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Choosing a Business Model of Container Terminal Operations

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Book cover Handbook of Ocean Container Transport Logistics

Part of the book series: International Series in Operations Research & Management Science ((ISOR,volume 220))

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Abstract

This chapter empirically identifies the crucial criteria for choosing a business model of container terminal operations from the viewpoint of the Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC)—the former port authority of Kaohsiung, Keelung, Taichung, and Hualien in Taiwan. An analytic hierarchy process approach is employed to assess the relative importance of these criteria and business models. Results indicate that benefit and operational capability are the two most important criteria for selecting business models of container terminal operations. The optimal business model in the short to medium term for TIPC is “wholly-owned, operate-outsourced”, whereas “wholly-owned, operate-owned” is the optimal business model in the long term. Implications of the research findings for port corporations and global terminal operators are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. T.L. Yip, Associate Director of the C.Y. Tung Internatinal Centre for Maritime Studies and Dr. Johnny Wan at the Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, for their comments and suggestions which helped to improve the quality of this research.

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Correspondence to Chin-Shan Lu .

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Lu, CS., Chang, PH. (2015). Choosing a Business Model of Container Terminal Operations. In: Lee, CY., Meng, Q. (eds) Handbook of Ocean Container Transport Logistics. International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, vol 220. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11891-8_5

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