The road to synchromodality - an exploratory study of drivers, facilitators, barriers, and components

This paper augments current knowledge about synchromodality by investigating the factors that underpin the implementation of this logistical paradigm in an effort to inform managerial practice and public policy. Employing a conceptual model of drivers, facilitators, barriers, and managerial actions, we conducted a qualitative study with European experts on synchromodality. We identified drivers, such as complexity reduction or more efficient inventory management, and contextual characteristics (facilitators and barriers) that enable or hinder synchromodality, such as operational flexibility or resistance to change. Regarding managerial actions (components), we find that data governance and interfirm trust issues are salient aspects for sustaining synchromodality. Furthermore, we specified how policymakers can influence the necessary conditions and the health of partnerships for synchromodality implementation. The paper contributes to the existing logistics literature by studying synchromodality implementation issues beyond the optimisation frameworks examined by analytical models and beyond the technological focus of extant empirical studies.