The nexus between port governance and performance

Abstract

The diversity of port governance models in the world, sometimes even within the same country, has aroused the interest of researchers. This study is based on contingency theory to support the port governance model. The purpose is to understand the port governance model and the relation with port performance. There are three objectives: to analyze the port governance mechanisms; to analyze the port performance factors; and to understand the influence of the governance model mechanisms on port performance. A factorial analysis was used to determine the main components, and the methodology of the structural equation model was used to analyze a survey sample of 105 valid responses from specialists and managers of port user's companies that operate in the main Portuguese ports. This study demonstrates that port governance model influences directly the port performance. The main contribution of this paper to the literature is providing a set of factors that public managers may decide when changing the characteristics of the port governance models to ensure their performance. It was also observed the approximation of the port expert vision of port governance with models described in literature.

The Role of Port Authority in Port Governance and Port Community System Implementation

“…Under the influence of external environmental factors, decisions regarding the port governance model can be taken by many stakeholders [8]. At the very start, improvements in governance models may be attributed to changes in the sector, the setting of new targets, etc., but over time, the reasons behind governance reforms are evolving (for example, conventional ports facing physical constraints requiring the creation of new facilities) [46].…”

“…At the very start, improvements in governance models may be attributed to changes in the sector, the setting of new targets, etc., but over time, the reasons behind governance reforms are evolving (for example, conventional ports facing physical constraints requiring the creation of new facilities) [46]. The nature of port authority, its main roles and relationship with port operators has been one of the main elements of port governance [8].…”

“…Extensive seaport reforms have challenged the conventional models of seaport organization in recent decades [7]. The transformation of the port governance models, including developments such as devolution and regionalization policies, has expanded the autonomy and responsibility of the port authority, giving it a broader role outside the port itself [8]. Port governance has attracted significant attention from scholars, port authorities, policy and decision-makers in the maritime sector over the past three decades, and port governance itself has become an important academic and practical concept in the port sector [9].…”

Port governance revisited: How to govern and for what purpose?

“…Even so, some existing port governance studies (e.g. Castillo-Manzano et al, 2016;Caldeirinha et al, 2017;Caldeirinha et al, 2018) still, to a certain extent, reveal the positive relationship between port governance reforms and port effectiveness improvement. Note that more studies are needed to investigate the actual and/or potential impacts of recent port re-centralization and port integration on port efficiency and effectiveness, which is an emerging research gap in the field.…”

Port Governance and Cruise Tourism

“…Additionally, finding the appropriate cooperation and competencies models requires a reflective effort that incorporates the stakeholders needed to not produce tariff wars and to attach governance models in coherence with territorial government systems [26,27]. This is relevant because within the same country there can be various port governance models, which can affect the mechanisms and port performance factors and their margin and profitability [28,29].…”