TAEN - Port economics, competitiveness and governance

This study investigates how marketing relationships can support port authority management to address stakeholder needs supporting value creation and co-creation processes. In port management, the establishment and maintenance of long-term relationships with stakeholders are highlighted as crucial for fostering positive perceptions and support, while regulatory compliance, policy alignment, and governance collaboration ensure sustainable and inclusive operations. Relationship marketing strategies facilitate engagement through personalized communication, co-investment in infrastructure, and shared innovation projects, enabling ports to function as dynamic facilitators of trade and logistics.
The research contributes to the theoretical understanding of relationship marketing within port management, advancing discussions on stakeholder engagement and value co-creation processes in global supply chains. Practical implications include recommendations for optimizing marketing approaches through strategic collaborations and sustainability initiatives. These findings provide a comprehensive foundation for enhancing port competitive advantage in relationship-driven perspective, offering valuable insights for both academic and managerial applications.

Port reforms are motivated by the need to increase the efficiency and productivity of port operations. They are also necessitated by global and regional trends requiring investments in port infrastructure to accommodate increased containerization, digitalization and automation of port operations, amongst other innovations. Such investments will only be realized if a country's reforms are perceived to be competent and credible. Using a New Institutional Economics perspective and an institutional analysis framework extending Pollitt and Bouckaert's (2011) model of public management reform, we conduct an in-depth institutional appraisal of Nigeria's port reforms. We identify that the soundness of port-related institutions is an important signal of reform competence and credibility and therefore of reform success. This is because countries with healthy, well-functioning institutions will be more capable of overseeing the development, implementation, and enforcement of successful reforms than otherwise. When institutions are weak or absent, port reforms may yet be successful provided a reform guaranty is provided by a trustworthy external organization such as the World Bank. The message to investors and multilateral organizations is that conducting an in-depth appraisal of a country's port-related institutions should be an integral part of their due-diligence processes before investment.

Strategic planning is fundamental for port authorities in ensuring long-term competitiveness and operational efficiency. However, previous studies indicate a persistent gap between strategy formulation and implementation, where strategic documents often fail to translate into concrete decision-making and operational practices (Van der Lugt et al., 2017; Yap & Ho, 2023). This study applies a quantitative assessment model to evaluate the effectiveness of strategy formulation and implementation in global port authorities. The model considers two key dimensions: (1) the quality of strategic formulation, including stakeholder engagement, benchmarking, and data-driven decision-making; and (2) the level of implementation and monitoring, incorporating aspects such as key performance indicators (KPIs), budget allocation, and adaptability to external changes. Based on a sample of 30 port authorities distributed worldwide, data is collected from published strategic plans, structured questionnaires, and performance reports. The study employs statistical analysis to identify trends across governance models and geographical regions. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of best practices in port strategic management, helping port authorities refine their approaches and enhance the execution of their strategies.

Keywords: Port strategy, strategic implementation, governance models, port management, performance assessment.

A changing economic environment produced by the globalization of production and distribution, changing forms of cargo transportation, (concentration of shipping liners, containerization), technological breakthroughs, and many more issues, ended a long period of predominance by models where the public sector handled exclusively the management and operation of ports, a situation most common in Mediterranean Ports. To adapt to the new context, many governments and local authorities entered a period of port reform, changing applicable governance structures. Private sector participation in ports has been increasing continuously since the 1990s either through privatization or, most commonly, through public-private partnerships (PPPs), with the most common form of PPP being Concession Agreements. This paper aims to demonstrate the continuous use of PPPs in the port industry and analyze the various forms of private sector involvement in the provision of port services in Greek Ports. To that end data from institutions (ESPO, World Bank) and Greek ports will be presented. Moreover, a comparison will be conducted to determine whether PPPs in Greek Ports are in alignment with ESPO standards.

Integration of social sustainability clauses into port terminal concession agreements is paramount for fostering a more equitable and resilient operational framework. Such integration addresses the needs of both external and internal stakeholders, which on the one hand include local communities and society at large, while on the other the very own port employees, who seek to satisfy their interests also through the inclusion of social sustainability clauses revolving around equality, diversity and safety amongst other. By integrating these social sustainability measures, ports can create a more inclusive environment that supports long-term social engagement as well as economic stability. Ports are critical nodes for local and regional economies, and their operations exert significant (positive and negative) social impacts on local communities. As observed and recorded within the context of this paper, several of these (positive and negative) externalities could be mitigated or minimized through measures and monitoring mechanisms implemented within the framework of concessions. In parallel by investing in stakeholder engagement and community development to provide input and feedback, ports can focus on mitigating adverse impacts and enhance social well-being. Through an arsenal of tools and indicators which could be adapted for the case of ports, port managing bodies and organizations can extend the social welfare offered to their employees through numerous ways. On both regards though, the adoption, implementation and disclosure of social initiatives and metrics not only does fulfill ethical obligations, but also serves as a strategic imperative for long-term viability and sustainability of the sector. In essence, the strategic incorporation of social sustainability considerations into concession agreements is not merely an ethical imperative but a crucial step toward achieving comprehensive sustainability in the port sector.