Economic or relational first? Establishing the competitiveness of third-party logistics information sharing by devoting specific assets and mutual trust

Third-party logistics (3PL) information sharing has been widely acknowledged as a critical mechanism for integrating user and provider firms. However, it is not known what the different roles of operational and strategic information sharing are and the types of economic and relational investments required. This study empirically examines the effects of specific assets of providers and users and mutual trust on operational and strategic information sharing and financial performance. We used survey data from 247 3PL user firms to examine the conceptual model. The results show that strategic information sharing increases financial performance, but operational information sharing does not. Users’ specific assets do not directly stimulate either type of information sharing, while providers’ specific assets increase strategic information sharing and bridge the relationship between users’ specific assets and operational and strategic information sharing. Mutual trust directly increases operational and strategic information sharing and plays an intermediate role in the relationship between specific assets and information sharing. Our study provides a comprehensive understanding of 3PL information sharing and practical guidelines for deploying economic and relational investments for 3PL service improvements in emerging markets.