ice selle s, espec i ely. Digi al pla o ms
a e p omising ools o au oma e non-physical bu labo -
in ensi e s anda d p ocesses (such as booking, moni o ing,
and adminis a ing eigh anspo s) and enable e icien
esou ce alloca ion (Pa ucco e al., 2024). This au oma ion
po en ial sugges s ha digi al pla o ms ac ing as in e me-
dia ies be ween he selle and demande side (see Fig.2)
would be highly bene icial o inc easing e iciency, educing
cos s, and deca bonizing eigh anspo . As digi iza ion in
gene al and pla o m adop ion speci ically a e lacking in he
IFT indus y (Al un aş Vu al e al., 2020), an unde s anding
o he ac o s in luencing pla o m adop ion in IFT is essen-
ial o ap in o u he au oma ion po en ial.
Adop ion heo y o digi al pla o ms
asa heo e ical lens
Digi al pla o ms combine di e en digi al echnologies
(Hein e al., 2020), which is why echnology adop ion and
di usion heo ies a e equen ly used o s udy pla o m
adop ion (Sh ee e al., 2021). These heo ies can ake an
indi idual pe spec i e (e.g., on he employee le el) and an
o e a ching pe spec i e on he o ganiza ional le el (Hillme ,
2009).
Fo indi iduals, he Theo y o Reasoned Ac ion (TRA)
explains human beha io h ough he in luence o wo ac-
o s: a i ude owa d beha io and subjec i e no m (Ajzen &
Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). While he a i ude
desc ibes he indi idual’s belie in wha he consequences o
an in ended ac ion a e, subjec i e no ms ep esen he “pe -
cei ed social p essu e o pe o m […] he beha io ” (Ajzen
e al., 2014, p. 5). Wi h pe cei ed beha io al con ol as an
addi ional ac o , Ajzen (1991) de eloped he Theo y o
Planned Beha io (TPB), which accoun s o he pe cei ed
abili y o indi iduals o pe o m an ac ion. The TPB has
been ex ended o he Reasoned Ac ion App oach (RAA) by
iden i ying backg ound ac o s and belie s as an eceden s o
he in luencing ac o s om he TPB (Fishbein, 2010). Wi h
a s onge ocus on echnology, he Technology Accep ance
Model (TAM) assumes ha he ac ual use o echnology is
mainly d i en by he echnology’s pe cei ed use ulness and
pe cei ed ease o use, which in luence po en ial use s’ a i-
ude owa d using as well as hei beha io al in en ion o use
echnology (Da is, 1985, 1989). The amewo k has been
applied in many empi ical s udies and has been ex ended
mul iple imes by se e al ac o s, leading o TAM2, TAM3,
and—by combining i wi h o he amewo ks such as TRA
and TPB— o UTAUT (Uni ied Theo y o Accep ance and
Use o Technology, Venka esh & Da is, 2003).
To no only accoun o indi idual adop ion beha io ,
To na zky and Fleische (1990) p oposed a amewo k sui -
able o desc ibe an o ganiza ion’s “con ex in which inno-
a ion akes place” (To na zky & Fleische , 1990, p. 151).
Thei amewo k comp ises h ee in e dependen dimen-
sions: Technology, O ganiza ion, and En i onmen (TOE).
The echnological con ex desc ibes he cha ac e is ics
and a ailabili y o in e nal and ex e nal echnologies ha
in luence he o ganiza ion’s adop ion decision. The o gani-
za ional con ex accoun s o in e nal cha ac e is ics such
as i m size, a ailable esou ces, and linkages, whe eas he
en i onmen al con ex connec s he adop ion p ocess o he
ma ke and indus y as well as o he egula o y scope (To -
na zky & Fleische , 1990).
The s a e o heli e a u e ond i e s andba ie s
o digi al pla o m adop ion
Li e a u e in es iga ing he adop ion o digi al eigh ans-
po pla o ms is sca ce and limi ed o speci ic pla o m
ypes (e.g., ma i ime con aine booking pla o ms; see Zeng
e al., 2020, 2021) o pla o ms o pa icula nodes wi hin
supply chains (e.g., ai ca go hubs; see Wallbach e al., 2018,
2019). In he b oade supply chain con ex , he adop ion o
physical in e ne ne wo ks (Plasch e al., 2021) and sou c-
ing pla o ms o manu ac u ing i ms (Ga cia e al., 2019;
Ma zi e al., 2023) ha e been in es iga ed. In non-supply
chain B2B con ex s, ecen s udies ocused on pla o m
adop ion o he me al indus y (Rohn e al., 2021), o digi-
al documen exchange in B2B p ojec s like cons uc ion
wo k (Loux e al., 2020), e-in oicing pla o ms (Pen inen
e al., 2018), o e-comme ce pla o ms (Hamad e al., 2018;
Najmul Islam e al., 2020).
To gain an o e iew o ecen li e a u e ha in es iga es
ac o s in luencing he adop ion o di usion o B2B pla o ms,
we sys ema ically sc eened he da abases Web o Science and
EBSCOhos and complemen ed his sea ch wi h a snowballing
app oach. We delibe a ely excluded li e a u e om he B2C
con ex and ocused on pee - e iewed jou nals wi h a high ep-
u a ion (Q1 o Scimago Jou nal Rank) and es ablished con e -
ence p oceedings. Due o he no el y o eme ging pla o ms in
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 Page 5 o 24 43
Table 1 O e iew o ac o s in luencing pla o m adop ion and espec i e heo e ical lens, iden i ied om he li e a u e
S udy Ma zi e al.,
2023*
Plasch
e al.,
2021*
Rohn
e al.,
2021
Zeng e al.,
2021*
Loux e al.,
2020
Najmul Islam
e al., 2020
Zeng e al.,
2020*
Ga cia
e al.,
2019*
Wallbach
e al., 2019*
Hamad
e al., 2018
Pen inen
e al., 2018
Wallbach
e al., 2018*
Theo e ical lens SNT, DOI,
TOE
RBV, ROT - - - CSLC TOE DOI - TOE Mul iple (e.g.,
TCT)
TOE
Ca ego y Fac o s
Economic ac o s Adop ion cos (−); assimila ion cos s
(−); cos (−/?); o al cos (+)
• • • • • •
In e -o ganiza ional
dynamics
Blaming o he ac o s (−); communi y
idea (−); con lic o in e es (−);
con ac ual ela ionship (−); leading
o ganiza ion p essu e (+); mime ic
p essu e (+); ading pa ne p essu e
(+)
• • • •
Managemen sup-
po
Managemen commi men (+); s a egic
alignmen (+); op managemen sup-
po (+/~)
• • • • • • •
Ma ke and indus y
condi ions
Being a cen al i m in he SC ne wo k/
posi ion in he ie s uc u e (+);
belonging o a clus e o communi y
wi h ea ly adop e s (+); business
pa ne p essu e (?); coe ci e p essu e
(+); compe i i e p essu e (+); cos
p essu e (+); demand unce ain y
(?); en i onmen al pe o mance
(+); indus ial cha ac e is ics (−);
ins i u ional en i onmen (−); logis-
ics esou ce access/expansion (+);
place in he ie s uc u e (~); supply
ne wo k lexibili y (+)
• • • • • •
Ne wo k and
esou ce access
Fluid pa ne ing (+); inno a ion and
business model de elopmen s a egy
(+); know-how access (+); ne wo k
and/o ma ke expansion and in e na-
ionaliza ion (+)
• •
O ganiza ional
s uc u e and
cul u e
Adop ion a igue (−); ex e nal p ocesses
(−); i m size (~); implemen a ion
o wo ka ounds (−); in eg a ion and
collabo a i e business s a egy (+);
in e nal p ocesses (−); o ganiza ional
eadiness (?); owne ship s uc u e (~);
p ocess dynamics (−); p omo ion and
sensi iza ion o digi al ans o ma ion
(+); quali ied wo k o ce (+); spi i o
inno a ion (+); s a -up cul u e (+)
• • • • • • • •
Pla o m bene i s Bene i s (+); communica ion o
unc ionali ies (~); e iciency and
secu i y (+); lexibili y equi emen s
(+); unc ionali ies (~); ecognized
po en ial o he sys em (+); ela i e
ad an age (+/?); s a egic bene i s
(+); use ulness (?); alue cap u e (~);
alue c ea ion (~); alue deli e y (~)
• • •• • • • • •
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 43 Page 6 o 24
*Supply chain- ela ed s udies; CSLC:Cus ome Se ice Li e Cycle amewo k; DOI:Di usion o Inno a ions; RBV:Resou ce-based iew; ROT:Resou ce O ches a ion Theo y; SNT:Social
Ne wo k Theo y; TCT :T ansac ion Cos Theo y; TOE:Technology – O ganiza ion – En i onmen ; + : posi i e impac ; − : nega i e impac ; ~ : impac depending on se ing;? : unclea /no
impac
Table 1 (con inued)
S udy Ma zi e al.,
2023*
Plasch
e al.,
2021*
Rohn
e al.,
2021
Zeng e al.,
2021*
Loux e al.,
2020
Najmul Islam
e al., 2020
Zeng e al.,
2020*
Ga cia
e al.,
2019*
Wallbach
e al., 2019*
Hamad
e al., 2018
Pen inen
e al., 2018
Wallbach
e al., 2018*
Pla o m go e n-
ance
Go e nance s uc u e (~); neu ali y
o he sys em (+); open pla o m
a chi ec u e (+)
• • •
Pla o m each and
epu a ion
Communicabili y (+); open used
in as uc u e (+); pla o m epu a ion
(+); each (+)
• • •
Regula o y en i on-
men
Go e nmen suppo (~); legal equi e-
men s (−); no ma i e p essu e (+);
policies and egula ion (~); powe
om go e nmen and supply chain
pa ne s (~); egula o y p essu e (+)
• • • • • • •
Sys em cha ac e -
is ics
IT in as uc u e (~); ope a ional ans-
po sys em (+)
• • •
T us and con iden-
iali y
Cen al o ches a o (+); in o ma ion
con iden iali y (+); s a egic judge-
men o pla o m p o ide s (+); us
building measu es (+)
• • •
Usabili y Communi y-speci ic equi emen s (−);
compa ibili y (+/?); complexi y (−/~);
ease o sys em in eg a ion (+); ease
o use (?); implemen a ion capabili y
(+); long- e m sus ainabili y (+);
pe cei ed ease o use (+); pla o m
suppo o se ice imp o emen (+);
eliabili y o he sys em p o ide (+);
se ice cus omiza ion (+); se ice
quali y (+); usabili y (+)
• • • • • • •
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 Page 7 o 24 43
he IFT sec o , we na owed down he scope o li e a u e pub-
lished o e he las 6yea s. By sc eening he i les, abs ac s,
and ull s udies, we ensu ed hey aligned wi h ou esea ch
objec i e. Ou e iew yielded se en s udies ocusing on pla -
o ms in he supply chain con ex (deno ed wi h an as e isk in
Table1) and i e s udies analyzing pla o m adop ion in he
b oade B2B con ex . Mos o hese s udies ob ain a heo e i-
cal lens based on exis ing adop ion heo y, equen ly TOE.
