Regional port authorities: leading players in innovation networks?

For a regional port necessarily involved in global supply chains, the development of its hinterland region is critical to its long term sustainability. Such development can be fostered by a regional innovation system (RIS), although the risks of path dependency and lock-in may lead to a region decaying. A process for contributing to a RIS is the Regional Development Platform Model (RDPM), the focus of this paper. As a new approach to regional development, the RDPM is utilised and adapted to identify opportunities for potential development in a region. In this paper, the RDPM is linked to the role of a port authority and its potential to drive regional growth centred on its innovation network. Port authorities, by assuming the role of network leader, can shape the regional innovation network and create new development trajectories through their links to various levels of government and the wide range of stakeholders that utilise the port facilities. The inherent tensions in this role and the competing possibilities of path creation and path dependence to create value for a wide network of stakeholders are challenging.The paper investigates the use of the RDPM and how port authorities can influence development strategies for mutual benefit in this context. More specifically, a case study of the Burnie Port in Tasmania, Australia is conducted by utilising desktop research, interviews, an expert panel and industry roundtable to demonstrate that the RDPM has the potential as an approach beyond analysing the main sources of path dependency in a local region. By following the adaptation of the RDPM, it is argued that the trajectory of path dependency can be interrupted, for example by a port authority, enabling the potential for new paths to be created.

► Case study of a port using interviews, expert panel and industry roundtable.
► Regional development platform model (RDPM) is applied to regional ports.
► RDPM is linked to the role of a port and its potential to drive regional growth.
► Trajectory of path dependency can be interrupted by using the RDPM.
► Propose the role of ports as a regional network leader to create new trajectories.