Purpose:

Floods are among the most disruptive hazards globally, with rising intensity and unpredictability generating complex humanitarian demands. These pressures are magnified in rapidly urbanising environments, where dense populations and infrastructure constraints increase exposure while complicating emergency logistics. Urban expansion is occurring alongside demographic ageing, developing countries, creating a convergence that heightens the risk of isolation during emergencies and intensifies demands on evacuation, relief distribution, and coordination systems.

While disaster operations often prioritise rapid mobilisation and material distribution, logistics effectiveness also depends on the availability of accessible last-mile delivery for diverse beneficiary groups. Evidence indicates that older adults face persistent barriers in evacuation, shelter access, and relief utilisation due to mobility limitations, chronic health needs, and communication constraints (Phraknoi et al., 2023). As populations age, senior citizens constitute an increasing share of those affected by disasters, and their interactions with evacuation routes, distribution systems, and recovery services demonstrate how beneficiary diversity directly shapes logistics performance.

Vietnam offers a critical setting in which these dynamics intersect: it is both highly flood-prone and rapidly urbanising, with large populations concentrated in low-lying delta and coastal cities. This combination of contexts places sustained pressure on disaster response systems and highlights the need for humanitarian logistics (HL) to exert continuous and sustained pressure on disaster response infrastructure and systems, which underscores and highlights the importance of HL that can deliver timely and equitable aid under volatile conditions.

HL theory conceptualises disaster response as a coordinated system of resource allocation, prioritisation, and last-mile delivery under uncertainty (Kovács and Spens, 2007). Yet prevailing models frequently assume uniform beneficiary capacity, potentially obscuring access disparities (Phraknoi et al., 2023). This paper examines how HL systems can better accommodate seniors’ needs during flood response by integrating the lived experiences of older adults with institutional perspectives from government and non-governmental actors. In addition, this study evaluates how inclusive operational adjustments enhance accessibility, coordination, and service continuity without compromising efficiency, positioning demographic responsiveness as a functional dimension of logistics performance and contributing to broader discussions on adaptive and inclusive disaster management (Balcik et al., 2010).

Design/methodology/approach:

A qualitative, exploratory design was adopted to examine how HL is enacted in flood-affected environments and how last-mile delivery interfaces with seniors’ needs. The study is grounded in HL and vulnerability-informed frameworks, emphasising inclusivity as a vital operational attribute embedded within logistics systems rather than an external social concern (HelpAge International, 2000). This framing supports analysis of evacuation support, relief distribution, and service continuity as interconnected logistics processes shaped by demographic realities.

Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 35 senior citizens with direct experience of the 2024 flood response and focus group discussions with 22 government and NGO practitioners involved in coordination and delivery to triangulate institutional logistics perspectives with lived experience. Participants were purposively recruited from flood-prone urban communities in Vietnam. Interviews explored evacuation access, distribution participation, shelter conditions, and recovery support, while focus groups examined prioritisation practices, inter-agency coordination, and operational constraints. Interviews and focus groups were conducted in Vietnamese, transcribed, and translated via the back-translation procedures to ensure accuracy. Data were analysed using inductive thematic coding, supported by NVivo14 software which enabled iterative comparisons across participant groups.

Findings:

Initial findings indicate that seniors’ needs intersect with HL processes across the following four interacting themes that collectively shape last-mile delivery performance:

(1) Decentralised Governance Capacity enables rapid mobilisation and local decision-making, supporting beneficiary identification and tailored evacuation assistance for older residents. Commune-level structures and community organisations facilitate responsiveness but vary in resource depth.

(2) Coordination and Communication Systems influence information flow and service synchronisation. Multi-channel alerts improve reach, yet uneven coordination and information saturation can complicate access for seniors with sensory or digital limitations.

(3) Community Logistics Networks function as informal extensions of formal response systems. Neighbours and volunteers frequently support evacuation, monitoring, and relief access, compensating for mobility barriers and reinforcing continuity of care.

(4) Infrastructure, Preparedness, and Demographic Accessibility shape the material conditions of response. Transport constraints, equipment shortages, and ageing drainage systems affect operational reliability, while preparedness training and shelter arrangements influence seniors’ capacity to engage safely with logistics services.

Across the themes, inclusive operational adjustments such as assisted evacuation, predictable distribution schedules, and community-based support were associated with improved access to rescue operations and reduced psychological stress. While data analysis is ongoing, these preliminary patterns suggest that demographic awareness strengthens disaster response management and service continuity without undermining logistical responsiveness.