Howe e , as demons a ed in Table1, a consis en e minology
o ac o s in luencing digi al pla o m adop ion is missing in
B2B con ex s. We we e able o ex ac 88 di e en no ions o
ac o s which equen ly desc ibe simila phenomena. Table1
lis s hese ac o s and indica es whe he we ound a posi i e
(+), nega i e (−), o se ing-dependen (~) adop ion impac o
i a clea impac canno be iden i ied (?). Fo ac o s ha ha e
been named by mul iple sou ces, mul iple impac indica o s
a e epo ed (e.g., high complexi y is ound by Ga cia e al.
(2019) o ha e a nega i e impac , while Hamad e al. (2018)
ind a se ing-dependen impac ). By in ui i ely clus e ing he
88 ac o s in o 13 agg ega ed ca ego ies, Table1 e eals ha
he e a e ca ego ies ha ha e been iden i ied and analyzed
equen ly in p e ious esea ch: Clea pla o m bene i s, easy
usabili y, and an o ganiza ional s uc u e and cul u e ha nu -
u es he usage o digi al pla o ms ha e o en been iden i ied
as adop ion d i e s, whe eas a lack o managemen suppo
is unde pinned as a majo ba ie o pla o m adop ion. The
egula o y en i onmen , in u n, is ound o ha e an ambiguous
impac : While he en o cemen o pla o m u iliza ion by he
go e nmen (e.g., o ax- and cus oms- ela ed p ocesses) can
inc ease adop ion (Zeng e al., 2020), i can also u ge use s o
a oid speci ic pla o ms (Zeng e al., 2021).
The e iewed li e a u e shows ha he e is nei he a con-
sis en e minology no consis en indings on he in luence
o a ious ac o s on he adop ion decision. This obse a ion
sugges s ha a con ex -speci ic analysis o IFT is equi ed. In
addi ion, i is conspicuous ha p e ious esea ch has neglec ed
he (po en ially) a ying impac o he adop ion ac o s
depending on di e en pla o m use g oups. In line wi h he
call o Sh ee e al. (2021), we aim o con ibu e o he esea ch
body wi h a case-based analysis o pla o m adop ion in IFT
as a ye unexplo ed indus ial se ing.
Me hodology
Resea ch design
To gain a deep unde s anding o he d i e s and ba i-
e s o pla o m adop ion, we chose a mul iple-case s udy
esea ch design. Case s udies a e sui able o explo ing
new phenomena (see Voss e al., 2002) like eme ging
IFT pla o ms. Wi h IFT selle s and demande s as he
use s o hese pla o ms and pla o m p o ide s as he
in e media ies be ween hem, we selec ed h ee dis inc
cases ha enabled us o na iga e wi hin he es ablished
TOE amewo k (see Fig.2). We ollowed he me hodo-
logical guidance o Eisenha d (1989b) o ou case s udy
design, which is sui able o heo y-building and heo y-
elabo a ion pu poses (see Ridde , 2017). In he p ocess o
heo y elabo a ion, we adjus ed and e ined he unde ly-
ing dimensions o he TOE amewo k o he IFT con ex .
Such a p ocess o “ heo e ical con ex ualiza ion” (C aig-
head e al., 2016, p. 242) is ypical o he de elopmen o
middle ange heo y (MRT). In doing so, ou s udy ailo s
ou heo e ical lens o he IFT con ex wi hou elying on
a “ adi ional one size i s all” app oach (Sol ani e al.,
2014, p. 1015). Ins ead, i p o ides in-dep h insigh s in o
use s’ complex inne causal mechanisms behind hei IFT
pla o m adop ion decisions.
We chose he TOE amewo k (To na zky & Fleische ,
1990) as a sui able g and heo y o ou MRT app oach
o se e al easons: Fi s , nume ous empi ical s udies ha e
used, modi ied, and enhanced he TOE amewo k o s udy
he adop ion o pla o ms in simila con ex s, including he
supply chain con ex (e.g., Ma zi e al., 2023; Wallbach
e al., 2018; Zeng e al., 2020). Second, adop ion heo ies
like he TAM ocus on indi idual adop ion beha io and
neglec he o ganiza ional le el (Lippe & Go inda ajulu,
2006; Lyy inen & Damsgaa d, 2001). The IFT pla o m
adop ion decision and he decision o en e he IFT ma ke ,
howe e , a e made on he i m le el (e.g., eigh o wa de
i ms) and no on he le el o indi iduals (e.g., eigh
dispa che s). Thi d, IFT ac o s ope a e in a complex B2B
ma ke , which se es as hei en i onmen and is consid-
e ed by he TOE amewo k. Hence, he TOE amewo k
is well sui ed o s uc u e and s eng hen he unde s anding
o pla o m adop ion by o ganiza ions in he IFT indus y,
leading o he o e all esea ch design p esen ed in Fig.2.
Sample selec ion
We delibe a ely chose he h ee cases o pla o m p o id-
e s, selle s, and demande s by using a heo e ical eplica-
ion logic (see Ba a e al., 2011; Voss e al., 2002). In
doing so, we selec ed he cases based on ou expec a ion
ha hey e eal dis inc pe cep ions o he pla o m adop-
ion decision and p o ide us wi h a nuanced and comp e-
hensi e unde s anding o he di e en a ionales in luenc-
ing he decision.
We de ined he decision o adop o no adop an IFT pla -
o m as he embedded uni o analysis o ou cases. Selle s
and demande s make he adop ion decision, while pla o m
p o ide s obse e he decision and can in luence i . Since
such a decision wi h i s unde lying causal mechanisms is an
abs ac cons uc , i was necessa y o ely on conc e e uni s
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 43 Page 8 o 24
o da a collec ion o building a sample. Conside ing digi al
pla o ms as in e media ies posi ioned be ween IFT selle s
and demande s (see Fig.2), we ocused on eigh o wa d-
e s as uni s o da a collec ion o he demande case, on
e minal, ail, and in e modal ope a o s o he selle case,
and on pla o m p o ide s o he p o ide case. Mo eo e ,
o suppo ou MRT app oach wi h insigh s in o he speci -
ics o he IFT con ex , we decided o add he pe spec i es
o IFT ma ke expe s o ou sample. As consul ancies o
associa ions, hese ac o s can sha e iewpoin s on ma ke
dynamics and e lec on he ac o s’ adop ion decisions om
a neu al s andpoin .
We used mul iple sou ces o iden i y i ms om he ou -
lined g oups: online sea ches, epo s om publicly unded
esea ch p ojec s, a endance a ele an con e ences, and
we used a snowballing app oach o ollow up on e e ences
om ou in e iewees (see Small, 2009). In an i e a i e and
o e lapping da a collec ion and analysis p ocess, we s opped
sea ching o addi ional i ms o ou sample when we
eached heo e ical sa u a ion (Eisenha d , 1989b), meaning
no u he adop ion d i e s o ba ie s we e iden i ied and a
su icien unde s anding o he h ee cases was es ablished.
In sum, ou inal sample consis s o 21 i ms, as shown
inAppendix1. Di ec insigh s in o he selle case a e gained
om wo in e modal ope a o s, wo e minal ope a o s, and
wo ail ope a o s, all long-es ablished in he IFT ma ke .
The demande side is ep esen ed by h ee eigh o wa d-
e s; wo o hem a e ac i e in in e modal anspo (as ac i e
pla o m use s), while one has so a in en ionally e ained
om en e ing he IFT ma ke and using IFT pla o ms bu
is amilia wi h hem. E en hough he eigh o wa de
landscape consis s o many small i ms ( ecall he “Theo-
e ical backg ound” sec ion), ou sample also con ains la ge
eigh o wa de i ms (see Appendix1). This is because
IFT su e s om knowledge gaps (Glese & Elbe , 2024).
Speci ically, small eigh o wa de s a e o en no amilia
wi h IFT (see T uschkin e al., 2014) and a e, he e o e, no
ye in a posi ion o e lec on IFT pla o m adop ion. In addi-
ion o he nine selle s and demande s, eigh i ms om ou
sample a e pla o m p o ide s. These i ms ope a e in he
digi al sec o (e.g., so wa e de elopmen and da a manage-
men ), ha e ecen ly been ounded, and ha e a s a -up s a us
in he IFT ma ke . They co e he whole spec um o he
cu en ly eme ging digi al se ices o IFT, om e sa ile
ma ke places o easy IFT booking o pu e da a exchange o
e icien IFT ope a ions (see Bossong e al., 2025). Finally,
ou IFT ma ke expe s ound o ou sample. They p o ide
IFT-speci ic ma ke know-how and aluable insigh s om
hei expe ience wi h i ms ha ha e op ed o o agains
using digi al IFT pla o ms.
All 21 i ms a e loca ed in Ge many. Due o Ge many’s
impo ance o he Eu opean anspo indus y as a ansi
coun y and he g owing numbe o IFT pla o ms launched
by Ge man i ms, he coun y p o ides a unique posi ion o
in es iga e pla o m adop ion. In 2023, 59% o he goods
anspo ed in Ge many wi h ail-based IFT we e ei he
Fig. 2 O e iew o esea ch design and assignmen o in e iews o he h ee cases and he IFT con ex , embedded in he TOE amewo k based
on To na zky and Fleische (1990)
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 Page 15 o 24 43
secu i y and p i acy. Howe e , da a a ailabili y has a di e -
ing impac on he pla o m adop ion o selle s, depending on
whe he selle s p o ide o ecei e da a. Collec ing da a and
eeding his da a in o a pla o m wi h a speci ic da a o ma
can be cos ly and is cu en ly iewed c i ically by selle s:
“T acking and moni o ing ou eigh is in a e y ea ly s age.
