In this research study we propose the development of a sustainable Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework for the transport sector in the Global South (GS). Sustainable transport has a key part to play in fostering inclusive growth and expanding access to essential services, it is mainstreamed across several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets. It has been forecasted that global Gross Domestic Products (GDP) contributions from transportation will increase significantly leading to an increase in energy consumption. Businesses, government agencies and transport departments face an evolving landscape of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)-related risks that can impact their success and survival. Managing complex and multiple human, technological, political and natural resources is crucial to ensure success. Given the current attention on sustainable development, it is essential to identify the status of the transport sector in GS and the challenges to the development of a sustainable transport system. In GS countries, literature in the public domain has noted various organisational and institutional challenges to the transportation systems. These include poor accident reporting and investigating culture; corruption and rent-seeking culture; poor coordination with different stakeholders; poor policy and regulatory framework; keeping up with the technology, integration with existing systems, budget constraints etc. Furthermore, there are few published works on holistic risk management related to transport. There is an inadequacy of literature focusing on aspects such as Agency, Program and Project risk management for strategic alignment, asset management and performance measure. Managing the complexity inherent in transport and logistics based on context has therefore become a continuous test even for experienced managers. Relevant and appropriate information is required coupled with new evaluation techniques and improved technologies to make effective decisions with long-lasting results. Many regulators, industry professionals and academics have advocated a new approach to risk management denominated ERM. However, despite the multiplicity of developed guidelines and frameworks, scholars still regard ERM as an unproven and emerging field in which important knowledge gaps remain in practice and academia. Its research is limited in terms of exploring the coupling and fluidity of ERM in organisational settings. This research focuses on the phenomena of the ERM paradigm and its alignment with the requirements of GS transportation businesses. It discusses the current state-of-the-art with regards to risk management framework and proposes improvements when and where applicable. This research proposes to approach the complexity of the design of transportation risk management systems through the conjoint application of theories such as Contingency, Institutional, Stakeholder and Complexity. The nature of this research problem and the aim and objectives of this research determines the adoption of the interpretivism paradigm concerned with exploring reality as a social construction. A Case study (Nigeria’s transport sector) and Survey strategies using an abductive approach with the flexibility to combine qualitative and quantitative methodologies have been proposed. Secondary data sources from the public domain were adopted at the early stage of the research. Primary sources will use semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. These data will be analysed using data analytics software such as iThink®, IBM SPSS® and Python® for quantitative data and NVIVO for qualitative data. It is hopeful that this study will improve the general understanding of the nature of ERM and its coupling and fluidity in organisational settings, thereby impacting viable transport systems and contributing to the literature in the under-researched field of transport risk management. Future work includes data gathering, analysis and evaluation. Complemented with findings from the literature review, analysis of the empirical data will lead to the development of an ERM framework for the GS Transport sector that conveys key drivers of effective risk management.

Authors: H. A. Kareem, T.K. Olaniyi, P. Olatubosun

Published in: World Congress on Sustainable Technologies (WCST-2022)

• Date of Conference: 6-8  December 2022
• DOI: 10.20533/WCST.2022.0008
• ISBN: 978-1-913572-57-0
• Conference Location: Virtual (London, UK)