Strategic Capabilities Integration for Competitive Advantage: Evidence from Thailand’s Freight Forwarding Industry

Background: Thailand is considered a logistics hub in Southeast Asia where the freight forwarding sector is essential for international trade and economic growth. This study aims to explore the relationships between logistics resources, strategic capabilities, competitive advantage, and organizational performance in Thailand’s freight forwarding sector. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted with 250 management-level respondents from Thai freight forwarding companies. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to examine direct and mediating relationships among constructs. Results: Logistics resources significantly influenced competitive advantage, while strategic capabilities that integrate dynamic capabilities and green supply chain management exerted a stronger effect. Competitive advantage strongly predicted organizational performance, explaining 53.4% of its variance. Mediation analysis confirmed that competitive advantage mediates the effects of both logistics resources and strategic capabilities on organizational performance. Conclusions: Strategic capabilities exert greater impact on competitive advantage than static logistics resources, underscoring that organizational adaptability is more critical than resource possession alone. Freight forwarding firms should prioritize capability development and embed environmental management as a core competency rather than a compliance obligation.