Mos o he eigh is no acked a all” (S4). Da a a ail-
abili y is, hence, an adop ion ba ie when selle s need o
p o ide da a ha is di icul o collec . On he ecei ing side,
selle s app ecia e high da a a ailabili y, o example, when
hei cus ome s place o de s digi ally h ough he selle s’
own sys ems.
Fu he mo e, as he pla o m p o ide pe spec i e has
shown, some la ge IFT selle s end o launch hei own
pla o m-like sys ems and, consequen ly, do no os e da a
exchange h ough s anda dized in e aces. Ha ing hei
own closed sys ems wi h p op ie a y da a p o ocols gi es
hem ull owne ship o e hei da a and helps hem exploi
in o ma ion asymme ies o a oid p ice compa isons agains
compe i o s. I enables selle s o cha ge highe p ices o
hei IFT se ices and gi es hem con ol o e he cos s o
he sys em. In his ein, ou in e iewees men ioned ha
selle s igo ously calcula e a “business case o each in e -
ace” (S1), which is why high implemen a ion and usage
cos s o pla o ms pose addi ional adop ion ba ie s.
Finally, e en hough neu al pla o m go e nance can
inc ease us in he pla o m and, hence, inc ease pla o m
adop ion o selle s, some selle s ha e “a big issue wi h [a
hi d-pa y pla o m ha p e ends o be neu al] […] since
one o he owne s is a compe i o o [ he selle ]” (S3). Hence,
he impac o pla o m neu ali y on pla o m adop ion o
selle s depends on whe he selle s doub p omo ed neu ali y.
P op. 7: The be e IFT selle s can enla ge hei sales
channels h ough pla o ms wi hou inc easing com-
pe i ion and cos , he highe pla o m adop ion o sell-
e s will be. I selle s pe cei e ha pla o ms c ea e
oo much anspa ency, hey end o launch hei own
pla o m-like sys ems o a oid he d ain o con iden ial
da a.
O ganiza ion F om an o ganiza ional poin o iew, ou
in e iews e ealed ha IFT selle s, on a e age, exhibi
a sligh ly highe deg ee o digi iza ion han demande s,
which suppo s pla o m adop ion. This digi iza ion ad an-
age could be due o hei i m size since IFT selle s end
o be la ge i ms, equipping hem wi h a la ge body o
a ailable i m esou ces (Cichosz e al., 2020). Howe e ,
he size o he adop ing selle s has a se ing-dependen
impac and p o ides an in e es ing wis : La ge selle s
usually ha e ad anced IT capabili ies. Hence, hey a e p e-
des ined o adop pla o ms. Bu as p e iously men ioned,
some la ge selle s use hese capabili ies o in-house
de elopmen o IT sys ems and ha e his o ically eached
a c i ical size, allowing hem o o ce hei cus ome s o
place o de s wi hin hese sys ems. Hence, his ma ke
powe causes la ge selle s o e use o he pla o ms, as
one ma ke expe obse ed: “[A la ge IFT selle ] said,
‘I ha e a e y la ge ne wo k. I will no suppo a [ hi d-
pa y] pla o m by placing my o e ings he e’” (M1). In
his sense, he selle in ques ion is no willing o inc ease
he a ac i i y o hi d-pa y pla o ms and o isk losing
exis ing cus ome s o compe i o s.
In addi ion, IFT expe ience, as a cha ac e is ic o he
i m’s backg ound, is in luencing he pla o m adop ion o
selle s, bu , in con as o demande s, his a ionale is less
abou hei p e ious IFT encoun e s. I is mo e abou hei
IFT p o iciency, which has an ambiguous impac on selle s’
pla o m adop ion: While IFT p o iciency can be a d i e o
selle s o p o essionalize hei se ices h ough a pla o m,
i can be a ba ie o selle s who do no wan con iden ial
in o ma ion o d ain h ough a pla o m.
P op. 8: The s onge he digi iza ion and IT capabili-
ies o selle s a e, he highe pla o m adop ion o sell-
e s will be. Howe e , selle s can each a c i ical size
ha enables hem o launch hei own pla o m-like
sys ems o a oid boos ing hi d-pa y pla o ms and
losing cus ome s.
En i onmen The o e all challenging ma ke condi ions ha
apply o IFT pla o mp o ide s and demande s also apply
o selle s. Fo selle s, a pa icula ly p onounced challenge
is cos p essu e. Selle s compe e wi h oad-based anspo ,
which is o en conside ed mo e cos -compe i i e han ail-
based IFT. This compe i i e disad an age o IFT equi es
selle s o inc ease he cos e iciency o IFT se ices h ough
au oma ion and d i es pla o m adop ion.
Su p isingly, in he pee s and s akeholde s con ex , he
i m size o he pla o m p o ide has a di e en impac on
selle adop ion han on demande adop ion. La ge selle
i ms see i c i ical o ely on small pla o m p o ide s and
a e, he e o e, mo e likely o adop pla o ms p o ided by
la ge i ms. Howe e , la ge selle s a e also wo ied abou
pla o ms “becoming oo big o a oid” (S4) and, he eby,
exe ing oo much ma ke p essu e on hem.
Like pla o m p o ide s, selle s assess en i onmen-
al egula ions as an adop ion d i e : “The e a e poli ical
goals conce ning a modal shi , which implies a signi i-
can inc ease o ail-based anspo . This alone is al eady
a d i e o digi iza ion” (S2). On he o he hand, selle s
see isks o pla o m adop ion in ope a ional egula ions:
“The e a e egula o y equi emen s ha necessi a e pape -
based p ocesses, especially when i comes o dange ous
goods” (S4). Hence, someexis ing egula ions a e incom-
pa ible wi h he digi al wo k low o pla o ms.
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 43 Page 16 o 24
P op. 9: The mo e pla o ms g ow beyond a size ha
enables hem o exe p essu e on selle s, he lowe
pla o m adop ion o selle s will be. Selle s also aise
conce ns abou ope a ional egula ions ha en o ce
pape -based p ocesses and, consequen ly, hampe
pla o m adop ion.
C oss‑case analysis: Le e s oinc ease pla o m
adop ion
The h ee cases ha e p o ided an in-dep h unde s anding o
IFT pla o m adop ion om he pe spec i es o IFT pla o m
p o ide s, selle s, and demande s. Compa ing he adop ion
decisions o demande s and selle s, as well as he in e es s o
pla o m p o ide s, e eals ha ensions eme ge. This is why
he subsequen c oss-case analysis dis ills nine le e s along
he con ex ualized TOE amewo k sui able o mi iga e hese
ensions, nu u e adop ion d i e s, and lowe adop ion ba -
ie s. These le e s a e alloca ed o he iden i ied ac o s in
Fig.4.
Technology
Inc eased anspa ency is a opic ha was highly deba ed
among ou in e iewees. As he wi hin-case analyses ha e
shown, demande s bene i om inc eased anspa ency, o
example, h ough easy p ice compa ison, while selle s ea
p ice compe i ion. Se e al in e iewees e en concluded
ha he business model o selle s is o en based on a lack
o anspa ency and esul ing in o ma ion asymme y:
“The e is a high p ice ola ili y o he same se ice. This
is an indica o ha a lack o anspa ency is used o do
business” (M1). So a , p e ious esea ch has acknowl-
edged ha inc eased anspa ency can be a d i e o ech-
nology adop ion (e.g., Al-Jab i & Roz ocki, 2015; Tan
& Sunda akani, 2021), bu i has neglec ed he nega i e
impac o anspa ency, o mo e gene ally speaking, he
impac o digi al con iden iali y. Massimino e al. (2018)
emphasize ha he o e all ope a ions and supply chain
managemen li e a u e has ailed o add ess he digi al
con iden iali y o digi al asse s due o i s his o ical ocus
on he physical dis ibu ion o p oduc s. Fo he IFT con-
ex , ou indings sugges ha allowing selle s o cus om-
ize and es ic in o ma ion sha ing o speci ic demande
g oups can help mi iga e hese ensions. Pla o m p o id-
e s a e al eady in he p ocess o designing such ea u es,
as oiced by ou in e iewees: “The e is a s anda d a e
and a cus ome -speci ic a e. […] You can s o e all hese
di e en a es in ou pla o m” (P6). Hence, we iden i y:
Le e 1: To balance he need o business con iden ial-
i y on he oligopolis ic selle side and he anspa ency
a ini y on he agmen ed demande side, pla o m
p o ide s should enable selle s o dis inguish be ween
a s anda d a e isible o any pla o m use and indi-
idual a es only isible o p e iously selec ed use s.
Closely ela ed o anspa ency is he a ailabili y and
accu acy o da a. Bo h use g oups app ecia e he a ail-
abili y o high-quali y da a on pla o ms. Howe e , he
use g oups do no ag ee on he ype o da a hey equi e
om each o he : Selle s eques demande s o inc ease
da a a ailabili y by placing o de s digi ally, while demand-
e s eques selle s o sha e p ices and eal- ime acking
da a. The da a sa u a ion poin on he demande side
could help ackle his ension. Pla o ms could ocus on
da a quali y (ins ead o quan i y) and selec i ely inc ease
da a a ailabili y o c ucial da a ypes. Especially he
p o ision o eal- ime acking da a is cu en ly lacking
in IFT. Some demande s e en “equip [ hei ] con aine s
wi h senso s” (D2) o ensu e da a a ailabili y. Me ging
da a om mul iple sou ces (e.g., selle s and demande s)
could, he e o e, be a measu e o inc ease da a a ailabili y
and quali y o boos pla o m adop ion. Howe e , me ging
da a equi es s anda dized da a in e aces and he imple-
men a ion o such in e aces is expec ed o be a leng hy
p ocess. As we ound in e ace s anda diza ion o be an
adop ion ba ie o la ge IFT selle s bu a d i e o IFT
demande s, one pla o m p o ide in ou sample aims o
add ess his ension by join ly de eloping an open and
neu al da a exchange s anda d o IFT oge he wi h sell-
e s and demande s. This da a exchange s anda d accoun s
o he equi emen s o bo h use g oups. In addi ion,
such s anda ds can po en ially educe he o e all numbe
o in e aces demande s mus adap o while mee ing he
equi emen s o la ge selle s. This is why we ecommend:
Le e 2: Pla o m p o ide s as in e media ies should
aim o b ing selle s and demande s o he able o
join ly de ine and es ablish da a exchange s anda ds.
