Matching logistics capabilities to environmental turbulence: A hybrid Fuzzy CRITIC–TAOV based method

Environmental turbulence, which reflects the degree of complexity, volatility, and unpredictability of the external environment, impacts the performance of logistics service providers (LSPs) and has become vital for LSPs in recent years. Managers depend on logistics capabilities to hedge themselves against environmental turbulence. However, most managers are unaware of the relationship between logistics capabilities and different types of environmental turbulence. This study examines the association between logistics capabilities and environmental turbulence (market, competitive, technological, and regulatory) by adopting a hybrid Fuzzy CRITIC & Fuzzy TAOV method, a Multiple Criteria Decision Making setting. Analysis revealed that technological turbulence has the highest objective weight, followed by competitive, market, and regulatory turbulences. The most desired capabilities are flexibility and agility, followed by resilience, responsiveness, sustainability, robustness, and visibility in order to weather the storm of general environmental turbulence. More specifically, flexibility is essential for managing market turbulence. In response to competitive and regulatory volatility, managers must prioritize agility, while technological turbulence necessitates visibility. The proposed framework guides logistics managers in making strategic decisions regarding the relationship between logistics capabilities and environmental turbulence, and it qualifies as the first endeavor to examine the prominence of logistics capabilities with environmental turbulence.