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An Evolutionary Perspective on Regional Port Systems: The Role of Windows of Opportunity in Shaping Seaport Competition

Author

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  • Wouter Jacobs

    (Urban and Regional Research Centre Utrecht, Department of Economic Geography, Utrecht University, PO Box 80115, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Theo Notteboom

    (Institute of Transport and Maritime Management Antwerp (ITMMA), University of Antwerp, Stadscampus, Keizerstraat 64, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium, and Antwerp Maritime Academy)

Abstract

How do seaports evolve in relation to each other? Recent studies in port economics and transport geography have been focused on how supply-chain integration has structurally changed the competitive landscape in which individual ports and port actors operate. Port regionalization has been addressed as the corresponding new phase in the spatial and functional evolution of port systems. However, these studies lack theoretical foundations that allow us to assess empirically the role either of the institutional context or of strategic agency in the competitive (spatial and functional) evolution of regional (integrated) port systems. The authors present an evolutionary framework to analyze the development of seaports in a regional context by making use of the concept of ‘windows of opportunity’. The role of seaport-based evolution in the processes aimed at positioning market players and ports on the container scene in the Rhine–Scheldt Delta is examined.

Suggested Citation

  • Wouter Jacobs & Theo Notteboom, 2011. "An Evolutionary Perspective on Regional Port Systems: The Role of Windows of Opportunity in Shaping Seaport Competition," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 43(7), pages 1674-1692, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:43:y:2011:i:7:p:1674-1692
    DOI: 10.1068/a43417
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Grushevska, Kateryna & Notteboom, Theo & Shkliar, Andrii, 2016. "Institutional rail reform: The case of Ukrainian Railways," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 7-19.
    2. Marasco, Addolorata & Romano, Alessandro, 2018. "Inter-port interactions in the Le Havre-Hamburg range: A scenario analysis using a nonautonomous Lotka Volterra model," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 207-220.
    3. Wilmsmeier, Gordon & Monios, Jason, 2016. "Institutional structure and agency in the governance of spatial diversification of port system evolution in Latin America," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 294-307.
    4. Wilmsmeier, Gordon & Monios, Jason & Pérez-Salas, Gabriel, 2014. "Port system evolution – the case of Latin America and the Caribbean," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 208-221.
    5. Li, J.Y. & Notteboom, T.E. & Jacobs, W., 2014. "China in transition: institutional change at work in inland waterway transport on the Yangtze River," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 17-28.
    6. Nicolas Raimbault & Wouter Jacobs & Frank Dongen, 2016. "Port Regionalisation from a Relational Perspective: The Rise of Venlo as Dutch International Logistics Hub," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 107(1), pages 16-32, February.
    7. Van den Berghe, Karel & Jacobs, Wouter & Boelens, Luuk, 2018. "The relational geometry of the port-city interface: Case studies of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Ghent, Belgium," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 55-63.
    8. Wilmsmeier, Gordon & Monios, Jason, 2015. "The production of capitalist “smooth” space in global port operations," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 59-69.
    9. Cahoon, Stephen & Pateman, Hilary & Chen, Shu-Ling, 2013. "Regional port authorities: leading players in innovation networks?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 66-75.
    10. Ng, Adolf K.Y. & Ducruet, César & Jacobs, Wouter & Monios, Jason & Notteboom, Theo & Rodrigue, Jean-Paul & Slack, Brian & Tam, Ka-chai & Wilmsmeier, Gordon, 2014. "Port geography at the crossroads with human geography: between flows and spaces," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 84-96.
    11. Parola, Francesco & Pallis, Athanasios A. & Risitano, Marcello & Ferretti, Marco, 2018. "Marketing strategies of Port Authorities: A multi-dimensional theorisation," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 199-212.
    12. Theo Notteboom & Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2012. "The corporate geography of global container terminal operators," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(3), pages 249-279, May.
    13. César Ducruet & Hidekazu Itoh, 2016. "Regions and material flows: investigating the regional branching and industry relatedness of port traffics in a global perspective," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(4), pages 805-830.
    14. Notteboom, Theo, 2016. "The adaptive capacity of container ports in an era of mega vessels: The case of upstream seaports Antwerp and Hamburg," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 295-309.
    15. Debrie, Jean & Lavaud-Letilleul, Valérie & Parola, Francesco, 2013. "Shaping port governance: the territorial trajectories of reform," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 56-65.
    16. Notteboom, Theo & De Langen, Peter & Jacobs, Wouter, 2013. "Institutional plasticity and path dependence in seaports: interactions between institutions, port governance reforms and port authority routines," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 26-35.
    17. Irina Svaetichin & Tommi Inkinen, 2017. "Port Waste Management in the Baltic Sea Area: A Four Port Study on the Legal Requirements, Processes and Collaboration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-17, April.

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