As his is likely o be a leng hy p ocess, in he mean-
ime, pla o m p o ide s should ocus on implemen ing
cus omized da a in e aces wi h exis ing pla o ms and
IT sys ems o me ge and mu ually exchange da a.
La ge selle s end o a o hei own pla o m-like sys-
ems, while demande s a o neu al pla o ms. This leads
o ensions a ound pla o m go e nance. As he wi hin-case
analysis has shown, pla o m neu ali y is gene ally app e-
cia ed by bo h use g oups, bu neu ali y is dispu ed, espe-
cially by selle s ha iden i y compe i o s among he in es-
o s o one pla o m om ou sample. The obliga ion o
neu ali y pe co po a e cha e , as ou lined in he pla o m
p o ide case, could sol e his ension. One pla o mp o-
ide om ou sample goes e en u he and ope a es on a
nonp o i basis: “The pla o m is no ope a ed ou o com-
me cial in e es , in he sense ha money is made om he
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 Page 17 o 24 43
da a” (S6). Such go e nance ensu es ha nei he selle s no
demande s gain compe i i e ad an ages o e o he pla o m
use s. The impo ance o pla o m neu ali y is unde lined
by p e ious esea ch (Plasch e al., 2021; Rohn e al., 2021).
Ano he way o ensu e ha neu ali y and he in e es s o
bo h use g oups a e sa egua ded is he in ol emen o pla -
o m use s in he pla o m de elopmen p ocess. Pla o m
use s, o example, could become pa o a join en u e o
c ea e a neu ally go e ned pla o m in he in e es o all
pla o m use s. The e o e, we sugges :
Le e 3: Pla o m p o ide s should os e us in
hei —some imes dispu ed—neu ali y by o icially
sel -commi ing o neu ali y and by ensu ing ha he
in luence o pla o m in es o s wi h po en ially con-
lic ing in e es s is es ic ed.
In a compe i i e B2B ma ke like he IFT ma ke , sell-
e s and demande s lamen small p o i ma gins ha do no
allow o high cos s o pla o m implemen a ion and use.
This aspec is unde pinned by one pla o m p o ide who
ecalled a con e sa ion wi h i s use s: “My use s ell me:
‘I al eady need o pay o he anspo . Why should I pay
o he da a exchange?’” (P3). Ob iously, pla o m use s
no only aim o minimize cos s, bu hey also aim o maxi-
mize p o i s. This is why pla o m adop ion o IFT selle s is
d i en by high p ices o IFT se ices o e ed on pla o ms
while demande s y o ind he lowes possible p ice. Pla -
o m p o ide s equen ly add ess hese con lic ing in e es s
h ough a mone iza ion model ha wai es pla o m ees o
demande s and eques s a ansac ion-based ee om selle s.
In doing so, selle s can keep up on in es men s low and
le e age e iciency bene i s while s ill being able o p ice
hei se ices compe i i ely. So, we ad ise:
Le e 4: To a oid pu ing u he p essu e on he igh
ma gins in he IFT sec o , pla o m p o ide s should
ollow a ansac ion-based mone iza ion model, allow-
ing hei use s o es and use pla o ms wi hou sig-
ni ican in es men s.
O ganiza ion
As he wi hin-case analysis has shown, la ge demande
i ms a e mo e likely o adop IFT pla o ms han smalle
i ms. On he selle side, his ela ion is no as s aigh o -
wa d because la ge selle s ha e su icien IT capabili ies
and slack esou ces o implemen and adop pla o ms, bu
hey end o use hese capabili ies and esou ces o es ablish
hei own sys ems and p o ocols. The e o e, pla o ms could
ailo hei digi al p oduc o di e en use i m sizes. As a
la ge demande oiced, da a exchange pla o ms a e mo e
a ac i e o hem han ma chmaking pla o ms since la ge
demande s ha e long-s anding con ac s and a e less in need
o ad hoc bookings h ough ma chmaking pla o ms: “We
ha e equen ly checked i [ma ke places] a e ele an o us.
[…] Bu ou main concep is ull load, no pa ial load” (D2).
Hence, pla o ms could posi ion hemsel es wi h a ocus on
ma chmaking when a ge ing smalle i ms while p omo ing
a ocus on da a exchange o la ge i ms. This ocus on da a
exchange includes he implemen a ion o in e aces owa d
p op ie a y IT sys ems and p o ocols o selle i ms. In doing
so, pla o ms can se e as an adap e be ween incompa ible
IT sys ems and assis all IFT ac o s in connec ing hei IT
sys ems. Hence, we summa ize:
Le e 5: Pla o m p o ide s should posi ion hem-
sel es as ma chmake s o smalle demande s and as
da a exchange pla o ms wi h he abili y o connec
incompa ible IT sys ems.
Gi en he mul i ude o p e ex s abou pla o ms and digi-
iza ion, suppo om pla o m p o ide s, especially on an
ope a ional le el, is essen ial: “T aining, onboa ding, calling
again, eminding again, helping again” (M1) is how a ma ke
expe desc ibed his suppo in ou in e iews. Mo eo e ,
some pla o m p o ide s iden i y p o icien use s wi hin he
selle and demande i ms and p o ide “dedica ed ainings”
(P1) o hese employees. To u he suppo he implemen-
a ion and use o pla o ms, ou in e iewees lis ed se e al
addi ional measu es: s ep-by-s ep pla o m implemen a ion,
coexis ence o new pla o ms pa allel o incumben sys ems
o ensu e a g adual, seamless ansi ion, and enablemen
o po en ial use s o es he pla o m ee o cha ge. These
measu es can help lowe adop ion ba ie s, and hey le
po en ial use s, including he managemen , con ince hem-
sel es o he bene i s o using digi al pla o ms. As a esul ,
we p esen :
Le e 6: Pla o m p o ide s should gi e po en ial use s
he oppo uni y o es hei pla o ms ee o cha ge
andshould in ensi ely accompany he implemen a ion
and amp-up phase h ough dedica ed aining as well
as echnical and ope a ional suppo .
En i onmen
The analysis o he en i onmen al dimension e eals ha he
ea o being dependen on a single pla o m p o ide g ows
wi h inc easing pla o m p o ide size, pa icula ly among
selle s. A he same ime, IFT demande s a o la ge pla -
o ms bu also ask o low p ices. The e o e, i is in he in e -
es o selle s and demande s o a oid pla o ms becoming so
big ha hey can signi ican ly in luence p ices o ope a ional
p ocesses. One o ou demande in e iewees goes e en u -
he and calls on he esponsibili y o shippe s, in hei ole
as po en ial IFT demande s, o use hei “signi ican ma -
ke powe o s ee ” (D3) i and how IFT se ices shall be
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 43 Page 18 o 24
used. In addi ion o Le e 2, he ac o s o he IFT ecosys em
could, he e o e, no only c ea e join da a s anda ds bu also
launch a join pla o m. Such join ini ia i es could lead o
a win–win si ua ion in he long un, as he isks and cos s
o launching a pla o m can be sha ed among se e al ac o s,
each o which can ep esen i s in e es s and needs. Acco d-
ingly, we sugges :
Le e 7: The whole IFT ecosys em, including selle s,
demande s, pla o m p o ide s, and shippe s, should
le e age alliances o es ablish a join pla o m ha
mi iga es he isk o being dependen on one la ge pla -
o m ha is po en ially able o in luence ope a ional
p ocesses as well as p ices.
Eme ging as an o e a ching obse a ion, ou in e iew-
ees see a signi ican need o ac ion in he scope o ope a-
ional egula ions since da a exchange s anda diza ion is no
expec ed o happen wi hou egula o y p essu e. As oiced
by one pla o m p o ide : “Mo i a ion [ o s anda diza ion]
is needed. Mo i a ion in he o m o coe ci e measu es.”
(P7). In he sho e m, egula o ily en o ced da a exchange
s anda ds migh pose an adop ion ba ie since hey equi e
he adap a ion o exis ing da a in e aces o new s anda ds.
Howe e , in he long e m, such s anda ds a e likely o pay
o by educing addi ional ba ie s, such as missing pa ne
in eg a ion o high implemen a ion cos s. Mo eo e , hey
enable pla o ms o inc ease da a a ailabili y and quali y by
mu ually connec ing all IFT ac o s. This leads o:
Le e 8: Policymake s should en o ce da a exchange
s anda diza ion in he IFT sec o , o example, by
equi ing all ac o s in ol ed in IFT o adhe e o a base
s anda d ha enables hem o au oma e undamen al
p ocesses.
E en hough na ional and in e na ional clima e goals os-
e he adop ion o IFT, ou in e iewees equen ly called
o s onge incen i iza ion o use IFT h ough en i onmen-
al egula ion, as his would lead o highe IFT pla o m
adop ion. Pla o m p o ide s called o highe p ices o
CO2 emissions and inc eased cos compe i i eness o non-
oad-based anspo modes h ough uck olls: “I hope
ha p ices o CO2 emissions and uck olls ha e a posi i e
impac on he whole [IFT] sec o ” (P2). This hope is ech-
oed by he demande om ou in e iews ha is cu en ly
e aining om IFT (as ou lined in he “Me hodology” sec-
ion): “The CO2 p ice is way oo low. […] T uck olls can be
an addi ional le e .” (D3). We he e o e sugges :
Le e 9: Policymake s should incen i ize IFT as a
mo e sus ainable anspo mode and inciden ally os-
e pla o m adop ion, o example, by ca e ully adjus -
ing CO2 p ices and uck olls.
In sum, he le e s de i ed highligh he need o ac ion by
pla o m p o ide s, he o e all IFT ecosys em, and policy-
make s. Figu e5 summa izes ou indings in esponse o ou
esea ch ques ions: By syn hesizing he ac o s ha in lu-
ence he adop ion decision, he summa y o ou p oposi ions
add esses RQ1 (“why”), while he summa y o he le e s
esponds o RQ2 (“how”).
Discussion
Theo e ical con ibu ion
En iching exis ing li e a u e onB2B pla o m adop ion
This is he i s s udy o explo e pla o m adop ion in he
IFT con ex , esponding o he call o Sh ee e al. (2021) o
indus y-speci ic and case-based analyses o pla o m adop-
ion. The applied MRT app oach e eals ha he TOE ame-
wo k is a sui able s uc u e o sys ema izing ou answe
o RQ1, which aimed o iden i y he ac o s (d i e s and
ba ie s) in luencing IFT pla o m adop ion.
When compa ing he adop ion ac o s iden i ied in he
li e a u e (see Table1) wi h he ac o s iden i ied om ou
case-based da a (see Fig.4), ou indings con i m ha he
bene i s o a pla o m (see P op. 4 and 7) and op managemen
suppo in he adop ing i m (see P op. 2 and 5) a e key ac o s
suppo ing pla o m adop ion. Howe e , he impac iden i-
ied in he li e a u e a ies (see he “Theo e ical backg ound”
sec ion). We ound he impac o op managemen suppo
on pla o m adop ion, o example, o be posi i e in he IFT
con ex . This is in line wi h Zeng e al. (2021), Zeng e al.
(2020), and Najmul Islam e al. (2020), while Hamad e al.
(2018) ind he impac o be dependen on he adop ion le el.
Mo eo e , p e ious s udies ha e acknowledged ha
da a secu i y and in e ace s anda diza ion can be d i -
e s o B2B pla o m adop ion (e.g., Ga cia e al., 2019;
Hamad e al., 2018; Plasch e al., 2021; Zeng e al., 2020,
2021, see P op. 1). Ou indings a e in line wi h hese
s udies. Howe e , i is in e es ing ha p e ious s udies
ha e paid li le a en ion o he a ailabili y and quali y o
da a as adop ion d i e s. The sa u a ion poin (see P op. 4)
conce ning he amoun o da a a ailable on he demande
side is no e lec ed in he ex an li e a u e. One eason o
i s occu ence in he IFT con ex may be ha o he con-
ex s (e.g., manu ac u ing o e-comme ce) exhibi a highe
deg ee o digi iza ion. Hence, da a a ailabili y and accu-
acy may be conside ed hygiene ac o s wi hou a no able
impac on pla o m adop ion in highly digi ized indus ies.
Ou indings show ha p e ex s agains digi iza ion
a e p onounced in he IFT indus y, pa icula ly on he
demande side (see P op. 2 and P op. 5). P e ex s ha e no
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 Page 19 o 24 43
been explici ly iden i ied as pla o m adop ion ba ie s by
o he s udies (see Table1). Howe e , esis ance o change
has aised a en ion in he li e a u e as a c ucial ac o ha
can de e mine he success o ailu e o gene al co po a e
change p ocesses (e.g., Pa do del Val & Ma ínez Fuen es,
2003). This emphasis in he li e a u e unde lines ha
change managemen is a c i ical success ac o o digi al
ans o ma ion (Kohnke, 2017), pa icula ly in a conse a-
i e indus y like IFT.
In con as o o he s udies, ou s udy has no been able
o iden i y s a egic bene i s esul ing om pla o m adop-
ion (Ma zi e al., 2023) as adop ion d i e s. This di e -
ence migh be connec ed o ou obse a ion ha many IFT
ac o s, especially small eigh o wa de s, lack a dedica ed
Fig. 5 Summa y o indings along he TOE amewo k and he h ee cases
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 43 Page 20 o 24
digi iza ion s a egy. Consequen ly, hey conside ope a-
ional bene i s a he han s a egic bene i s when op ing o
o agains IFT pla o ms. Mo eo e , we ha e no been able o
iden i y demand unce ain y as an adop ion ba ie (Najmul
Islam e al., 2020), which migh be due o he dominance o
long- e m con ac s in he IFT indus y, ensu ing s eady and
plannable se ice u iliza ion. Howe e , using ma chmaking
pla o ms o sell emaining capaci ies on he spo ma ke
could lead o a lexibiliza ion o con ac s. In his case, we
expec demand unce ain y o become an adop ion d i e
since pla o ms can be le e aged o ill hese capaci ies.
Analysis om hepe spec i es o di e en ac o s in ol ed
Ou esea ch design enabled us o analyze pla o m adop ion
om he pe spec i es o di e en IFT ac o s. Ou indings
sugges con lic ing in e es s be ween he wo pla o m use
g oups, especially ega ding he c ea ion o anspa ency
and in e ace s anda diza ion: IFT demande s a o ma -
ke anspa ency and in e ace s anda diza ion (see P op. 1
and 4), while IFT selle s ha e no in e es in sa is ying hese
desi es (see P op. 1 and 7). Al hough pla o ms in a non-IFT
con ex migh exhibi o he ypes o use g oups, conside -
ing demande s and selle s as ypical pla o m use g oups
can p o ide aluable insigh s in o why pla o m adop ion is
impeded. F om a b oade pe spec i e, his si ua ion can be
ega ded as a p incipal-agen dilemma wi h demande s as
p incipals and selle s as agen s. Among bo h pa ies, he e
a e goal con lic s and in o ma ion asymme ies, which a e
ypical o p incipal-agen ela ionships (Eisenha d , 1989a):
Demande s a e looking o eliable and easonably p iced
eigh anspo se ices bu lack an o e iew o p ices and
o e ings on he IFT ma ke . Selle s can exploi his lack o
anspa ency and compa abili y by asking o highe p ices.
Applying his pe spec i e o cloud compu ing ma ke places,
Hau e al. (2014) show ha pla o ms can help educe hese
asymme ies. Howe e , a he same ime, pla o ms c ea e
new unce ain ies o cloud se ice p o ide s (e.g., abou he
neu ali y o he pla o m p o ide ). Likewise, digi al IFT
pla o ms in hei posi ion as in e media ies enhance ma ke
anspa ency and supply chain isibili y, bu doub s aised
abou hei neu ali y show ha new unce ain ies eme ge in
he IFT sec o as well. Ou de i ed le e s espond o RQ2
and can se e as “puzzle pieces” o mi iga e his dilemma.
These le e s can u he be in e p e ed in he b oade con ex
o measu es ha a e sui able o o e come he p incipal-agen
p oblem (see Hau e al., 2014): signaling (Le e 6), incen-
i iza ion (Le e s 1, 4, 5, 9), and moni o ing (Le e s 2, 3,
7, 8). In doing so, ou answe o RQ2 en iches he abs ac
concep o p incipal-agen heo y wi h p ac ical and conc e e
measu es in he IFT con ex .
Embedding in hecon ex o supply chain au oma ion
Ou indings on au oma ing manual in e ac ion and da a
exchange in IFT h ough he adop ion o digi al pla o ms
se e as a basis o discuss implica ions o he au oma ion
o supply chains. In line wi h he de ini ion o supply chain
au oma ion p esen ed in he in oduc ion o his s udy, digi al
pla o ms a e sui able o eplace human ac i i ies (Ni sche
e al., 2021). The e o e, he p e ex s we ound in ou in e -
iews (see P op. 2 and P op. 5) a e likely o a ise om he
ea o losing jobs and in ensi y a gene al esis ance o digi i-
za ion and change. F om an empi ical pe spec i e, Balsmeie
and Woe e (2019) show ha au oma ion h ough digi i-
za ion inc eases he need o highly skilled employees and
equi es less lowly skilled employees. They show ha his
e ec is mainly d i en by machine-based digi al echnolo-
gies (such as obo s) and no by non-machine-based digi al
echnologies like digi al pla o ms. Hence, i is impo an o
supply chain au oma ion p ojec s o ou line he implica ions
o employees anspa en ly. In he IFT con ex , o exam-
ple, employees migh no ha e been adequa ely in o med
ha digi al pla o ms a e no designed o subs i u e physical
handling p ocesses. Ins ead, hey a e designed o suppo
anspo olume g ow h despi e labo sho age by au o-
ma ing s anda d p ocesses and enabling employees o ocus
on complex and ha d- o-au oma e asks (e.g., eac ing o
dis up ions).
As we ha e ou lined, he eme ging IFT pla o ms di e
in hei co e unc ions by ma ching demande s and selle s
o by au oma ing da a exchange (see Bossong e al., 2025).
Use s o da a exchange pla o ms bene i om inc eased
ope a ional e iciency and quali y as hese pla o ms educe
manual in e ac ion and communica ion e o s h ough
au oma ed da a exchange. Howe e , he bene i s o ma ch-
making pla o ms (i.e., enla ged sales and sou cing chan-
nels and inc eased anspa ency on p ices and o e ings) do
no esul om au oma ion (so a ) since eigh dispa ch-
e s a e s ill manually looking o he igh o e o book.
To u he inc ease he deg ee o au oma ion, ma chmak-
ing pla o ms would need o ake o e a decision-making
ole. These insigh s om he IFT con ex can be compa ed
wi h he wa e model in oduced by Klumpp (2018) o he
accep ance o au oma ion in business logis ics sys ems: IFT
demande s and selle s seem o accep speci ic compe en-
cies o pla o m-based au oma ion (wa e 1), bu au oma ed
decisions in he daily business (wa e 2) o e en au ono-
mous sys ems (wa e 3) do no seem o be accep ed ye . In
he u u e, mo ing he IFT indus y “beyond au oma ion
owa ds au onomy” (Xu e al., 2021, p. 1) is likely o educe
ansac ion cos s and could be an impo an le e o inc ease
he esilience o eigh anspo and, hence, u u e supply
chains (Xu e al., 2021).
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 Page 21 o 24 43
Las ly, eigh logis ics ep esen s one subsys em o sup-
ply chains. Beyond he in e aces among IFT ac o s, he e
a e in e aces o o he pa s o he supply chain, such as he
pu chasing and p oduc ion unc ions (see Chen & Paul aj,
2004). These pa s o he supply chain in ol e addi ional
ac o s, which may ha e simila d i e s and ba ie s when
adop ing au oma ion echnologies such as digi al pla o ms.
Ou le e s can se e as a s a ing poin o os e digi al pla -
o m adop ion when es ablishing pla o ms o au oma e sup-
ply chains beyond eigh anspo (e.g., digi al sou cing
channels o manu ac u ing i ms).
