Organizational architecture of a logistics platform and competitiveness: the case of the large maritime port of Marseille.

Summary The literature on supply chain management is inseparable from a profound change in the relationships between logistics actors. Within the literature on strategic management and logistics, and as a localized and inter-organizational activity at the interface of many stakeholders, multimodal logistics platforms appear as an essential point of convergence for the competitiveness of companies and territories. In this perspective, we seek to understand the reality of the articulation between the organizational architecture of a multimodal logistics platform and its ex-ante competitiveness. To answer our research question, our thesis is based on an exploratory qualitative approach and a methodology using an illustrative case study. The organizations involved in the competitiveness of the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille constitute the empirical scope of this research. The results of our research allow us to improve our understanding of port logistics networks.