Sustainability performance and competitive advantage in container ports

Lim, Sehwa 2022. Sustainability performance and competitive advantage in container ports. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

Preview	PDF (Thesis) - Accepted Post-Print Version Download (22MB) | Preview
	PDF (Cardiff University Electronic Publication Form) - Supplemental Material Restricted to Repository staff only Download (2MB)

Abstract

Ports have transformed their daily operations and management activities more sustainably in response to international regulations related to sustainable development. However, there is ambiguity about the impact of sustainability practices on port performance, making it more challenging to develop strategic sustainability management that secures competitive opportunities for port viability. Hence, the present study aims at investigating strategic opportunities for generating a competitive advantage through port sustainability performance. To achieve the research aim, first, this study sheds light on meaningful sustainability activities for strengthening the competitive advantage of ports using Relative Importance Index method (RII). Second, this study validates the relationship between port sustainability performance and the competitive advantage of ports using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). A questionnaire survey was developed based on key indicators identified through a systematic literature review. A total of 248 completed questionnaires collected from container ports in 37 countries were used in the study. The RII results show that social and economic sustainability are more important than environmental sustainability for strengthening the competitive advantage of ports. Additionally, top three sustainability activities from each sustainable aspect were identified: “Waste pollution management”, “Green port management”, and “Energy and resource management” from environmental sustainability; “Health and safety”, “Job training”, and “Public relations” from social sustainability; and “Port operational efficiency”, “High quality services”, and “Port infrastructure construction” from economic sustainability. The SEM results show that environmental and economic sustainability performance have significant positive relationships with the competitive advantage of ports. However, the social sustainability performance has no direct impact on the competitive advantage of ports. The positive relationship between social sustainability performance and the competitive advantage of ports was supported by the mediating effects of environmental and economic sustainability performance. In conclusion, the study findings suggest the strategic directions of sustainability performance to strengthen the competitive advantage of ports: (1) the focus on a detailed action plan for social sustainability implementation, (2) the development of a synergistic strategy for ecoeconomy dynamics such as circular economy, and (3) the establishment of an organised port network for joint initiatives of social sustainability. It also emphasises the internal capacity to design and deliver strategic port sustainability management by participative decision-making of port managers at different managerial levels.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	sustainability; sustainability performance; port sustainability performance; container port; competitive advantage; the Natural-Resource-Based view; the strategy-as-practice view; Relative Importance Index; factor analysis; Structural Equation Modelling
Funders:	Self Funded
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	8 July 2022
Last Modified:	10 Nov 2023 11:04
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/151090

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item