IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlogis/v9y2025i3p113-d1721909.html

Enhancing Coordination and Decision Making in Humanitarian Logistics Through Artificial Intelligence: A Grounded Theory Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Panagiotis Pantiris

    (School of Social Sciences, Hellenic Open University, 18 Aristotelous St., 26335 Patras, Greece)

  • Petros L. Pallis

    (School of Social Sciences, Hellenic Open University, 18 Aristotelous St., 26335 Patras, Greece)

  • Panos T. Chountalas

    (School of Social Sciences, Hellenic Open University, 18 Aristotelous St., 26335 Patras, Greece)

  • Thomas K. Dasaklis

    (School of Social Sciences, Hellenic Open University, 18 Aristotelous St., 26335 Patras, Greece)

Abstract

Background: The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in humanitarian logistics is essential for improving coordination and decision making, especially in the challenging landscape of disaster-relief settings. However, the current literature offers limited empirical evidence with respect to the specific impact of AI on coordination and decision making for real-life humanitarian problems. Based on evidence from the humanitarian sector, this paper focuses on how AI could help humanitarian organizations collaborate better, streamline relief supply-chain operations and use resources more effectively. Methods: Twelve key themes influencing AI integration are identified by the study using a Grounded Theory (GT) approach based on interviews with experts from the humanitarian sector. These themes include data reliability, operational limitations, ethical considerations and cultural sensitivities, among others. Results: The findings suggest that AI improves forecasting, planning and inter-organizational coordination and is especially useful during the preparedness and mitigation stages of relief operations. Successful adoption, however, depends on adjusting tools to actual field conditions, building trust and training and striking a balance between algorithmic support and human expertise. Conclusions: The paper offers useful and practical advice for humanitarian organizations looking to use AI technologies in an ethical way while taking into account workforce capabilities, cross-agency cooperation and field-level realities.

