Business relationships in humanitarian logistics : a case study of the WASH-kit network
Master thesis

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Date
2015-08-07Metadata
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- Master of Science [1822]
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to describe and explore how business
relationships impact humanitarian logistics. We will achieve this by looking at
general theories on humanitarian logistics and business relationships and applying
them to a particular international humanitarian assistance network. We wish to
explore the relationships between a facilitator (Norwegian Emergency
Preparedness System, NOREPS), a customer (Norwegian Church Aid, NCA) and
a supplier (Lunner Produkter, LUPRO) and find the key success factors and
drivers for business relationships and their exploitation for providing the best
possible product for humanitarian purposes.
Design/methodology/approach: We will use theory from humanitarian logistics
to highlight the challenges in the industry overall. We will then apply theory on
business relationships from the industrial networks approach, as well as new
product development and supply chain literature to develop a conceptual
framework. We will apply a qualitative approach with an exploratory design of a
case study, conducting a focus group and an interview analysis.
Subject: Business relationships in humanitarian logistics, with focus on a
particular network, namely the network of supplying WASH-kits to disaster areas.
Exploring the key success factors and drivers of business relationships.
Originality/value: The study contributes to increased awareness of the business
relationships that occur in humanitarian logistics. In particular we emphasize the
importance of exploiting business relationships as a valuable resource in order to
provide the best possible humanitarian products. We also highlight how actor
coordination challenges in the response phase are likely to be affected by business
relationships are utilized in the preparedness phase. As the thesis is written in
cooperation with NOREPS, the focus is on a particular network, namely the
network of supplying WASH-kits, rather than a general view.
Description
Masteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Business, Economics - Handelshøyskolen BI, 2015