| dc.description.abstract | This research investigates the influence of port community relationships on port
community performance through the lens of social capital. While port performance
research has traditionally focused on the micro or macro level, this study explores port
performance at the meso level and suggests the terminology of port community
performance in acknowledgement of the contributions and relevance the interactions of
port community members have on the focal port’s performance. Since this type of
investigation is a novel approach within the field of port performance research, this study
addresses this gap by employing social capital theory to the context of Scottish trust ports.
In detail, this study adopts Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s (1998) conceptualisation of social
capital and further incorporates more recent findings of Hartmann and Herb (2015) of
social capital’s influence on performance in triadic relationship settings as the latter
allows for the suitable conceptualisation of the triadic port community setting between
port authority, cargo owners and port service providers. As their performance is
influenced by the quality of their relationships and subsequent interactions, the context of
Scottish trust ports lends itself to extend social capital theory to develop an understanding
of the formers’ influence on the performance of a port.
This project employed a multiple-case study design. Two Scottish trust ports were
purposively selected in line with a set of established criteria which are shared across the
sample of suitable ports for analysis which allows for the synthesis of cases. As part of
the data collection, a total of 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30
representatives of the three port stakeholder groups of port authority, cargo owners and
port service providers. The data gathered by the means of interviews is further enriched
by participant observations, informal off the record exchanges and field notes. This
project is underpinned by an interpretivist perspective. This study contributes to practice
by identifying how facets of social capital such as trust, shared values, or norms in port
community relationships positively influence port community performance which is of
particular value for smaller sized ports with diverse cargo portfolios. The theoretical
contribution of this study is twofold as it highlights how the extended setting of focal
relationships in the port community can influence the manifestation of the dark side of
social capital. Furthermore, it adds to the body of social capital theory by delineating how
existing levels of social capital aligned with one of its dimensions can facilitate the
accumulation of facets attributed to the other dimensions. | en |
