Port competition and selection in contestable hinterlands : the case of Austria

This paper deals with port competition and port selection for cargo to/from Austria. Austria is located centrally in Europe and seaports in at least five countries are used for imports and exports. Changes of market shares over time of different ports serving Austria are analysed. Switching of cargo between ports does take place, but friction prevents instantaneous switching. Consequently, it took a decade for the new potential of inland shipping to Austria, resulting from the opening of the Rhine-Main-Donau canal, was fully realised. A survey was held to analyse port choice decisions of two types of decision makers: shippers and forwarders. These results show shippers and forwarders have similar views on port selection, but shippers have a less price-elastic demand

Leader Firms en innovatie in de Rotterdamse Haven-Industriele cluster

De Rotterdamse haven is een verzameling van meer dan 3000 bedrijven, actief in overslag, transport, logistiek, industrie en handel. Gezamenlijk vormen deze bedrijven een omvangrijk havencluster. De ontwikkeling van deze cluster is van groot belang voor alle bedrijven. Onderzoek naar de factoren die de ontwikkeling van deze cluster beïnvloeden is dus relevant. Eén van deze factoren is de aanwezigheid en het gedrag van een aantal toonaangevende bedrijven, de zogenaamde leader firms. Deze bedrijven zijn zo ondernemend, innovatief of groot, dat zij investeringen doen waar de andere bedrijven in de cluster van profiteren. In dit onderzoek worden de leader firms op innovatiegebied in de Rotterdamse Haven-industriële cluster in kaart gebracht en wordt geanalyseerd op welke wijze zij bijdragen aan de innovativiteit van andere bedrijven in de cluster. De conclusies van dit onderzoek zijn relevant voor bedrijven in de havencluster, overheden die zich bezighouden met regionaal economisch beleid (op innovatiegebied) en wetenschappers en studenten met interesse in havens en clusters

Performance Effects of the Corporatisation of Port of Rotterdam Authority

Port of Rotterdam Authority is a publicly owned but corporatized port development company. In 2004, this organisation was transformed from a municipal department to an independently operating company. The corporatisation intended to improve the overall performance of the port of Rotterdam. Relevant performance indicators to evaluate the effect of this corporatisation include market share, turnover, operating costs, profits, and investments. These indicators are evaluated for two periods, one prior to the corporatisation (1997-2003) and the other afterwards (2005-2011). The comparison of these two periods shows that corporatisation has led to significant performance improvements. This finding is relevant for the ongoing discussion on port governance models

The Performance of Seaport Clusters; A Framework to Analyze Cluster Performance and an Application to the Seaport Clusters of Durban, Rotterdam and the Lower Mississippi

Dit proefschrift analyseert de performance van clusters. Clusters worden veelvuldig onderzocht, maar een coherent raamwerk om de performance van clusters te onderzoeken ontbreekt. In dit proefschrift wordt een dergelijk raamwerk ontwikkeld, op basis van inzichten uit de bestaande literatuur. Centraal in het raamwerk is een onderscheid tussen de ‘governance’ en de structuur van de cluster. Er worden vier structuur gerelateerde variabelen geidentificeerd: agglomeratie voor- en nadelen, interne concurrentie, hetereogeniteit van bedrijven in de cluster en cluster drempels. Er worden ook vier governance-gerelateerde variabelen onderscheiden: vertrouwen, intermediairs, ‘leader firms’ en collectieve actie regimes.In het empirisch onderzoek, drie cases van de havenclusters in Rotterdam, Durban en de Beneden-Mississippi, wordt de relevantie van deze variabelen gevalideerd. Het belang van de variabelen, de sterktes en zwaktes van de drie havenclusters en kansen voor beleid en management in de havenclusters worden besproken.De onderzoeksresultaten zijn relevant voor onderzoekers gespecialiseerd in clusters en voor onderzoekers die zich met havens bezighouden. Daarnaast is het onderzoek relevant voor managers van bedrijven en overheidsinstanties die opereren in clusters.This PhD thesis deals with the performance of clusters. Even though cluster studies are numerous, a coherent framework to analyze cluster performance is lacking. In this thesis, such a framework is developed, drawing from different schools that deal with clusters. Central in the framework is a distinction to variables of cluster performance related to the structure of a cluster and variables related to the governance of a cluster. Four structure variables - agglomeration ands disagglomeration forces, internal competition, heterogeneity of the cluster and the level of entry and exit barriers - and four governance related variables - the presence of trust, the presence of intermediaries, the presence of leader firms and the quality of collective action regimes - are identified and discussed. The validity of these variables is confirmed in the three case studies, of the port clusters of Rotterdam, Durban, and the lower Mississippi. The strengths and weaknesses of the three port clusters, the importance of the variables discussed above and opportunities for policy and management to improve the performance of clusters are discussed.The results of this study are relevant for cluster scholars and for scholars specializing in port studies. The thesis is also relevant for (port) cluster managers and for managers of firms in (port) clusters, since implications of this study for policy and management in (port) clusters are discussed

