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

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.