Study on the propagation of sustainable development concept among Gulf ports based on complex network

ABSTRACT

Gulf ports are facing fierce market competition and serious environmental pollution while shouldering the great responsibility of oil transportation. Deconstructing the propagation mechanism of the sustainable development concept among the Gulf ports group will help to provide a new perspective for the ports’ governance in the Gulf region. This paper constructed the ports’ relationship network of Gulf region with the method of complex network, established the propagation model of sustainable ports’ concept, and simulated the model. The results suggest that: optimizing and adjusting the relationship structure of ports in the Gulf region and reducing the recovery rate will promote the spread of sustainable development concepts in the region; enhancing the sustainable competitiveness of ports is the most effective way to promote the dissemination of the concept of sustainable development; and the increasing pressure of international regulations on sustainable development and regional consensus will make ports more receptive to the concept of sustainable development. The findings of this article provide a basis for proposing the specific measures to promote the spread of sustainable development concept in the Gulf region.

KEYWORDS:

• Gulf ports
• sustainable development concept
• complex network
• propagation model

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.