Manage ial insigh s
F om a p ac ical pe spec i e, ou indings aise awa eness
o he exis ence o IFT pla o ms and pu po en ial pla o m
use s in he posi ion o make in o med adop ion decisions by
conside ing he isks and bene i s associa ed wi h IFT pla -
o ms. Impo an adop ion ba ie s, such as he p e alence o
p e ex s, should be aken se iously by manage s o pla o m
use i ms since hey can encompass mo e han a “gene ic”
esis ance o change. The po en ial impac o au oma ion on
job p o iles and job a ailabili ies should be discussed openly
wi h a ec ed employees, such as eigh dispa che s.
Fo IFT pla o m p o ide s, ou o e iew o adop ion
ba ie s and d i e s helps hem be e unde s and he mecha-
nisms and a ionales behind hei use s’ pla o m adop ion.
Such an o e iew assis s hem in compa ing hei cu en
business s a egy wi h he s a egy o o he pla o m p o id-
e s and wi h he equi emen s o hei (po en ial) use s. By
answe ing RQ2, he c oss-case analysis and esul ing le e s
p o ide di ec guidance o pla o m p o ide s on how pla -
o m adop ion can be os e ed.
In he bigge pic u e, ou indings sugges ha policy-
make s ha e an indi ec bu aluable impac on pla o m
adop ion. Ba ie s o en e ing he IFT ma ke hampe pla -
o m adop ion o demande s. This is why policymake s can
indi ec ly suppo pla o m adop ion by es ablishing egula-
ions ha a o IFT. Ou indings ou line he es ablishmen
o s anda ds o acili a e da a exchange (see Le e 8) and he
incen i iza ion o use IFT (see Le e 9) as sui able s a ing
poin s. Mo eo e , policymake s should ca e ully obse e
and s ee he socio-economic impac ha supply chain
au oma ion can ha e on employees, o example, h ough
a change in quali ica ion equi emen s (see Balsmeie &
Woe e , 2019).
E en hough ou case-based da a iden i ied se e al IFT
cha ac e is ics (such as i s complexi y and he need o spe-
ci ic IFT equipmen ) as easons o low pla o m adop ion,
we would like o emphasize ha pla o ms hemsel es a e
also sui able o dec ease gene al IFT ba ie s, o example,
by acili a ing booking p ocesses o au oma ing epe i i e
asks. IFT adop ion and pla o m adop ion a e, he e o e,
in e dependen and should always be conside ed mu ually.
Conclusion
Using a mul iple-case s udy esea ch app oach, ou s udy
explo ed he adop ion o digi al IFT pla o ms, leading o
a comp ehensi e o e iew o 30 ac o s ha in luence he
adop ion decision. Th ough a sys ema ic coding p ocedu e,
we clus e ed he iden i ied ac o s in o ca ego ies ha helped
us con ex ualize he TOE amewo k wi hin he IFT con ex .
This con ex ualiza ion se ed as a basis o analyze wi hin
and ac oss h ee cases how he pla o m adop ion decision
is in luenced om he pe spec i e o IFT selle s, demande s,
and pla o m p o ide s.
Ou indings sugges ha , in line wi h p e ious esea ch,
he bene i s and usabili y o a pla o m as well as op man-
agemen suppo a e impo an d i e s o pla o m adop-
ion. Howe e , we disco e ed ha inc eased anspa ency
on p ices and o e ings d i es pla o m adop ion on he IFT
demande side while i hinde s adop ion on he selle side.
The same applies o he s anda diza ion o da a exchange
in e aces. We a ibu e hese ensions be ween IFT demand-
e s and selle s o he exis ence o in o ma ion asymme ies
esul ing om a p incipal-agen ela ionship be ween IFT
demande s (p incipals) and IFT selle s (agen s).
Majo hu dles o pla o m adop ion on bo h use sides
a e (some imes i a ional) p e ex s. These p e ex s conce n
digi al pla o ms and digi iza ion. We in e p e he p e ex s
as ba ie s ha go beyond a gene al esis ance o change, as
supply chain au oma ion h ough digi al pla o ms can lead
o a change in job p o iles, causing ea s o losing jobs. E en
hough IFT can help deca bonize a i m’s supply chain, i s
complexi y is equen ly gi en as a eason o no using IFT.
Ou indings sugges ha supply chain au oma ion h ough
pla o ms can signi ican ly con ibu e o o e coming hese
ba ie s, mainly h ough au oma ed da a exchange and easy
booking o IFT se ices. The e o e, we de i e nine p ac ical
le e s ha p omise o os e pla o m adop ion.
Ne e heless, ou s udy is no wi hou limi a ions. E en
hough ou sample con ains selec ed in e iewees who a e
no ac i ely using digi al IFT pla o ms, i only con ains
i ms ha a e amilia wi h he IFT indus y. Mo eo e ,
we ocus on he Ge man IFT ma ke , in which ansac-
ions equen ly in ol e ac o s om mul iple coun ies.
E en hough hese connec ions o o he coun ies acili a e
he ans e abili y o ou indings o coun ies in Wes -
e n Eu ope, o he ma ke s migh exhibi speci ic adop ion
pa e ns and could necessi a e ollow-up esea ch. Fu -
he mo e, ou quali a i e esea ch app oach is sui able o
iden i ying ac o s in luencing pla o m adop ion (RQ1)
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 43 Page 22 o 24
bu no o quan i ying he s eng h o he iden i ied d i -
e s and ba ie s. This s eng h could be ackled sui ably in
a la ge-scale empi ical s udy (e.g., a su ey). Las ly, ou
s udy ocuses on IFT as an exempla y, highly compe i i e
B2B ma ke due o ha d- o-di e en ia e anspo se ices
and he plu ali y o ac o s in ol ed (Wallbach e al., 2019).
These ma ke cha ac e is ics led us o de i e le e s sui -
able o inc easing pla o m adop ion speci ically in he
IFT con ex (RQ2). Howe e , gene alizabili y should be
u he in es iga ed by using he le e s as a s a ing poin
o compa e pla o m adop ion in o he highly compe i i e
B2B o e en B2C ne wo ks.
Gi en he complexi y, he high di ision o labo , and
an inc easing sho age o skilled labo in he IFT indus y,
au oma ion should be an ob ious choice o a wide a ie y
o ac i i ies. Ou s udy shows ha non-physical and easy-
o-au oma e ac i i ies, such as da a exchange and booking
p ocesses, a e p edes ined o au oma ion by digi al pla -
o m p o ide s. In line wi h ecen li e a u e (e.g., Jackson
e al., 2024; Xu e al., 2021), we an icipa e u he au oma-
ion po en ial, which can lowe en y ba ie s o IFT and,
hence, suppo supply chain deca boniza ion: Sou cing and
sales ac i i ies o IFT se ices could be au oma ed h ough
GenAI-based cha bo s. T us be ween IFT ac o s could be
inc eased h ough blockchain-based acking o con aine s,
and physical ansshipmen p ocesses in e minals could be
acili a ed h ough au oma ed da a cap u e based on IoT
senso s, o name a ew po en ial use cases. We encou age
schola s o ocus hei u u e esea ch on how he in eg a-
ion o hese echnologies impac s he ajec o y owa d
highly digi ized and au oma ed supply chains.
Supplemen a y In o ma ion The online e sion con ains supplemen-
a y ma e ial a ailable a h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1007/ s12525- 025- 00780-0.
Funding Open Access unding enabled and o ganized by P ojek
DEAL. The esea ch p ojec (HA-p ojec -no.: 1469/23-23) was unded
by he ede al s a e o Hesse and he HOLM unding as pa o he
measu e “Inno a ions inLogis ics and Mobili y” om he Hessian
Minis y o Economy, Ene gy, T anspo a ion and Housing.
Open Access This a icle is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A i-
bu ion 4.0 In e na ional License, which pe mi s use, sha ing, adap a-
ion, dis ibu ion and ep oduc ion in any medium o o ma , as long
as you gi e app op ia e c edi o he o iginal au ho (s) and he sou ce,
p o ide a link o he C ea i e Commons licence, and indica e i changes
we e made. The images o o he hi d pa y ma e ial in his a icle a e
included in he a icle’s C ea i e Commons licence, unless indica ed
o he wise in a c edi line o he ma e ial. I ma e ial is no included in
he a icle’s C ea i e Commons licence and you in ended use is no
pe mi ed by s a u o y egula ion o exceeds he pe mi ed use, you will
need o ob ain pe mission di ec ly om he copy igh holde . To iew a
copy o his licence, isi h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/.
Re e ences
Åhls öm, P. (2007). P esen ing quali a i e esea ch: Con incing
h ough illus a ing he analysis p ocess. Jou nal o Pu chas-
ing and Supply Managemen , 13(3), 216–218. h ps:// doi. o g/
10. 1016/j. pu sup. 2007. 09. 008
Ajzen, I. (1991). The heo y o planned beha io . O ganiza ional
Beha io and Human Decision P ocesses, 50(2), 179–211.
h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1016/ 0749- 5978(91) 90020-T
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Unde s anding a i udes and p e-
dic ing social beha io . P en ice-Hall.
Ajzen, I., Alba acín, D., & Ho nik, R. (Eds.). (2014). P edic ion
and change o heal h beha io : Applying he easoned ac ion
app oach. Psychology P ess Taylo & F ancis G oup.
Al-Jab i, I. M., & Roz ocki, N. (2015). Adop ion o ERP sys ems:
Does in o ma ion anspa ency ma e ? Telema ics and In o -
ma ics, 32(2), 300–310. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1016/j. ele. 2014. 09.
005
Al un aş Vu al, C., Roso, V., Halldó sson, Á., S åhle, G., & Ya u a, M.
