Exploring managerial perceptions on sustainability and the use of ICT for sustainable road freight transport.

Abstract

This thesis advances on the road freight transport literature to explore Information and Communications Technology (ICT) use for sustainability performance in road freight transportation. It examines managerial perceptions of sustainability and ICT use practices in the Nigerian petroleum downstream industry, adopting a multi-theory perspective to explain the use of ICT as an intervention mechanism for meeting triple bottom line (3BL) sustainability objectives. Qualitative strategies are employed to design and implement the research inquiry, in line with the moderate constructionist philosophy that identifies with shared community knowledge. A multiple case study design is used to collect data from 13 polar cases using a triangulated approach that included 32 semi-structured interviews, observations and archival documents. Content and thematic analysis of the data was supported by NVivo11 software to establish results. Research findings affirm the predominant constructs of sustainability within the literature; however, they also highlight divergence in the concentration of performance across the different sustainability dimensions. Emphasising the role of contextual perceptions, the findings also establish integration of the resource based theory (RBV) and the relational corporate social responsibility (RCSR) theories as an adequate theoretical framework for explaining management’s use of ICT to aid 3BL sustainability performance in road freight transportation. Besides the conduct of a systematic literature review, the research findings contribute to the academic discourse on sustainability hierarchies by empirically demonstrating links between business contexts, managerial perceptions and sustainability focus. Additionally, they address theory gaps in the literature, contributing to the application of strategic management theories road freight transport research. From a practice perspective, the findings establish training and awareness gaps and this supports the development of the Downstream Road Freight Transport Sustainability Assessment Tool (DRoFTSAT); a self-assessment tool to aid managers in the planning, implementation and evaluation of ICT uses for sustainability