Port connectivity indices:an application to European RoRo shipping

In recent years, there has been significant interest in the development of connectivity indicators for ports. For short sea shipping, especially in Europe, Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) shipping is almost equally important as container shipping. In contrast with container shipping, RoRo shipments are primarily direct, thus the measurement of its connectivity requires a different methodology. In this paper, we present a methodology for measuring the RoRo connectivity of ports and illustrate its use through an application to European RoRo shipping. We apply the methodology on data collected from 23 different RoRo shipping service providers concerning 620 unique routes connecting 148 ports. We characterize the connectivity of the ports in our sample and analyze the results. We show that in terms of RoRo connectivity, neither the number of links nor the link quality (frequency, number of competing providers, minimum number of indirect stops) strictly dominate the results of our proposed indicator. The highest ranking ports combine link quality and number. Finally, we highlight promising areas for future research based on the insights obtained

Co-location synergies : specialized versus diverse logistics concentration areas

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of spatial concentration of logistics firms by empirically analyzing synergies through co-location and investigating whether co-location of logistics establishments in specialized logistics concentration areas results in benefits compared to co-location in diverse logistics concentration areas. Methodology: A survey among managers of 128 logistics establishments located in logistics concentration areas was used to test for differences between synergies through co-location on specialized versus diverse logistics parks. Findings: The findings show that logistics firms co-located on fresh logistics parks more often share knowledge, combine transport and storage capacity, and trade products last minute than other co-located logistics firms do. Research implications: This research shows that there are synergies through co-location of logistics activities on specialized logistics parks. Managers of logistics companies may need to take these benefits into account in location decisions, academics in facility location models, and policy makers in spatial planning. Originality/value: Although anecdotic evidence suggests that co-location of logistics activities can bring several benefits to the co-located logistics companies and hence, can be important to incorporate in the location decisions of these companies, these benefits are not (much) empirically researched before. This paper analyzes synergies through co-location of logistics establishments on specialized and diverse logistics parks

Identification of employment concentration and specialization areas : theory and application

This paper presents a new method to identify 'Employment Concentration & Specialization areas' for a particular industry, by simultaneously analyzing absolute and relative employment concentration. This allows for analyzing the performance of these areas in relation to different characteristics such as infrastructure availability and the housing and labor market. This is relevant for scientists, corporate decision makers and local governments, as it can support investment decisions related to new plants or infrastructure. The method is developed and applied to five industries in a Dutch province subdivided in 502 areas. Keywords: Employment concentration, Geographical analysis, Location patterns, Agglomeration economies. JEL classification: R12, R30, J2

Identification of employment concentration areas

This paper presents a method to identify 'Absolute and Relative Employment Concentration (AREC) areas' for a particular industry. Two novel characteristics of the method are that it simultaneously analyzes absolute and relative employment concentration, and that it combines spatial concentration per area with the spatial concentration in neighboring areas. The method is easy to understand and apply. It is developed to assist regional policy makers and corporate decision makers with their investment decisions related to new infrastructure or plants. The identifcation of concentration areas also allows for analyzing the performance of these areas in relation to characteristics such as infrastructure availability and the housing and labor market. This can yield new academic insights that are relevant for regional planners. An application of the newly developed method to five industries in a Dutch province subdivided into 502 areas illustrates the value of the method in comparison to other methods

To co-locate or not? : location decisions and logistics concentration areas

Abstract within pdf

Quantum Effects in Coulomb Blockade

We review the quantum interference effects in a system of interacting electrons confined to a quantum dot. The review starts with a description of an isolated quantum dot. We discuss the status of the Random Matrix theory (RMT) of the one-electron states in the dot, present the universal form of the interaction Hamiltonian compatible with the RMT, and derive the leading corrections to the universal interaction Hamiltonian. Next, we discuss a theoretical description of a dot connected to leads via point contacts. Having established the theoretical framework to describe such an open system, we discuss its transport and thermodynamic properties. We review the evolution of the transport properties with the increase of the contact conductances from small values to values $\sim e^2/\pi\hbar$. In the discussion of transport, the emphasis is put on mesoscopic fluctuations and the Kondo effect in the conductance.Comment: 169 pages, 28 figures; several references and footnotes are added, and noticed typos correcte