Value:

This study advances humanitarian logistics scholarship by demonstrating how demographic inclusivity functions as a practical determinant of last-mile disaster response performance. By linking seniors’ lived experiences with institutional logistics practices, the research reframes ageing as an operational consideration rather than a peripheral vulnerability issue. Initial analysis identifies consistent patterns indicating that decentralised coordination, community logistics networks, and accessibility-focused planning strengthen logistics responsiveness in flood contexts, clarifying how beneficiary diversity shapes operational performance.

Although full synthesis is ongoing and findings should be interpreted as indicative, they provide early empirical insight into inclusive logistics design. This perspective is relevant to researchers examining adaptive logistics, policymakers addressing ageing urban populations, and practitioners seeking to improve equitable disaster response systems within provincial or developing-country contexts. Practically, embedding demographic awareness into evacuation planning, distribution design, and collaboration with community support networks can enhance service continuity for senior citizens without compromising efficiency, offering actionable guidance for strengthening disaster response systems.

References:

Balcik, B., Beamon, B.M., Krejci, C.C., Muramatsu, K.M. and Ramirez, M., 2010. Coordination in humanitarian relief chains: Practices, challenges and opportunities. International Journal of production economics, 126(1), pp.22-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2009.09.008

HelpAge International. (2000). Older people in disasters and humanitarian crises: Guidelines for best practice, HelpAge International. https://www.helpage.org/silo/files/older-people-in-disasters-and-humanitairan-crises-guidelines-for-best-practice.pdf

Kovács, G. and Spens, K.M., 2007. Humanitarian logistics in disaster relief operations. International journal of physical distribution & logistics management, 37(2), pp.99-114. https://doi.org/10.1108/09600030710734820

Phraknoi, N., Sutanto, J., Hu, Y., Goh, Y.S. and Lee, C.E.C., 2023. Older people’s needs in urban disaster response: A systematic literature review. International journal of disaster risk reduction, 96, p.1038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103809.

Purpose of the paper

Humanitarian operations increasingly depend on time-bound negotiated safe passages to reach vulnerable populations in disasters and conflict-affected areas. International bodies (e.g., the ICRC and the United Nations) commonly refer to these arrangements as “humanitarian corridors,” emphasizing their legal–diplomatic role in temporarily enabling protected movement for evacuation and/or the passage of life-saving assistance.

A logistics corridor extends beyond a legal arrangement and constitutes a complex operational system that may involve transport networks, warehousing, inventory flows, cross-border facilitation, service provider coordination, and supporting institutional frameworks. Despite its increasing use in policy and operational discourse, the concept of a Humanitarian Logistics Corridor (HLC) remains theoretically underdeveloped and lacks a formal conceptual definition in the academic literature. Although international organizations employ the term to describe coordinated logistics initiatives involving customs facilitation, pre-positioned stocks, and cross-border operations (BRICS, 2024; IFRC, 2023; WFP, 2025), it is used descriptively rather than theoretically.

This conceptual ambiguity creates a key theoretical gap; humanitarian logistics research remains largely event and operation centric, with limited theorization of the corridor as a distinct unit of analysis. By conceptualizing the HLC, this study opens a theoretical pathway to explain how corridor governance, enabling services, physical links, rules, and multi-actor coordination jointly shape access and performance. The purpose of this study is to conceptualize humanitarian logistics corridors as a boundary-specified subtype within corridor system theory, operating under crisis conditions and analytically differentiated from evacuation and commercial corridor forms.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts a structured anchor-based construct development approach grounded in corridor system theory, logistics corridor literature, and humanitarian logistics research to construct a working definition of the HLC. The development of the definition follows a three-step process. First, construct delimitation and anchor selection were conducted. Existing usages of “humanitarian corridor” were screened to distinguish relief-supply delivery from evacuation-focused interpretations. Authoritative anchor sources were then selected from transport corridor theory, logistics corridor literature, and humanitarian logistics to extract stable conceptual elements.

Second, attribute synthesis and property classification were performed. Candidate attributes were organized into structural (routes, nodes, gateways), functional (logistics services), governance (coordination, procedures, permissions), contextual (crisis and lifecycle), and purpose-oriented domains. Attributes were classified as necessary or accompanying properties using three criteria: identity (essential to the construct), discrimination (distinguishing HLC from adjacent concepts), and stability (robust across contexts). Only necessary properties were retained for definition construction, supported by explicit inclusion, exclusion, and minimum structural scope rules. A controlled design matrix was developed to transparently vary definitional dimensions while preserving the necessary-property core.

