A Holistic Managerial and Organizational Perspective on Road Freight Transport in the Knowledge-Based Economy

Road freight transport is, by far, the most used means of transportation all around the world, connecting locations through highly developed infrastructure and increased adaptability. Its popularity, along with the characteristics of the industry, such as low cost of entering the market and low cost of substitutes, have facilitated an intense rivalry between organizations. Therefore, differentiation through quality remains one of the most viable strategies. Even if organizational theory and management studies have developed models of how organizations operate, the particularities of organizations operating in the selected field have not been taken into account. Thus, an academic gap is noted regarding the study of road freight transport organizations, the environment and the way they operate. To attain the purpose of this paper, explicitly, a holistic analysis focused on how road freight transport organizations function and, at the same time, adapt to continuous change, one medium-sized road freight transport organization has been chosen as the object of the study. Upon closely observing how the organization carries out its main processes, three fundamental frameworks for strategic business analysis are used: SWOT, Porter’s Five Forces and PESTLE, so that both the internal and the external environment are deeply understood. With intense rivalry, low substitution costs, low entry barriers, low bargaining power of suppliers and low service differentiation, it is clear that adhering to quality management practices would be a wise strategic decision for such organizations. Taking into consideration the need to quickly and constantly adapt to changes required by the external environment, flexibility represents an asset, not only a requirement. This paper aims to fulfil the identified literature gap and provide clear insights into how road freight transport organizations successfully operate in a market characterised by fierce competition and continuous change.