E-commerce packaging as an embedded resource in three network settings

ABSTRACT Packaging in e-commerce distribution receives attention from many perspectives, often in relation to sustainability and efficiency. This attention may concern the use of packaging material or the mismatch between parcel size and the products to be shipped. From a retailer’s or third-party logistics provider’s perspective, the attention includes costs related to packaging material and packing. Distribution has evolved over time and well-established settings of interconnected and embedded resources provide complexity in terms of opportunities for change. This paper investigates this embeddedness in terms of analysing e-commerce packaging as a resource interfacing with other resources such as products (including product packaging) in three network settings; the product development setting, the packing setting, and the sorting setting. The paper shows how the embeddedness of e-commerce packaging makes efforts to change a complicated matter due to the complex set of resource interdependencies. The study highlights why some network settings may be given more attention by firms involved in retail distribution, and others less. Furthermore, the study shows that although much attention is given to adjust the packing setting, it is important to understand the history of this setting and how adaptations of other settings, such as the product development and sorting setting, entail opportunities for change.