Third, an initial validation stage was conducted through structured author reflections and expert interviews. The proposed definitions were internally reviewed to ensure logical consistency and clear construct boundaries prior to external validation, followed by semi-structured feedback sessions with one academic expert and four humanitarian logistics practitioners. The purpose of this stage was to evaluate definitional clarity, completeness, discriminability, and practical relevance prior to further refinement.

Findings

The findings derive a baseline definition of a HLC accompanied by two theoretically structured alternatives, all grounded in a shared necessary-property core. The baseline (Balanced) definition conceptualizes HLC as a crisis-activated corridor system integrating transport links and routes, logistics nodes and gateways, enabling logistics services, and institutional arrangements to ensure the sustained delivery of humanitarian supplies into and within affected areas. It emphasizes comprehensive corridor connectivity and coordinated aid delivery during crisis conditions. Across all versions, evacuation- or safe-passage-oriented corridors are explicitly excluded to preserve conceptual discrimination.

Alternative 1 (Lifecycle-inclusive) extends the temporal framing of the construct by incorporating preparedness, response, and recovery phases, positioning HLC as a system established and maintained across the humanitarian lifecycle rather than activated only during crisis onset. Alternative 2 (Authorization-focused) strengthens the governance dimension by foregrounding formal designation, permissions, and coordination mechanisms, particularly relevant in cross-border and conflict settings where access constraints require explicit institutional arrangements.

The findings establish HLCs as a boundary-delineated subtype within corridor system taxonomy characterized by a stable necessary-property core. Across definitional variants, HLCs are shown to integrate transport links and routes, logistics nodes and gateways, enabling logistics services, and formalized institutional arrangements to ensure sustained delivery of humanitarian supplies under crisis conditions. This hybrid institutional–network configuration analytically differentiates HLCs from evacuation corridors, which prioritize civilian movement, and from commercial logistics corridors, which are market-driven and policy-integrated rather than crisis-activated. Variation across the three definitional formulations occurs along two dimensions: temporal scope (crisis-activated versus lifecycle-inclusive) and governance intensity (implicit coordination versus formally designated authorization regimes). Despite this variation, the structural core remains stable, supporting analytical discriminability and boundary clarity.

Value/Originality

This study provides a structured definition of HLC to reduce conceptual drift between legal ‘humanitarian corridors’ and operational logistics arrangements. It extends corridor system theory into crisis governance contexts by conceptualizing humanitarian logistics corridors. Although the term is increasingly used in policy and operational discourse, it remains theoretically underdeveloped and inconsistently applied in academic research. It contributes to corridor taxonomy by positioning humanitarian logistics corridors as a boundary-specified subtype within the broader corridor system framework, defined by crisis conditions and humanitarian objectives. This theoretical extension is supported by a structured construct-development approach that applies anchor-based synthesis and necessary-property logic to corridor system conceptualization.

Research limitations/implications

This study represents initial findings of construct development and validation. Broader validation across a more diverse group of scholars and humanitarian organizations is required to strengthen representativeness. Moreover, the empirical robustness of the proposed definitions across different crisis contexts remains to be examined. Future research should examine the applicability of the definitions across diverse disaster and conflict settings and conduct systematic boundary testing.

Practical implications

The proposed definition offers an initial conceptual foundation that informs future operational and policy discussions. It helps policymakers separate supply-oriented logistics corridors from evacuation passages and supports corridor-level performance assessment by defining what must function for sustained aid delivery.

Purpose: This paper develops a multi-theoretical conceptual framework for analysing corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Papua New Guinea's (PNG's) extractive industries.

Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on a systematic review of the literature, we argue that existing single-theory approaches are insufficient to capture the socio-institutional complexity of CSR legitimacy in resource-rich developing countries. The proposed integrated framework, visualised as a conceptual model, provides a novel analytical tool with relevance beyond PNG to other resource-rich developing countries.

Findings: The paper integrates three complementary theoretical lenses - legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory, and institutional theory - to examine whether CSR practices in PNG's mining and petroleum sectors represent genuine contributions to sustainability or function as greenwashing mechanisms deployed to secure a social licence to operate.

Value/Originality: The paper contributes to CSR theory by identifying the conditions under which multi-theoretical integration is not merely useful but analytically necessary. The PNG context is of particular theoretical interest: customary communal land ownership, under-regulation, deep cultural-environmental connections, and a history of resource-related civil conflict create institutional conditions not found in developed-country CSR models.