Suggested Citation

  • Panagiotis Pantiris & Petros L. Pallis & Panos T. Chountalas & Thomas K. Dasaklis, 2025. "Enhancing Coordination and Decision Making in Humanitarian Logistics Through Artificial Intelligence: A Grounded Theory Approach," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-33, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlogis:v:9:y:2025:i:3:p:113-:d:1721909
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6290/9/3/113/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6290/9/3/113/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Muhammad Khan & Marwan Khan & Abbas Ali & Muhammad Imran Khan & Ihsan Ullah & Muhammad Iqbal, 2022. "Digitalization for Fast, Fair, and Safe Humanitarian Logistics," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-18, May.
    2. Sarah Schiffling & Claire Hannibal & Matthew Tickle & Yiyi Fan, 2022. "The implications of complexity for humanitarian logistics: a complex adaptive systems perspective," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 319(1), pages 1379-1410, December.
    3. Barry Turner, 1981. "Some practical aspects of qualitative data analysis: One way of organising the cognitive processes associated with the generation of grounded theory," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 225-247, June.
    4. Kouhizadeh, Mahtab & Saberi, Sara & Sarkis, Joseph, 2021. "Blockchain technology and the sustainable supply chain: Theoretically exploring adoption barriers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    5. Muhammad Khan & Gohar Saleem Parvaiz & Abbas Ali & Majid Jehangir & Noor Hassan & Junghan Bae, 2022. "A Model for Understanding the Mediating Association of Transparency between Emerging Technologies and Humanitarian Logistics Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-23, June.
    6. Helmer Paz-Orozco & Irineu de Brito Junior & Mario Chong & Yesid Anacona-Mopan & Jhon Alexander Segura Dorado & Mariana Moyano, 2023. "Earthquake Decision-Making Tool for Humanitarian Logistics Network: An Application in Popayan, Colombia," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-18, October.
    7. Birdoğan Baki & Nermin Abuasad, 2020. "The Evaluation of Humanitarian Supply Chain Performance Based On Balanced Scorecard-DEMATEL Approach," Alphanumeric Journal, Bahadir Fatih Yildirim, vol. 8(2), pages 163-180, December.
    8. Kovacs, Gyöngyi & Moshtari, Mohammad, 2019. "A roadmap for higher research quality in humanitarian operations: A methodological perspective," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 276(2), pages 395-408.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dr. Baffour Asamoah, 2026. "Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Social Worker Decision-Making and Service Delivery: A Practice-Oriented Perspective," Journal of Artificial Intelligence General science (JAIGS) ISSN:3006-4023, Open Knowledge, vol. 9(01), pages 137-145.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mahmoud Abdulhadi Alabdali & Mohammad Asif Salam, 2022. "The Impact of Digital Transformation on Supply Chain Procurement for Creating Competitive Advantage: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-17, September.
    2. Muhammad Khan & Amal Nasser Alshahrani & Julija Jacquemod, 2023. "Digital Platforms and Supply Chain Traceability for Robust Information and Effective Inventory Management: The Mediating Role of Transparency," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-20, April.
    3. Lai, Kee-hung & Feng, Yunting & Zhu, Qinghua, 2023. "Digital transformation for green supply chain innovation in manufacturing operations," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    4. Bhimani, Alnoor & Hausken, Kjell & Arif, Sameen, 2022. "Do national development factors affect cryptocurrency adoption?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    5. Fabio Matteis & Mario Angelelli & Fabrizio Striani & Angelo Corallo, 2025. "Managerial implications of blockchains in the public sector: elements for the development of a conceptual framework for innovation," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 29(3), pages 777-813, September.
    6. Hang Yu & Senlai Zhu & Jie Yang, 2021. "The Quality Control System of Green Composite Wind Turbine Blade Supply Chain Based on Blockchain Technology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-18, July.
    7. Eduardo Machado & Luiz Felipe Scavarda & Rodrigo Goyannes Gusmão Caiado & Antonio Márcio Tavares Thomé, 2021. "Barriers and Enablers for the Integration of Industry 4.0 and Sustainability in Supply Chains of MSMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-31, October.
    8. Fairouz Mustafa & Jan Smolarski & Ahmed A. Elamer, 2025. "The Convergence of Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability Reporting: A Systematic Review of Applications, Challenges and Future Directions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(8), pages 9761-9784, December.
    9. Govindan, Kannan & Kannan, Devika & Jørgensen, Thomas Ballegård & Nielsen, Tim Straarup, 2022. "Supply Chain 4.0 performance measurement: A systematic literature review, framework development, and empirical evidence," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    10. Félicia Saïah & Diego Vega & Harwin de Vries & Joakim Kembro, 2023. "Process modularity, supply chain responsiveness, and moderators: The Médecins Sans Frontières response to the Covid‐19 pandemic," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 32(5), pages 1490-1511, May.
    11. Ifeyinwa Juliet Orji & Chukwuebuka Martinjoe U-Dominic, 2026. "The effect of supply chain learning in mitigating the challenges to adopting artificial intelligence for supply chain sustainability," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 358(3), pages 1561-1602, March.
    12. Lythreatis, Sophie & Acikgoz, Fulya & Yassine, Noura, 2026. "Artificial intelligence in humanitarian aid: A review and future research agenda," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    13. Subhodeep Mukherjee & Venkataiah Chittipaka, 2022. "Analysing the Adoption of Intelligent Agent Technology in Food Supply Chain Management: An Empirical Evidence," FIIB Business Review, , vol. 11(4), pages 438-454, December.
    14. Davies, Jennifer & Sharifi, Hossein & Lyons, Andrew & Forster, Rick & Elsayed, Omar Khaled Shokry Mohamed, 2024. "Non-fungible tokens: The missing ingredient for sustainable supply chains in the metaverse age?," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    15. Ren, Yi-Shuai & Ma, Chao-Qun & Chen, Xun-Qi & Lei, Yu-Tian & Wang, Yi-Ran, 2023. "Sustainable finance and blockchain: A systematic review and research agenda," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    16. Panos T. Chountalas & Stamatios K. Chrysikopoulos & Konstantina K. Agoraki & Natalia Chatzifoti, 2025. "Modeling Critical Success Factors for Green Energy Integration in Data Centers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-22, April.
    17. Ng, S.C.H. & Ho, G.T.S. & Wu, C.H., 2023. "Blockchain-IIoT-big data aided process control and quality analytics," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    18. Liu, Samuel Shuai & Hua, Guowei & Ma, Benedict Jun & Cheng, T.C.E., 2023. "Competition between green and non-green products in the blockchain era," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    19. Lee, Frederic, 2011. "The making of heterodox microeconomics," MPRA Paper 30907, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. repec:bcp:journl:v:9:y:2025:i:11:p:381-394 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Stavros Sindakis & Saloome Showkat & Jiafu Su, 2023. "Unveiling the Influence: Exploring the Impact of Interrelationships among E-Commerce Supply Chain Members on Supply Chain Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-27, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlogis:v:9:y:2025:i:3:p:113-:d:1721909. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.