(2020). Can digi aliza ion mi iga e ba ie s o in e modal ans-
po ? An explo a o y s udy. Resea ch in T anspo a ion Business
& Managemen , 37. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1016/j. bm. 2020. 100525
Balsmeie , B., & Woe e , M. (2019). Is his ime di e en ? How digi-
aliza ion in luences job c ea ion and des uc ion. Resea ch Policy,
48(8), 103765. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1016/j. espol. 2019. 03. 010
Ba a , M., Choi, T. Y., & Li, M. (2011). Quali a i e case s udies in
ope a ions managemen : T ends, esea ch ou comes, and u u e
esea ch implica ions. Jou nal o Ope a ions Managemen ,
29(4), 329–342. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1016/j. jom. 2010. 06. 002
Bossong, P., Reinha d , A., & Elbe , R. (2025). Digi al pla o ms
in in e modal eigh anspo : An analysis o eme ging busi-
ness models and hei u u e dynamics. In e na ional Jou nal
o Physical Dis ibu ion & Logis ics Managemen . h ps:// doi.
o g/ 10. 1108/ IJPDLM- 02- 2024- 0072
Buckley, P. J., & S ange, R. (2015). The go e nance o he global
ac o y: Loca ion and con ol o wo ld economic ac i i y. Acad-
emy o Managemen Pe spec i es, 29(2), 237–249. h ps:// doi.
o g/ 10. 5465/ amp. 2013. 0113
Capine i, C., & Leinbach, T. R. (2006). F eigh anspo , seamless-
ness, and compe i i e ad an age in he global economy. Eu o-
pean Jou nal o T anspo and In as uc u e Resea ch. h ps://
doi. o g/ 10. 18757/ ej i . 2006.6. 1. 4321
Ca is, A., Macha is, C., & Janssens, G. K. (2013). Decision suppo
in in e modal anspo : A new esea ch agenda. Compu e s in
Indus y, 64(2), 105–112. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1016/j. compi nd.
2012. 12. 001
Chen, I. J., & Paul aj, A. (2004). Towa ds a heo y o supply chain
managemen : The cons uc s and measu emen s. Jou nal o
Ope a ions Managemen , 22(2), 119–150. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10.
1016/j. jom. 2003. 12. 007
Cichosz, M., Wallenbu g, C. M., & Knemeye , A. M. (2020). Digi-
al ans o ma ion a logis ics se ice p o ide s: Ba ie s, suc-
cess ac o s and leading p ac ices. The In e na ional Jou nal
o Logis ics Managemen , 31(2), 209–238. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10.
1108/ IJLM- 08- 2019- 0229
Coleman, K. (2019). A bei s eilige Au agsabwicklung in de T ans-
po ke e. Sp inge Fachmedien Wiesbaden.
Co bin, J., & S auss, A. (2015). Basics o quali a i e ese ach: Tech-
niques and p ocedu es o de eloping g ounded heo y (4 h).
SAGE Publica ions.
C aighead, C. W., Ke chen, D. J., & Cheng, L. (2016). “Goldilocks”
heo izing in supply chain esea ch: Balancing scien i ic and
p ac ical u ili y ia middle- ange heo y. T anspo a ion Jou nal,
55(3), 241–257. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 5325/ ans po a ionj. 55.3. 0241
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 Page 23 o 24 43
Da is, F. D. (1985). A echnology accep ance model o empi ically
es ing new end-use in o ma ion sys ems: Theo y and esul s.
Massachuse s Ins i u e o Technology.
Da is, F. D. (1989). Pe cei ed use ulness, pe cei ed ease o use,
and use accep ance o in o ma ion echnology. MIS Qua e ly,
13(3), 319. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 2307/ 249008
Des a is. (2024). S a is ische Be ich - Kombinie e Ve keh - 2023.
Re ie ed om h ps:// www. des a is. de/ DE/ Themen/ B anc hen-
U n e nehmen/ T ans po - Ve ke h / Publi ka io nen/ Downl oads- Que s
chni / s a i s isc he - be ic h - kombi nie e - e ke h - 20801 30237 005.
h ml
DX In e modal. (2024). Bene i s - DXI - Da a hub o combined ans-
po . Re ie ed om h ps:// www. dx- in e modal. com/ You - bene
i s
Eisenha d , K. M. (1989a). Agency heo y: An assessmen and e iew.
Academy o Managemen Re iew, 14(1), 57–74. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10.
5465/ am . 1989. 42790 03
Eisenha d , K. M. (1989b). Building heo ies om case s udy esea ch.
Academy o Managemen Re iew, 14(4), 532–550. h ps:// doi. o g/
10. 5465/ am . 1989. 43083 85
Ell am, L. M., Ta e, W. L., & Saunde s, L. W. (2022). A legi imacy
heo y pe spec i e on Scope 3 eigh anspo a ion emissions.
Jou nal o Business Logis ics, 43(4), 472–498. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10.
1111/ jbl. 12299
Eu opean Commission. (2019). The Eu opean G een Deal. Re ie ed
om h ps:// eu - lex. eu opa. eu/ esou ce. h ml? u i= cella : b828d
165- 1c22- 11ea- 8c1 - 01aa7 5ed71 a1. 0002. 02/ DOC_ 1& o ma =
PDF
Eu opean Commission. (2023). EU anspo in igu es: S a is ical
pocke book 2023. Re ie ed om h ps:// op. eu opa. eu/ en/ publi
ca ion- de ai l/-/ publi ca ion/ 493b2 403- 7157- 11ee- 9220- 01aa7
5ed71 a1
Faulin, J., G asman, S. E., Juan, A., & Hi sch, P. (Eds.). (2019). Sus-
ainable anspo a ion and sma logis ics: Decision-making
models and solu ions. Ams e dam, Ox o d, Camb idge, MA:
Else ie .
Fishbein, M. (2010). P edic ing and changing beha io : The easoned
ac ion app oach. Psychology P ess.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belie , a i ude, in en ion and beha -
io : An in oduc ion o heo y and esea ch. Addison-Wesley
se ies in social psychology. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.
Ga cia, F., G abo , B., & Paché, G. (2019). Adop ion mechanisms o a
supplie po al: A case s udy in he Eu opean ae ospace indus y.
Compu e s & Indus ial Enginee ing, 137, 106105. h ps:// doi.
o g/ 10. 1016/j. cie. 2019. 106105
Gibbe , M., Ruig ok, W., & Wicki, B. (2008). Wha passes as a igo -
ous case s udy? S a egic Managemen Jou nal, 29(13), 1465–
1474. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1002/ smj. 722
Glese , M., & Elbe , R. (2024). Combined ail- oad anspo in
Eu ope – A p ac ice-o ien ed esea ch agenda. Resea ch in T ans-
po a ion Business & Managemen , 53, 101101. h ps:// doi. o g/
10. 1016/j. bm. 2024. 101101
Hamad, H., Elbel agi, I., & El-Goha y, H. (2018). An empi ical in es-
iga ion o business- o-business e-comme ce adop ion and i s
impac on SMEs compe i i e ad an age: The case o Egyp ian
manu ac u ing SMEs. S a egic Change, 27(3), 209–229. h ps://
doi. o g/ 10. 1002/ jsc. 2196
Hau , S., Hun gebu h, J., & Vei , D. (2014). Explo ing unce ain ies
in a ma ke place o cloud compu ing: A e ela o y case s udy.
Jou nal o Business Economics, 84(3), 441–468. h ps:// doi. o g/
10. 1007/ s11573- 014- 0719-3
Hein, A., Sch eieck, M., Riasanow, T., Se zke, D. S., Wiesche, M.,
Böhm, M., & K cma , H. (2020). Digi al pla o m ecosys ems.
Elec onic Ma ke s, 30(1), 87–98. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1007/
s12525- 019- 00377-4
Heinbach, C., Beinke, J., Kammle , F., & Thomas, O. (2022). Da a-
d i en o wa ding: A ypology o digi al pla o ms o oad eigh
anspo managemen . Elec onic Ma ke s, 32(2), 807–828.
h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1007/ s12525- 022- 00540-4
He old, D. M., Fahimnia, B., & B ei ba h, T. (2023). The digi al
eigh o wa de and he incumben : A amewo k o examine
dis up i e po en ials o digi al pla o ms. T anspo a ion Resea ch
Pa e: Logis ics and T anspo a ion Re iew, 176, 103214. h ps://
doi. o g/ 10. 1016/j. e. 2023. 103214
Hillme , U. (2009). Exis ing heo ies conside ing echnology adop ion.
In U. Hillme (Ed.), Technology accep ance in mecha onics (pp.
9–28). Gable .
Howa d-Payne, L. (2016). Glase o S auss? Conside a ions o selec -
ing a g ounded heo y s udy. Sou h A ican Jou nal o Psychology,
46(1), 50–62. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1177/ 00812 46315 593071
Jackson, A., Spiegle , V. L. M., & Ko iadis, K. (2024). Explo ing he
po en ial o blockchain-enabled lean au oma ion in supply chain
managemen : A sys ema ic li e a u e e iew, classi ica ion axon-
omy, and u u e esea ch agenda. P oduc ion Planning & Con ol,
35(9), 866–885. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1080/ 09537 287. 2022. 21577 46
Jain, A., an de Heijden, R., Ma chau, V., & B uckmann, D. (2020).
Towa ds ail- oad online exchange pla o ms in EU- eigh ans-
po a ion ma ke s: An analysis o ma ching supply and demand
in mul imodal se ices. Sus ainabili y, 12(24). h ps:// doi. o g/ 10.
3390/ su122 410321
Ka am, A., Jensen, A. J. K., & Hussein, M. (2023). Analysis o he
ba ie s o mul imodal eigh anspo and hei mi iga ion s a e-
gies. Eu opean T anspo Resea ch Re iew, 15(1). h ps:// doi. o g/
10. 1186/ s12544- 023- 00614-0
Kiliba da, M., Pajić, V., & And ejić, M. (2019). Human esou ces in
logis ics and supply chains: Cu en s a e and ends. In e na ional
Jou nal o T a ic and T anspo Enginee ing, 9(3), 270–279.
h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 7708/ ij e. 2019. 9(3). 01
Klumpp, M. (2018). Au oma ion and a i icial in elligence in business
logis ics sys ems: Human eac ions and collabo a ion equi e-
men s. In e na ional Jou nal o Logis ics Resea ch and Applica-
ions, 21(3), 224–242. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1080/ 13675 567. 2017.
13844 51
Kohnke, O. (2017). I ’s no jus abou echnology: The people side o
digi iza ion. In G. Oswald & M. Kleinemeie (Eds.), Shaping he
digi al en e p ise (pp. 69–91). Sp inge In e na ional Publishing.
K ama z, M., P zybylska, E., & Wolny, M. (2022). Reliabili y o he
in e modal anspo ne wo k unde dis up ed condi ions in he
ail eigh anspo . Resea ch in T anspo a ion Business & Man-
agemen , 44, 100686. h ps: // doi. o g/ 10. 1016/j. bm. 2021. 100686
Lippe , S. K., & Go inda ajulu, C. (2006). Technological, o ganiza-
ional, and en i onmen al an eceden s o web se ices adop ion.
