Does the Sharing Economy Technology Disrupt Incumbents? Exploring the Influences of Mobile Digital Freight Matching Platforms on Road Freight Logistics Firms

Zenan Zhou and Xiang Wan

Production and Operations Management, 2022, vol. 31, issue 1, 117-137

Abstract: In this paper, we study the disruptive power of the mobile digital sharing economy to the road freight logistics industry. New information technologies, such as the mobile internet, mobile payment methods, and GPS, have enabled platforms to match freight shippers’ demand with carriers’ supply by utilizing the convenience and mobility of smartphones. We empirically study the influence of the emergence of mobile digital freight matching platforms in the U.S. on the profitability and stock performance of two types of incumbent road freight logistics companies: freight arrangement companies (freight forwarders and brokers) and trucking companies (freight carriers). Since the mobile digital freight matching platforms mainly match small and mid‐sized trucking companies with shipping demand, we expect the platforms to introduce interference (direct) competition to traditional freight arrangement companies and exploitation (indirect) competition to large trucking companies, which potentially raises operational challenges for both types of incumbents. We use Difference‐in‐Differences (DID) analyses to study the incumbents’ profitability and the event study method to evaluate their stock performance. We find that after the advent of the mobile digital freight matching platforms in the U.S., the profitability of the traditional freight arrangement companies counter‐intuitively remained unchanged. In contrast, the profitability of the large trucking companies increased. Furthermore, we examine the changes in sales and costs behind these profitability changes. Our dynamic analyses suggest a time lag of the influence of the mobile digital freight matching platforms. Besides, we find that the stock value of the traditional freight arrangement companies received a significant negative shock, whereas the stock value of the large trucking companies showed no significant reaction. This study contributes to understanding the disruptive power of an emerging technology innovation of sharing economy to firm performances in an increasingly competitive and innovative business environment.

Date: 2022
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