Posicionamento competitivo no comércio exterior: uma análise sob a perspectiva do desempenho logístico

Abstract

The present research had as general objective to evaluate how the logistic performance influences the competitive positioning of countries in foreign trade. First, we sought to verify how political stability and costs in the provision of services impact logistics performance and whether it interfered with the economic and socio-cultural factors of the countries studied. Ahead sought to identify the influence of technological factors on logistics performance when it was used to assess the competitive advantage of the countries under study. Finally, countries' logistical efficiency was assessed considering institutional and structural aspects, as well as creating scores that represent the weight of each indicator of the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) in this efficiency. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM-PLS) was used to analyze how political stability and costs in service delivery impact logistics performance and whether it interferes with countries' economic and socio-cultural factors. SEM-PLS was also used to analyze the influence of technological factors on logistics performance when applied to the assessment of countries' competitive advantage, with a sample of 132 countries in cross-section in the country / year criterion. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to measure logistical efficiency, while for the creation of scores, multivariate statistics were used with the discriminant analysis to elucidate which indicators best discriminate the groups of countries that are more and less efficient in terms of logistics. The results indicate that political stability and costs in the provision of services directly interfere in the countries' logistical performance, in addition to institutional factors impacting economic and socio-cultural factors and interfering in the performance of logistics service providers. The proposed model also made it possible to verify that the good performance of the logistics service providers contributes to an improvement in the economic and socio-cultural factors of the countries. Technological and innovative factors are indispensable in understanding the competitive advantage of countries and in their logistical performance, whether directly or indirectly through mediation, in addition to political regulations directly impacting technological factors and performance in the provision of logistical services. The levels of logistical efficiency grouped the countries in the lower, median and upper efficiency ranges, where 28 were classified as having high efficiency, 26 countries with medium efficiency and 45 countries classified as having lower efficiency. The LPI indicators that most impact logistics performance were Customs, Infrastructure and International Shipments, being the most significant indicators in the search for maximum logistical efficiency in the countries. It is concluded in this way that the logistical performance influences the factors that determine the competitive position of the countries in foreign trade, in which the importance and the connection of institutional factors with the logistics of the countries was proved, presenting a contribution of great relevance to the area. in study.