Competitiveness Improvement of Indonesian Logistics Service Providers a Conceptual Model and Future Research Framework

Competitiveness has been a serious problem for Indonesia logistics service providers (LSP) particularly in the context of ASEAN Economic Community in 2015. Conceptually, some previous researches showed that the competitiveness could be improved through innovative capabilities and performance improvement. Nevertheless, these researches related only two of the three variables, namely between innovative capabilities and performance, innovative capabilities and competitiveness, and performance and competitiveness. These researches did not explain that the performance can be a mediator (intervening) variable for relationship between innovative capabilities and competitiveness (relationships of three variables). Based on the gap, this research aimed to develop the conceptual model, hypothesis and its dimensions for the future research. By using explanatory research design, a conceptual model of competitiveness improvement, hypothesis, and its dimensions were developed to be verified in the future research. The dimensions of the three variables included financial strength, customer value, technology/skills, shareholder value (competitiveness); profitability and growth (performance); sensing capability, combination capability, and relational capability (innovative capabilities).