Call for Papers

Transportation Research Part E Special Issue on Platforms for Logistics and Supply Chain Operations

Guest editors:

1) Wei Gu, School of Economics and Management, University of Science & Technology Beijing.

Email:guwei@ustb.edu.cn

2) Meng Li, Bauer College of Business, University of Houston. (Corresponding guest editor)

Email:mli@bauer.uh.edu

3) Suresh P Sethi, Naveen Jindal School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas.

Email:sethi@utdallas.edu

4) Shichen Zhang, Business School, Nankai University.

Email:sczhang@tju.edu.cn

5) Ting Zhang, School of Management, Shanghai University.

Email:tcheung@shu.edu.cn

ManuscriptSubmission deadline: June 30th, 2022

In the digital economy, platforms are transforming industries at high speed. Airbnb, Uber, Alibaba, Facebook, Amazon, YouTube, eBay, Apple, Google, Instagram are just some examples from a list of disruptive platforms. Each is unique and focused on a distinctive industry and market, and each has harnessed the power of the platform to transform a swath of the global economy. Platforms are beginning to transform a range of economic and social arenas, from business and education to health care and government. In fact, the list of fastest-growing global brands is increasingly dominated by platform businesses. The rise of the platform has already transformed many major industries—and more, equally important transformations are on the way. Undoubtedly, human society is undergoing a platform revolution, and the world has entered an era of platformization. Consequently, how to effectively operate the platform to create value for logistics and supply chain management (LSCM) is the key problem for enterprises.

Special issue information:

In LSCM, a platform is a business system which supports value-creating interactions between external producers and consumers. A common purpose of platform operations is to maximize the overall value of the whole logistics and supply chain system, which may involve circular and feedback-driven processes. Thus, platform operations are more than just a matter of platform operators, but also closely related to all involved stakeholders and systems members. Platforms invert companies, blurring business boundaries and transforming firms’traditional inward focus into an outward focus. Nowadays, many platforms operate in a two-side market with network effects. The economic activities and behaviors of platform users have impacts on platform operations. From the operations perspective, we should consider not only symbiosis and competition among supply chain systems members (with a goal to maintain the diversity and balance of the platform ecosystem), but also trigger the co-evolution mechanism of members to jointly promote the sustainable development of the platform ecosystem.

Call for submissions:

This special issue aims to attract submissions that examine operational problems and explore solutions in platform operations, with a focal point on LSCM problems. All submissions must have clear managerial contributions, must be built on rigorous research method and methodological tradition that serves as an appropriate framework to analyze problems: analytical modeling, econometric analysis, experimental, behavioral theories, data-driven optimization, big data, bag of words, data mining, etc. Note that pure qualitative case studies are out of scope. Review papers will only be acceptable upon invitation by the guest editors and approved by the editor-in-chief.

To fit the mission of the special issue, the papers should have a solid practical foundation and fit one or more of the following categories:

• Analytical: Papers well-grounded in frameworks that capture defining characteristics of platform settings for LSCM.

• Empirical: Papers that use public data, proprietary data or experiments to test new theories related to platforms for LSCM.

• Multimethod: Papers that combine different methods, such as case studies, interviews, etc., for triangulation purposes. However, there must be scientific analyses which are based on mathematics and/or statistical tests.

Areas of focus include but are not limited to the following:

• Platform construction for LSCM: principles for designing a successful platform to build a harmonious environment for platform users and service providers;

• Platform user behavior analysis for LSCM;

• The effects of social factor on platform operations in supply chains and logistics systems;

• Planning of platform activities: appropriate marketing strategies for attracting users in LSCM;

• Opportunities and challenges of using platforms for LSCM: the strategies for platforms conquer and transform traditional industries, and the impacts on economic activities and consumers;

• Regulations and competition of platforms with applications in LSCM;

• Pricing and revenue management using platforms in supply chains;

• Process design and digitalization with platforms for LSCM;

• Multi-channel platform operations for supply chains;

• Risk management for LSCM with the use of platforms;

• Platform operations under COVIP-19 pandemic;

• Interfaces with transportation, logistics, industrial engineering, etc.

Manuscript submission information:

Submission deadline: June 30th, 2022

Submission process and papers must adhere to the normal author guidelines of Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, which can be found at: https://www.elsevier.com/journals/transportation-research-part-e-logistics-and-transportation-review/1366-5545/guide-for-authors

Submitted articles must not have been previously published or currently submitted for journal publication elsewhere. Please follow the submission guidelines which can be found from the journal websit:https://www.editorialmanager.com/tre/default1.aspx

All submissions to the Special section should be submitted via theTransportation Research Part Eonline submission system.

When you submit your paper to the Special section, please choose article type “Platform Operations"

Otherwise your submission will be handled as a regular manuscript.

Papers submitted to the Special section will be subjected to normal thorough double-blind review process.

Learn more about the benefits of publishing in a special issue: https://www.elsevier.com/authors/submit-your-paper/special-issues

Interested in becoming a guest editor? Discover the benefits of guest editing a special issue and the valuable contribution that you can make to your field: https://www.elsevier.com/editors/role-of-an-editor/guest-editors