Strategic Determinants of Terminal Operating System Choice: An Empirical Approach Using Multinomial Analysis

Container terminal operators have at their disposal several operational options for performing both the transfer and the handling of containers. Traditionally, the determinants of the choice of operating systems have been investigated almost exclusively from a technical point of view, while limited research has been performed in the area of the strategic determinants of such choice.This study tries to investigate the strategic determinants of the operating system choice from an empirical perspective. Special attention is paid to understanding in which measure restrictive and limiting labour regimes can explain the preference for emerging automated models or, more in general, for less labour intensive concepts. A sample consisting of 65 European container terminals is built. For each terminal taking part in the sample the major determinants of the operations concepts are quantified. The use of logistic regressions provides interesting insights on what strategically motivates the choice of an operating system with respect to another, in order to investigate and discuss important managerial and policy implications.