Port Sustainability and Stakeholder Management in Supply Chains: A Framework on Resource Dependence Theory

Although sustainability is a topical concern in ports and the supply chain literature, the main focus of the academic research has been on the environmental dimension of sustainability rather than the social and economic dimensions. Since ports are indispensable nodes of supply chains involving many strategic stakeholders and activities interacting with each other, investigating the contribution of stakeholder relations on ports sustainability has emerged as a major concern. The main aim of this study is to provide a conceptual framework integrating the organizational relationships between supply chain and port stakeholders based on the theoretical background concerning the strategic management and the socially responsible marketing. This study attempts to identify the influence of supply chain stakeholders on sustainability of ports by considering the propositions of interdependencies, power imbalances, and strategic options within resource dependence theory. While this paper can be regarded as a review of port sustainability literature, the uniqueness lies on the consideration of the concept from the basis of resource dependence theory. