Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how modularity is used for enabling value creation in managing healthcare logistics services. Design/methodology/approach Material logistics of four different kinds of hospitals is examined through a qualitative case study. The theoretical framework builds on the literature on healthcare logistics, service modularity and value creation. Findings The case hospitals have developed their material logistics independently from others when looking at the modularity of offerings, processes and organisations. Services, such as assortment management, shelving and developing an information platform, have been performed in-house partly by the care personnel, but steps towards modularised and standardised solutions are now being taken in the case hospitals, including ideas about outsourcing some of the services. Research limitations/implications This paper proposes seven modularity components for healthcare logistics management: segmentation, categorisation and unitisation of offerings, differentiation and decoupling of processes, and centralisation and specialisation of organisations. Thus, this study clarifies the three-dimensional concept of modularity as a cognitive frame for managing logistics services with heterogeneous customer needs in a rapidly changing healthcare environment. Practical implications Modularity offers a tool for developing logistics services inside the hospital and increases possibilities to consider also external logistics service providers. Social implications Managing healthcare logistics services through modularity has potential social implications in developing healthcare processes and changing the usage of health services. On a wider scale, modularity is helping healthcare systems reaching their goals in terms of service quality and cost. Originality/value This paper shows the context-specific antecedents of service modularity and the usage of modular thinking in managing healthcare logistics.

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This study aims to answer how rational task allocation between the nursing staff and the support service provider in the healthcare context can increase the positive outcome of the work system. The work system model is used as a theoretical framework, with resilience and cost as complementary concepts. This qualitative case study used action research and participatory design to develop the work system with the interplay of two parallel personnel groups in the healthcare environment. First, the case of an ongoing relationship between the target organization's nursing staff and in‐house logistics and material supply services was studied. The development process resulted in a variety of practical ideas to improve the cooperation between the personnel groups. In the second case, a prospective relationship between the nursing staff and an external logistics service provider was examined. This research's conceptual results identify the main characteristics of rational support services as comprehensive, resilient, reliable, and easily accessible.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the dynamics of value co-creation in the context of health care logistics by focusing on the change in the value creation spheres of a logistics service provider and its customer organization. Design/methodology/approach The development of value co-creation between the two organizations was researched through a qualitative case study that focuses on a situation wherein the hospital’s central warehouse was moved to a more distant location. Data consist of the interviews and focus group discussions of both nursing staff and logistics managers before and after the change. The empirical results are reflected to service and value co-creation literature as well as to existing knowledge about health care logistics. Findings The new situation compelled the counterparts to plan more structured logistics service procedures, as there was no longer any possibility for nursing staff to pick up urgently needed items from the central warehouse. This strengthened the role of the joint value creation sphere and made it more visible during the change. Research limitations/implications The study contributes to the evolving research on health care logistics and connects it to timely service value discussion. This paper proposes that as the physical distance of service facilities increases, the joint co-creation sphere, interestingly, gets widened during the change. Practical implications Managerially, the study provides implications for how to develop health-care material logistics to provide more value for both the logistics service providers and their customers. Social implications Understanding value co-creation in health care logistics services supports care organizations in developing their processes toward better care for the patients. Thus, health care logistics research facilitates societies and health-care systems to reach their goals in terms of better service and lower costs. Originality/value This study presents an up-to-date example of value co-creation in the scarcely researched context of health care logistics.

PurposeThis research examines what motivates professional truck drivers to engage in eco-driving by linking their self-reports with objective driving scores.Design/methodology/approachTheory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is illustrated in an embedded, single-case study of a Finnish carrier with 17 of its truck drivers. Data are obtained through in-depth interviews with drivers, their fuel-efficiency scores generated by fleet telematics and a focus group session with the management.FindingsDiscrepancies between drivers’ intentions and eco-driving behaviors are illustrated in a two-by-two matrix that classifies drivers into four categories: ideal eco-drivers, wildcards, wannabes and non-eco-drivers. Attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are examined for drivers within each category, revealing that drivers’ perceptions did not always align with the reality of their driving.Research limitations/implicationsThis study strengthens the utility of TPB through data triangulation while also revealing the theory’s inherent limitations in elucidating the underlying causes of its three antecedents and their impact on the variance in driving behaviors.Practical implicationsManagerial insights are offered to fleet managers and eco-driving solution providers to stipulate the right conditions for drivers to enhance fuel-efficiency outcomes of transport fleets.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies to give a voice to professional truck drivers about their daily eco-driving practice.