Abstract
Maritime logistics SMEs in developing economies are increasingly exposed to dual sources of disruption: rising trade protectionism and escalating environmental regulation. Protectionist measures, such as fragmented trade agreements, heightened border controls, and unpredictable customs procedures, create operational instability and complicate cross-border logistics planning. At the same time, stringent environmental requirements and carbon-reduction mandates impose new financial, technological, and organizational pressures. SMEs are disproportionately affected due to constrained resources, limited technological capacity, and weaker institutional support compared to larger logistics firms. Despite their importance within regional supply chains, limited empirical evidence explains how these firms navigate the simultaneous challenges of trade and environmental disruption.
This study investigates how maritime logistics SMEs adapt practices, partnerships, and resource strategies under these intersecting pressures. Guided by Resource Orchestration Theory, the research examines how firms structure, bundle, and leverage scarce tangible and intangible resources to sustain competitiveness in uncertain institutional environments. A qualitative multiple-case study was conducted using 32 semi-structured interviews with SME managers, port authorities, logistics clients, and regulators across several developing-country contexts, complemented by field observations and document analysis.
Findings reveal adaptive responses centred on resource improvisation, relational coordination, and pragmatic environmental compliance. SMEs pursue incremental eco-innovation, including digital customs solutions, low-impact packaging, and cooperative feeder services. Relational strategies involve alliances with port actors, collaboration within SME networks, and use of informal ties to share capabilities and mitigate risk. Where full compliance is unattainable, firms adopt selective or phased environmental measures. Improvisational resource bundling and adaptive partnering are the two mechanism that underpin these strategies, shaped by local governance, infrastructure quality, and regulatory enforcement. The study highlights the importance of relational capital and creative resource use in building resilience and calls for policy frameworks that align environmental goals with SMEs’ contextual realities.