Marketing Strategies in Port Industry: An Exploratory Study and a Research Agenda

Problem statement: Market globalization increases demand and the competition between firms. Ports as basic figurative nodes cannot remain separate from this change. Technological improvements, the increased demand of marine transports, the demand for new, bigger and more specialized vessels, has increased the competition among ports. Approach: In this competitive environment business mistakes may be proved fatal and marketing strategies arise as a means for differentiation. As such, modern ports suffer both from internal and external pressures. On the one hand, they need to exhibit management competency in the pursuit of suitable strategy and in the allocation of scarce resources. On the other, they no longer enjoy the freedom of a monopoly and therefore face a completely competitive market. Results: The selection of a suitable strategy is important for ports wishing to improve their financial results. The better financial capability for a firm means investing in the constantly changing shipping market. Economic prosperity also adds value to a firm that uses suitable marketing strategies to satisfy its customers. Conclusion: The present richer examined two alternative strategies-profit maximization and revenue maximization-and explores the factors that influence the application of these two strategies in the port industry. Data from 18 European ports were examined by multiple step-wise regression. The results proved the diversity of the two applications.