The effect of the disaster context on international humanitarian logistics: An empirical assessment

Abstract

Evidence on the response of international humanitarian organizations in different disasters is anecdotal. For example, the response in very large natural disasters like the Haiti earthquake in 2010 is described as especially inefficient and ineffective. In this study, we provide quantitative empirical evidence on the effect of different disaster contexts on humanitarian operations. We differentiate the disaster context by its type, i.e. conflicts, natural disasters or epidemics, the disaster size and its development over time. We study the effect on the decisions taken by humanitarian actors in international logistics, e.g. the choice of transport mode, as well as external effects on the transport cost efficiency and response time effectiveness. For that purpose, we empirically analyze the international transportation of a leading humanitarian organization to 32 recipient countries that experience varying disaster contexts over a period of eight years.

Biography

Caspar Höyng is a PhD candidate in the field of humanitarian operations and supply chain management under the supervision of Maria Besiou (KLU) and Walid Klibi (KEDGE BS). Prior to joining the KLU, Caspar received a M.Sc. of Supply Chain Management and the CEMS Master in International Management from the University of Cologne. Caspar’s research focuses on the specific supply chain challenges that globally operating humanitarian organizations face.