For port managers seeking to serve the needs of the beneficial cargo owners, understanding the factors critical to their evaluation of the port’s customer service delivery is of critical importance. This research examined service delivery effectiveness as perceived by cargo owners and agents in seven North American container ports, with more than 250 000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) in volume. Using an Internet survey instrument, the study finds negligible differences in stated requirements of ports between cargo owners and cargo agents (as indicated by importance scores) but significant differences between the two segments in the influence that the individual criterion has on the performance scores ports receive and on the size and nature of performance gaps. Importance-performance gap (I-P Gap) analysis provides slightly different guidance than does determinance analysis, indicating that there is a need for both approaches and a method for reconciling different outcomes.
Measuring port effectiveness: what really determines cargo interests’ evaluations of port service delivery?
Maritime Policy & Management ; 42 , 7 ; 699-711
2015-10-03
13 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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