Greening logistics outsourcing: Reasons, actions and influencing factors

This paper explores the environmental practices carried out in the transport and logistics industry. The study assumes the third-party logistics (3PLs) provides perspective and it examines reasons, green initiatives and factors affecting such initiatives. The research involved a case study analysis conducted on 31 Italian 3PLs. The approach used assumes that green initiatives implemented by 3PLs depend from different reasons. Accordingly, three clusters of companies characterised by different environmental sensitivity were identified. The results indicate that each of the three clusters is characterised by different environmental sensitivity, significant differences about the adoption of green initiatives and different influencing factors. The study findings allow to draw a number of managerial recommendations for improving the environmental sustainability of logistics outsourcing and potential future research avenues.