Northeast Asian containerised maritime logistics: supply chain collaboration, collaborative advantage and performance

This thesis aims to develop and validate the dimensions of supply chain collaboration and collaborative advantage in the containerised maritime industry and explores the impact of supply chain collaboration on collaborative advantage and port performance. Additionally, this thesis tests a mediation effect of collaborative advantage on the relationship between supply chain collaboration and port performance. This thesis employs a quantitative method. A theoretical model is built based on thorough literature reviews of supply chain management and maritime studies, in-depth discussions with experts, item review and Q-sorting techniques to signify ambiguity or misunderstanding with the scales and to suggest modifications. The proposed model is empirically tested with survey data using 178 responses from terminal operators, shipping lines, inland transport companies, freight forwarders, ship management companies and third-party logistics providers involved in maritime logistics in the major containers ports of Busan, Gwangyang and Incheon for a comprehensive and balanced view by using structural equation modelling. With regard to the findings of the empirical research, three main constructs were successfully validated as multi-dimensional constructs. The structural paths support hypotheses that supply chain collaboration has a positive influence on collaborative advantage, and collaborative advantage has a strong contribution to port performance. However, the direct impact of supply chain collaboration on port performance is insignificant. A hierarchical approach of the mediation test and bootstrapping test found that the association between supply chain collaboration and port performance is fully mediated by collaborative advantage. In other words, the greater degree of supply chain collaboration between the port and port user enables them to gain a higher degree of collaborative advantage, and, in turn, this collaborative advantage can contribute to augmenting port performance. This thesis synthesises transaction cost theory, resource based theory and a relational view to explain how supply chain collaboration influences collaborative advantage and port performance. Its theoretical contribution expands the concept of supply chain collaboration and collaborative advantage into containerised maritime contexts, capturing the perspective of the ports and port users. Further, despite numerous maritime studies which extol the importance of collaboration between the ports and port users, no systematic approach has previously developed and validated those constructs and relationships. The various maritime logistics organisations would benefit from applying the results of this study to their supply chain collaboration practices when seeking greater collaborative advantage. The results heed practitioners in containerised maritime logistics organisations to focus on balancing the facets of supply chain collaboration to transport flows of containers seamlessly and efficiently from door-to-door, as supply chain management philosophy drives the maritim

The Effects of Orciprenaline on the Contractility of Isolated Cardiomyocytes under Septic Conditions Mediated by Lipopolysaccharide

The septic cardiomyopathy is associated with a high morbidity and mortality. In a sepsis, the contractility of a cardiomyocyte is reduced significantly. Consecutively, the cardiac output of the heart is compromised. This so-called "low cardiac output syndrome" caused by a septic cardiomyopathy is responsible for the deaths of about one fifth of the patients. A patient suffering from sepsis needs a prolonged therapy with catecholamine under an intensive care setting. In this study, the influence of catecholamine on the contractility of isolated cardiomyocyte was observed experimentally. The hypothesis was that the reversal of the septic cardiac depression through catecholamine in vivo ("rescue effect") was based on the improvement of the contractility of the cells. The ventricular cardiomyocytes of C57BL/6 mice were isolated through Langendorff-Perfusion-Technique. Then, one group of the cells were incubated for six hours with the addition of Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) so that a bacterial sepsis could be simulated. The second group was incubated in culture medium for six hours without LPS. When the incubation was over, the cardiomyocytes of the two groups were stimulated electrically in different frequencies. The stimulation was carried out with or without the addition of orciprenaline, a none-selective β-Sympathomimetic agent, with which the catecholamine therapy in a septic cardiomyopathy could be simulated. The sarcomere shortening of each cell was recorded through light microscope. Then, the data was digitized and processed, so that the following parameters could be derived: resting sarcomere length, sarcomere shortening amplitude, sarcomere shortening speed and relaxation speed. This study proved that the above mentioned "rescue effect" of a β-stimulation was able to completely reverse the negative influence of LPS on shortening even on the level of isolated cardiomyocytes. This study was able to extend a clinically proven therapy of septic cardiomyopathy to the level of single cardiomyocyte

The role of seaports in regional employment: evidence from South Korea

<p>The role of seaports in regional employment: evidence from South Korea. <i>Regional Studies</i>. This study examines the seaport’s influence on regional employment in all 16 regions of Korea, including seven metropolitan areas, based on panel data between 2002 and 2013. It expands an economic model of regional unemployment from labour economics and an autoregressive model from econometrics by employing port potentials separately estimated in a Tobit model. The result indicates that port activities significantly reduce regional unemployment rates relative to the national level. The role of population, gross domestic product (GDP) and household income on unemployment rate was highlighted, whilst various determinants of port potentials were investigated about whether they stimulate port potentials.</p

Investigating the relationship between supply chain innovation, risk management capabilities and competitive advantage in global supply chains

Purpose- This study aims to propose and validate a theoretical model to investigate whether supply chain innovation positively affects risk management capabilities, such as robustness and resilience in global supply chain operations, and to examine how these capabilities may improve competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach- A theoretical model was developed from extant studies and assessed through the development of a large-scale questionnaire survey conducted with South Korean manufacturers and logistics intermediaries involved in global supply chain operations. The data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) to validate the suggested model. Findings- It was found that innovative supply chains have a discernible positive influence on all dimensions of risk management capability, which in turn has a significant impact on enhancing competitive advantage. Therefore, this work provides evidence for the importance of supply chain innovation and risk management capability in supporting competitive advantage. Research limitations/implications- This study contributes to providing an empirical understanding of the strategic retention of supply chain innovation and risk management capabilities in the supply chain management (SCM) discipline. Further, it confirms and expands existing theories about innovation and competitive advantage. Practical implications- The finding provides firm grounds for managerial decisions on investment in technology innovation and process innovation. Originality/value- This research is the first of its kind to empirically validate the relationships between supply chain innovation, risk management capabilities and competitive advantage. Keywords: Supply Chain Innovation, Robustn

The impact of service privatization-The case of a container terminal at the Port of Limassol

The Cyprus government has signed agreements for the commercialization of the activities of the Port of Limassol, with the aim to increase the financial viability of port operation and sustain competitive advantage. This paper aims to examine effects of and expectation from port privatization based on port stakeholders’ perspectives such as port authorities, concessionaire and port customers. Firstly, this study investigates how the port authority intends to verify and control the performance of the concessionaire with regard to the operational and functional domains that directly influence a container terminal’s performance and to identify all the possible effects of privatization. Secondly, it explores how the concessionaire intends to improve the performance of the container port. Thirdly, it examines port users’ expectations of the services and satisfaction with port services after privatization. A mixed methodology is employed involving interviews and a questionnaire survey with practitioners at the Port of Limassol. The impact of its privatization is provided in the discussion and conclusion section

Impacts of Reforestation on Stabilization of Riverine Water Levels in South Korea

We investigate how reforestation contributed to stabilization of riverine water levels in South Korea. For the purpose, we estimate an equation capturing dynamic relationships among rainfall, upstream-area tree stock, and downstream water levels in three river systems of Hongcheon, Mangyeong, and Hyeongsan, using daily observations of precipitation and water levels for the period from 1985 to 2005. Simulation based on estimation results shows that increase in the tree stock in a river basin leads to a significantly suppressed peaking in riverine water levels in response to an abrupt and concentrated rain in the upstream area. For instance, an hour-long concentration of 100mm rain results in 0.7m rise in water level if the volume of growing stock is 1 million m3 , whereas the rise in water level stays below 0.27m with 5 million m3 in the growing-stock volume