Toward Greening City Logistics: A Systematic Review on Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility in Managing Urban Distribution Centers

<i>Background:</i> The ramifications of climate change are rampant: All stakeholders must act effectively and swiftly. Unsustainable and increased urbanization adds additional strain on combatting environmental degradation. Since the last decade, urban distribution centers (UDCs) have em...

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Main Authors: Bahareh Mansouri, Subhasmita Sahu, M. Ali Ülkü
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-03-01
Series:Logistics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6290/7/1/19
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author Bahareh Mansouri
Subhasmita Sahu
M. Ali Ülkü
author_facet Bahareh Mansouri
Subhasmita Sahu
M. Ali Ülkü
author_sort Bahareh Mansouri
collection DOAJ
description <i>Background:</i> The ramifications of climate change are rampant: All stakeholders must act effectively and swiftly. Unsustainable and increased urbanization adds additional strain on combatting environmental degradation. Since the last decade, urban distribution centers (UDCs) have emerged in response to the steep rise in urban freight transportation and its negative impact on city congestion and air quality. <i>Methods:</i> In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive review of the performance of UDCs and investigate its alignment with the corporate governance (CG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, including the shareholders’ governance strategies and policies, as well as environmental, social, and economic measures. Our systematic literature review consists of multiple phases: In the first one, we utilize bibliometric tools to implement a quantitative analysis of the extant literature. Next, a cluster-based network analysis complements this analysis to describe the evolution of research in this area. <i>Results</i>: Our descriptive analysis categorizes existing research on UDCs based on CG- and CSR-compliant themes. We classify pertinent peer-reviewed articles into topical clusters and offer research opportunities related to improving the performance of UDCs. <i>Conclusions:</i> This study aims to stimulate further scholarly inquiry into sustainable city logistics and provides a knowledge-based guide for academicians and practitioners, logistics service providers, policymakers, and customers.
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spelling doaj-art-7c2ec1b6c8d4433fa8f8d00a9f7b7abe2025-08-20T03:14:58ZengMDPI AGLogistics2305-62902023-03-01711910.3390/logistics7010019Toward Greening City Logistics: A Systematic Review on Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility in Managing Urban Distribution CentersBahareh Mansouri0Subhasmita Sahu1M. Ali Ülkü2Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS B3H 3C2, CanadaSobey School of Business, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS B3H 3C2, CanadaCRSSCA-Centre for Research in Sustainable Supply Chain Analytics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada<i>Background:</i> The ramifications of climate change are rampant: All stakeholders must act effectively and swiftly. Unsustainable and increased urbanization adds additional strain on combatting environmental degradation. Since the last decade, urban distribution centers (UDCs) have emerged in response to the steep rise in urban freight transportation and its negative impact on city congestion and air quality. <i>Methods:</i> In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive review of the performance of UDCs and investigate its alignment with the corporate governance (CG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, including the shareholders’ governance strategies and policies, as well as environmental, social, and economic measures. Our systematic literature review consists of multiple phases: In the first one, we utilize bibliometric tools to implement a quantitative analysis of the extant literature. Next, a cluster-based network analysis complements this analysis to describe the evolution of research in this area. <i>Results</i>: Our descriptive analysis categorizes existing research on UDCs based on CG- and CSR-compliant themes. We classify pertinent peer-reviewed articles into topical clusters and offer research opportunities related to improving the performance of UDCs. <i>Conclusions:</i> This study aims to stimulate further scholarly inquiry into sustainable city logistics and provides a knowledge-based guide for academicians and practitioners, logistics service providers, policymakers, and customers.https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6290/7/1/19logistics servicesustainabilityfreight transportationurban distribution centerconsolidationlast-mile delivery
spellingShingle Bahareh Mansouri
Subhasmita Sahu
M. Ali Ülkü
Toward Greening City Logistics: A Systematic Review on Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility in Managing Urban Distribution Centers
Logistics
logistics service
sustainability
freight transportation
urban distribution center
consolidation
last-mile delivery
title Toward Greening City Logistics: A Systematic Review on Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility in Managing Urban Distribution Centers
title_full Toward Greening City Logistics: A Systematic Review on Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility in Managing Urban Distribution Centers
title_fullStr Toward Greening City Logistics: A Systematic Review on Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility in Managing Urban Distribution Centers
title_full_unstemmed Toward Greening City Logistics: A Systematic Review on Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility in Managing Urban Distribution Centers
title_short Toward Greening City Logistics: A Systematic Review on Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility in Managing Urban Distribution Centers
title_sort toward greening city logistics a systematic review on corporate governance and social responsibility in managing urban distribution centers
topic logistics service
sustainability
freight transportation
urban distribution center
consolidation
last-mile delivery
url https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6290/7/1/19
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