Place branding of seaports in the Middle East

This paper analyses seaports’ brand personalities as a means of understanding similarities and differences of these important locations and their relationship with their host place image. Drawing upon Aaker’s (J Mark Res 34:347–356, 1997) brand personality construct, the study presents lexical analysis from the websites of nine seaports in the Middle East. Each seaport’s website is content analysed, and the brand personality is measured using Aaker’s (1997) framework and Opoku’s (Licentiate Thesis, Lulea University of Technology, ISSN, 1402-1757, 2005) dictionary of synonyms. Findings show that seaports have developed a level of isomorphism upon particular dimensions of brand image; however, the findings also show the most distinctive seaports were linking their seaport to their place brand. In particular, the findings show only the Port of Jebel Ali has a clear and distinctive brand personality and to a lesser extent the Ports of Sohar, Shahid Rajee and Khor Fakkan. The research has important management implications of branding for public diplomacy and demonstrates seaport brand positioning in relation to place branding, used to inform public communication and marketing

Modal shift ambitions of large North European ports : a contract-theory perspective on the role of port managing bodies

Port managing bodies (PMBs) need to respond to increased societal pressures for improving environmental performance. For many PMBs, a modal shift (MS) from road to rail and barge transport (where available) represents a strategic priority. Yet, in practice, few PMBs have set clear MS targets or have been able to achieve their MS objectives at the level of the port cluster. In this context, the extant port management literature has not yet provided actionable and generally applicable conceptual guidance for PMBs towards achieving ambitious MS goals. In this paper, we develop such guidance by following a contract theory approach to the effectiveness of MS strategies implemented by PMBs. We argue that a PMB, in its role of port cluster manager, can facilitate a MS through strategically deploying governance mechanisms based on sound economic theory. Here, an arsenal of incentives and penalties can be used to push port users (PUs) towards achieving MS targets. Building upon insight from contract theory, we also assess the importance of information management as a prerequisite for a successful MS strategy. We formulate strategic directions for PMBs and identify a future research agenda that should allow improved understanding of how MS goals can be achieved in real world settings

A new governance perspective on port–hinterland relationships: the Port Hinterland Impact (PHI) matrix

We develop a new governance perspective on port–hinterland linkages and related port impacts. Many stakeholders in a port’s hinterland now demand tangible economic benefits from port activities, as a precondition for supporting port expansion and infrastructural investments. We use a governance lens to assess this farsighted contracting challenge. We find that most contemporary economic impact assessments of port investment projects pay scant attention to the contractual relationship challenges in port-hinterland relationships. In contrast, we focus explicitly on the spatial distribution of such impacts and the related contractual relationship issues facing port authorities or port users and their stakeholders in the port hinterland. We introduce a new concept, the Port Hinterland Impact (PHI) matrix, which focuses explicitly on the spatial distribution of port impacts and related contractual relationship challenges. The PHI matrix offers insight into port impacts using two dimensions: logistics dedicatedness, as an expression of Williamsonian asset specificity in the sphere of logistics contractual relationships, and geographic reach, with a longer reach typically reflecting the need for more complex contacting to overcome ‘distance’ challenges with external stakeholders. We use the PHI matrix in our empirical, governance-based analysis of contractual relationships between the port authorities in Antwerp and Zeebrugge, and their respective stakeholders

Assessing the Attractiveness of Ports in the North European Container Transhipment Market: An Agenda for Future Research in Port Competition

Persistent development in global trade has significantly increased the demand for liner shipping, of which the industry is now being characterised by larger vessel size, comprehensive geographical coverage and frequent restructuring of shipping lines like transhipment. In turn, this has led to tense port competition, and port attractiveness is playing a pivotal role in this aspect. Understanding this and using container transhipment as a case study, this paper investigates the attractiveness of the major ports in Northern Europe acting as transhipment hubs. Through a Likert-style questionnaire directed towards the top 30 shipping lines, it was found that Hamburg and Rotterdam are the most attractive options acting as transhipment hubs within Northern Europe, with Antwerp and Bremerhaven closely behind. Felixstowe and Le Havre are the least attractive options requiring substantial improvements to change the current situation. In general, the opinion of shipping lines in port attractiveness seems to be in accordance to their decisions on transhipment hub choices. It is believed that this paper can shed some light on the attractiveness of major North European ports and the methodology of assessing port attractiveness, as well as providing a springboard for further research related to port competition. Maritime Economics & Logistics (2006) 8, 234–250. doi:10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100158

Governance in Seaport Clusters

Seaports can be meaningfully analysed with a cluster perspective. In this perspective, seaports are regarded as concentrations of economic activity related to the arrival and service of ships and cargoes at ports. This perspective has two main advantages: first, it draws attention to forces of agglomeration and disagglomeration in seaports. Some seaports are able to become concentrations of logistics activities, commercial centres, ‘information hubs’ and ‘shipping hubs’, while others do not attract such activities. The cluster perspective allows for an analysis of such processes of agglomeration. Second, the cluster perspective enriches existing theories on governance in seaports. The analysis of governance in seaports has mostly been limited to the role of the port authority. Notwithstanding the central role of port authorities in ports (port clusters), we argue that a port authority is one ‘arrangement’ to improve the governance in clusters, but not the only ‘arrangement’. Other arrangements include the formation of associations, the development of public-private partnerships and the use of networks. The literature on governance in clusters provides a broad analytical framework. This framework has implications for analysing the important and complex issue of the role of port authorities in seaports. In this paper, we deal in depth with the issue of cluster governance in seaports and illustrate our approach to cluster governance with an analysis of the port of Rotterdam. Maritime Economics & Logistics (2004) 6, 141–156. doi:10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100100