Communica ions o he IIMA, 6(1). h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 58729/ 1941-
6687. 1303
Loux, P., Aub y, M., T an, S., & Baudoin, E. (2020). Mul i-sided pla -
o ms in B2B con ex s: The ole o a ilia ion cos s and in e depend-
encies in adop ion decisions. Indus ial Ma ke ing Managemen , 84,
212–223. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1016/j. indma man. 2019. 07. 001
Lysons, K., & Fa ing on, B. (2020). P ocu emen and supply chain
managemen (Ten h edi ion). Pea son.
Lyy inen, K., & Damsgaa d, J. (2001). Wha ’s w ong wi h he di usion
o inno a ion heo y? In M. A. A dis & B. L. Ma colin (Eds.),
IFIP Ad ances in In o ma ion and Communica ion Technology.
Di using So wa e P oduc and P ocess Inno a ions (pp.173–
190). Bos on, MA: Sp inge US.
Ma zi, G., Ma ucci, A., Vianelli, D., & Ciappei, C. (2023). B2B
digi al pla o m adop ion by SMEs and la ge i ms: Pa hways and
pi alls. Indus ial Ma ke ing Managemen , 114, 80–93. h ps://
doi. o g/ 10. 1016/j. indma man. 2023. 08. 002
Massimino, B., G ay, J. V., & Lan, Y. (2018). On he ina en ion o
digi al con iden iali y in ope a ions and supply chain esea ch.
Elec onic Ma ke s (2025) 35:43 43 Page 24 o 24
P oduc ion and Ope a ions Managemen , 27(8), 1492–1515.
h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1111/ poms. 12879
Mello, J. E., Manuj, I., & Flin , D. J. (2021). Le e aging g ounded
heo y in supply chain esea ch: A esea che and e iewe
guide. In e na ional Jou nal o Physical Dis ibu ion & Logis-
ics Managemen , 51(10), 1108–1129. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1108/
IJPDLM- 12- 2020- 0439
Monios, J. (2018). In e modal eigh anspo . In J. Cowie & S. Ison
(Eds.), Rou ledge Handbooks. The ou ledge handbook o ans-
po economics . London, New Yo k: Rou ledge Taylo & F ancis.
Najmul Islam, A., Cen e elli, R., & Benbasa , I. (2020). O ganiza ional
buye s’ assimila ion o B2B pla o ms: E ec s o IT-enabled se -
ice unc ionali y. The Jou nal o S a egic In o ma ion Sys ems,
29(1), 101597. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1016/j. jsis. 2020. 101597
Ni sche, B., S aube, F., & Wi h, M. (2021). Applica ion a eas and
an eceden s o au oma ion in logis ics and supply chain manage-
men : A concep ual amewo k. Supply Chain Fo um: An In e -
na ional Jou nal, 22(3), 223–239. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1080/ 16258
312. 2021. 19341 06
Pa do del Val, M., & Ma ínez Fuen es, C. (2003). Resis ance o
change: A li e a u e e iew and empi ical s udy. Managemen
Decision, 41(2), 148–155. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1108/ 00251 74031
04575 97
Pa ucco, A. S., T abucchi, D., Buganza, T., Muzellec, L., & Ron eau,
S. (2024). Technology-enabled mul i-sided pla o ms in B2B ela-
ionships: A c i ical analysis and di ec ions o u u e esea ch.
Indus ial Ma ke ing Managemen , 122, A2–A11. h ps:// doi. o g/
10. 1016/j. indma man. 2024. 08. 012
Pen inen, E., Halme, M., Lyy inen, K., & Myllynen, N. (2018). Wha
in luences choice o business- o-business connec i i y pla o ms?
In e na ional Jou nal o Elec onic Comme ce, 22(4), 479–509.
h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1080/ 10864 415. 2018. 14850 83
Pe akis, A. N., & Denisis, A. (2008). A su ey o sho sea shipping
and i s p ospec s in he USA. Ma i ime Policy & Managemen ,
35(6), 591–614. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1080/ 03088 83080 24695 01
Plasch, M., P ose , S., Ge schbe ge , M., Ga inge , R., & Schaue , O.
(2021). Why collabo a e in a physical in e ne ne wo k?—Mo i es
and success ac o s. Jou nal o Business Logis ics, 42(1), 120–
143. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1111/ jbl. 12260
Rail-Flow. (2024). In e modal Capaci y B oke . Re ie ed om h ps://
www. ail- low. com/ en/ in e modal- capac i y- b oke - o wa de /
Reis, V., & Macá io, R. (2019). In e modal eigh anspo a ion.
Else ie .
Ridde , H.-G. (2017). The heo y con ibu ion o case s udy esea ch
designs. Business Resea ch, 10(2), 281–305. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10.
1007/ s40685- 017- 0045-z
Roge s, E. M. (2003). Di usion o inno a ions (5 h ed.). F ee P ess.
Rohn, D., Bican, P. M., B em, A., K aus, S., & Clauss, T. (2021).
Digi al pla o m-based business models – An explo a ion o
c i ical success ac o s. Jou nal o Enginee ing and Technology
Managemen , 60, 101625. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1016/j. jeng ecman.
2021. 101625
Sh ee, D., Kuma Singh, R., Paul, J., Hao, A., & Xu, S. (2021). Digi al
pla o ms o business- o-business ma ke s: A sys ema ic e iew
and u u e esea ch agenda. Jou nal o Business Resea ch, 137,
354–365. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1016/j. jbus es. 2021. 08. 031
Small, M. L. (2009). How many cases do I need? E hnog aphy, 10(1),
5–38. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1177/ 14661 38108 099586
Sol ani, E., Ahmed, K., & P., Ying Liao, Y., & U. Anosike, P. (2014).
Quali a i e middle- ange esea ch in ope a ions managemen .
In e na ional Jou nal o Ope a ions & P oduc ion Managemen ,
34(8), 1003–1027. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1108/ IJOPM- 11- 2012- 0486
Tan, W. K. A., & Sunda akani, B. (2021). Assessing Blockchain
Technology applica ion o eigh booking business: A case
s udy om Technology Accep ance Model pe spec i e. Jou nal
o Global Ope a ions and S a egic Sou cing, 14(1), 202–223.
h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1108/ JGOSS- 04- 2020- 0018
Tessmann, R., & Elbe , R. (2022a). A mul ile el, mul i-mode ame-
wo k o s anda diza ion in digi al B2B pla o m eco-sys ems
in in e na ional ca go anspo a ion-A mul iple case s udy.
Elec onic Ma ke s, 32(4), 1843–1875. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1007/
s12525- 022- 00551-1
Tessmann, R., & Elbe , R. (2022b). Mul i-sided pla o ms in compe i i e
B2B ne wo ks wi h a ying go e nmen al in luence - A axonomy
o Po and Ca go Communi y Sys em business models. Elec onic
Ma ke s, 32(2), 829–872. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1007/ s12525- 022- 00529-z
To na zky, L. G., & Fleische , M. (1990). The p ocesses o echno-
logical inno a ion. Issues in o ganiza ion and managemen se ies.
Lexing on Books.
T uschkin, E., Elbe , R., & Gün e , A. (2014). Is anspo sub-
con ac ing a ba ie o modal shi ? Empi ical e idence om
Ge many in he con ex o ho izon al ansshipmen echnolo-
gies. Business Resea ch, 7(1), 77–103. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1007/
s40685- 014- 0004-x
Venka esh, M., & Da is. (2003). Use accep ance o in o ma ion ech-
nology: Towa d a uni ied iew. MIS Qua e ly, 27(3), 425. h ps://
doi. o g/ 10. 2307/ 30036 540
Voss, C., Tsik ik sis, N., & F ohlich, M. (2002). Case esea ch in
ope a ions managemen . In e na ional Jou nal o Ope a ions &
P oduc ion Managemen , 22(2), 195–219. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1108/
01443 57021 04143 29
Wallbach, S., Coleman, K., & Elbe , R. (2018). Fac o s inhibi ing he
adop ion o cloud communi y sys ems in dynamic B2B ne wo ks:
The case o ai ca go. ICIS 2018 P oceedings, 3.
Wallbach, S., Coleman, K., Elbe , R., & Benlian, A. (2019). Mul i-
sided pla o m di usion in compe i i e B2B ne wo ks: Inhibi ing
ac o s and hei impac on ne wo k e ec s. Elec onic Ma ke s,
29(4), 693–710. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1007/ s12525- 019- 00382-7
Woxenius, J., & Bä hel, F. (2008). In e modal oad– ail anspo in
he Eu opean Union. In R. Konings, H. P iemus, & P. Nijkamp
(Eds.), Edwa d Elga E-Book A chi e. The u u e o in e modal
eigh anspo . Ope a ions, design, and policy. Edwa d Elga .
Xu, L., Mak, S., & B in up, A. (2021). Will bo s ake o e he supply
chain? Re isi ing agen -based supply chain au oma ion. In e na-
ional Jou nal o P oduc ion Economics, 241, 108279. h ps:// doi.
o g/ 10. 1016/j. ijpe. 2021. 108279
Yin, R. K. (2014). Case s udy esea ch: Design and me hods (5. ed.).
Applied social esea ch me hods se ies: Vol. 5. Los Angeles: Sage.
Zeng, F., Chan, H. K., & Pawa , K. (2020). The adop ion o open
pla o m o con aine bookings in he ma i ime supply chain.
T anspo a ion Resea ch Pa e: Logis ics and T anspo a ion
Re iew, 141, 102019. h ps:// doi. o g/ 10. 1016/j. e. 2020. 102019
Zeng, F., Chan, H. K., & Pawa , K. (2021). The e ec s o in e - and in ao -
ganiza ional ac o s on he adop ion o elec onic booking sys ems
in he ma i ime supply chain. In e na ional Jou nal o P oduc ion
Economics, 236, 108119. h ps:// doi. o g / 10. 1016/j. ijpe. 2021. 108119
Publishe 's No e Sp inge Na u e emains neu al wi h ega d o
ju isdic ional claims in published maps and ins i u ional a ilia ions.
