Classics in Port Policy and Management, is a journey of discovery of the evolution of port studies in the 20th century. PortEconomics co-director Thanos Pallis and associate member Mary Brooks bring together 41 seminal contributions from 50 years of scholarly research in port policy and management, while they discuss the evolution of this emerging research field.Building a foundation of knowledge in port studies is not easy in today's ivory tower. The modern scholar searches the electronic journals readily available in library databases, relies on citation indices to indicate the most important journals in the field and reads few others unless the process of discovery is cherished, not common in the modern time-starved world of the academy. From the perspective of port researchers, many of the more important journals have not been widely adopted by libraries, and some journals are only now seeking to have a citation impact factor. Yet if new scholars in the field want to understand the evolution of port policy and management, they should read the seminal works. The challenge is that only a few libraries retain the dusty "stacks" housing them. This volume intends to address that by making the early work more accessible. In revisiting the key foundations established by previous researchers, the reader of the volume that was just published by Edward Elgar, will discover the knowledge necessary to examine these issues in new contexts and in conjunction with new port business models.'Mary Brooks and Thanos Pallis have sculpted this voluminous and impressive tome from some of the best historical work on the topic of maritime transport. By so doing, they have provided researchers in the field with a highly useable and informative first port of call for any investigation of previous work.'– Kevin Cullinane, Edinburgh Napier University, UKVisit the publisher @ Edward Elgar, to access the Full table of contents, and…

What is the the relative position of ports in the modern global liner service networks? PortEconomics associate member César Ducruet and co-director Theo Notteboom have recently published a port study on liner service networks in container shipping. The study, which was published in the academic journal Global Networks, presents an analysis of the global liner shipping network in 1996 and 2006 discussing the position of ports through indicators of centrality. The results reveal a certain level of robustness in the global shipping network. While transhipment hub flows and gateway flows might slightly shift among nodes in the network, the network properties remain rather stable in terms of the main nodes polarizing the network and the overall structure of the system. In a second study, that is part of the book Maritime Logistics: A complete guide to effective shipping and port management,  (published by Kogan Page, London; edited by Dong-Wook Song and Photis Panayides), Cesar and Theo review the current characteristics of liner shipping networks under three main themes. First, they provides an overview of the different service types of shipping lines and dynamics in liner service configuration and design. Second, a global snapshot of the worldwide liner shipping network is proposed by means of vessel movement data. The contribution concludes by elaborating on the interactions and interdependencies between seaport development and liner shipping network development notably under current economic changes.Download the authors' version of the study:  Ducruet, C., and Notteboom, T., (2012),  Developing Liner Service Networks in Container Shipping, in: Song, D.W., Panayides, P. (eds.), Maritime Logistics: A complete guide to effective shipping and port management, Kogan Page, London, p. 77-100 @ PortEconomics:  Download the authors' version of the study: Ducruet, C., and Notteboom, T., (2012),  The worldwide maritime network of container shipping: spatial structure and regional dynamics, published in Global Networks @ PortEconomics 

In conditions of intensified port competition and increased complexity of relations developed between port actors, PortEconomics members Thomas Vitsounis and Thanos Pallis discuss the presence of port value chains and the role of port actors' interdependencies in a chapter included in the edited volume Maritime Logistics: Contemporary Issues, that is now published by Emerald Group publishing.Thomas and Thanos examine the rather under-researched issue of the value creation for port users. Relations developed in seaports fall within business-to-business (B-2-B) frameworks and caused by the interdependencies of port actors. Value measurements are a predictor of behaviour intentions of satisfaction generated for port users. Value in B-2-B markets place extra emphasis on relations developed between services providers and users and the same stands true for seaport configurations. The study analyses how actors in seaports are embedded in network configurations and develop B-2-B relations that result in functional and relational value. The emphasis is on port value chains wherein positioning and effective networking contribute significant to the total value proposition of the various actors involved. Concluding that co-creation of value, via matching resources with upstream and downstream entities, is vital, the chapter details how actors inter- dependence as a significant variable determining the level of co-creating value. The empirical analysis provides insights about the existence of three types of inter-dependencies in ports (namely, serial, pooled and reciprocal) being found in a number of distinctive relationships developed between freight forwarders, shipping lines and key port actors.Maritime Logistics: Contemporary issues is a collective book edited by Prof. Dong-Wook Song (Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh) and Prof. Photis Panayides (Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus). Contemporary practice and scientific innovation consider the logistics aspects of shipping or maritime and seaport operations as one of the most important areas for future development of competitive advantages in business and for study and research. This book…

The awarding of terminals in seaports are the theme of the latest issue of the Maritime Policy and Management. The issue is co-edited by PortEconomics co-directors Theo Notteboom, and Thanos Pallis, in collaboration with Dr. Sheila Farrell.In many countries around the world, governments and public port authorities have retreated from port operations in the belief that enterprise-based port services and operations would allow for greater flexibility and efficiency in the market (through more competition) and a better response to consumers' demands. In this new environment, the awarding of port terminals to private operators has become common practice. This can takes different forms ranging from management contracts/leases to BOT arrangements, with each type having specific modalities with regard to the spread of investments and of risks. In particular, concession policy has become a powerful governance tool to port managers. Through concession policy, port authorities can retain some control on the organization and structure of the supply side of the port market. The issue of terminal awarding processes has not received a lot of attention in academic circles, while it has become a key issue in port governance.This special issue adds value to the existing knowledged by  deepening and broadening the discussion on the award of terminals to private terminal operators. In particular it contains seven port studies address key issues in terminal awarding processes combining theoretical insights with empirical case studies: The ownership and management structure of container terminal concessions, by Sheila Farrell; Concession of the Piraeus container terminal: turbulent times and the quest for competitiveness, by Harilaos N. Psaraftis & PortEconomics co-director Thanos Pallis; Managing port concessions: evidence from Italy, by PortEconomics associate member Francesco Parola along with Alessio Tei & Claudio Ferrari; Awarding of Port PPP contracts: the added value of a competitive dialogue procedure, by Hidde Siemonsma, Wouter Van Nus & Patrick Uyttendaele; A new…