Towards the development of a holistic planning framework for a Logistics City-Cluster: a multinational modified Delphi study

Macroeconomic competition between regions and countries has intensified dramatically\ud in recent years, and as a result, selection of a favourable location and organisation of a\ud logistics node plays an important role in determining a region’s ability to participate in\ud emergent globalisation opportunities. Global connectivity of an area and its related\ud industries, together with their ability to retain and further develop a ‘competitive\ud advantage’, requires a significant review of the way in which a region interfaces with\ud the rest of the world.\ud The Logistics City-Cluster concept, which is one of the latest manifestations of a\ud logistics node, is believed to be a suitable strategy to address these changes.\ud However, whilst the Logistics City-Cluster is accepted by industry as a viable and\ud unique concept, the nature of composition, characteristics and impact is still\ud fragmented and very limited. The continued growth of this new strategy has made it\ud imperative to develop a coherent knowledge base, ensuring future orderly\ud development. Hence, this research was twofold: first, it sought to contribute to the\ud theoretical knowledge of the common enabling elements of a Logistics City-Cluster and\ud of their core influential factors; and secondly to explore the underlying assumptions that\ud sustainable regional growth can be provided by such a concept