An empirical research on the determinants of driver-partners' participative behaviour in crowd logistics: from a motivation theory perspective

Abstract

Purpose

Crowd logistics is a rising phenomenon in last-mile delivery that integrates technological applications and sources a large number of participants to do logistical activities, achieving sustainable shipping in urban environments. However, up until now, there has been limited literature in this field. This research aims to investigate the extrinsic and intrinsic factors that impact the participative behaviour of driver-partners in crowd logistics.

Design/methodology/approach

An integrated model is developed based on motivation theory, incorporating attitude as a contributor to both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations. A questionnaire was constructed and distributed to collect data from 303 respondents who are existing or potential driver-partners in Vietnam.

Findings

Our findings confirm (1) the influence of monetary rewards on extrinsic motivation and (2) the power of self-efficacy, trust and sense of belonging on intrinsic motivation. Further, we find that attitude positively impacts extrinsic motivation, whereas there is no effect between attitude and intrinsic motivation. Both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are demonstrated to significantly influence driver-partners' participative intentions. Additionally, a positive association is found between extrinsic and intrinsic motivations.

Originality/value

Findings from this study theoretically enrich the literature on crowd logistics, especially on the supply side, and empirically contribute to implications that are valuable to crowd logistics firms on driver-partner recruitment and business strategy development.

Citation

Nguyen, C.T., Yuen, K.F., Kim, T.Y. and Wang, X. (2024), "An empirical research on the determinants of driver-partners' participative behaviour in crowd logistics: from a motivation theory perspective", The International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 35 No. 2, pp. 601-622. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-12-2022-0496