Value creation in the port: opening the boundaries to the market

Abstract

In the era of fierce competition among ports as elements of value chain systems, the opening of the boundaries to the market represents a crucial challenge that port authority has to cope with, in order to guarantee a lasting economic and social development of the port and its hinterland. We propose a theoretical framework to analyse value creation in the port and its hinterland through two core concepts: resource allocation and interaction. We illustrate such framework with the case of the port of Naples and, specifically, the contribution of the port authority and other port business operators to the value creation process of Garofalo, an export-oriented firm located in its hinterland. A discussion and suggestions for future research are provided in the last section.

Keywords:

• value creation
• relationship networks
• resource allocation and interaction
• port authority
• port of Naples

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Umberto Masucci, vice president of the Italian Maritime Cluster, for his cooperation in providing information and insights into the current and future role of the port of Naples in the agri-business sector and, generally, in the logistics and distribution systems of its hinterland.

ORCID

Marcella De Martino http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5789-5800

Notes

1. The project was funded by the Italian Ministry of Research and Development during 2008–2011.

2. The information was provided by Cerved group, a leading business information company in Italy.

3. Interporto Campano di Nola is an intermodal logistics hub located near the port of Naples.

4. Number 1 Logistics Group, founded in 1998 as a spin-off of Barilla S.p.A., is a leading logistics operator working in the grocery sector. The national distribution network is composed of central stocking nodes and regional platforms constituting the diffused national network. The company possesses the following assets: 3 central warehouses (located in Milan, Parma and Caserta), 18 regional platforms, 2600 trucks and 1 train. It has 60 partners in transport and distribution (www.number1.it).

5. Intermodal truck–train services: Bari-Napoli (four weekly departures in each direction), Foligno-Napoli (one weekly departure in each direction) and Napoli-Marcianise (three weekly departures in each direction).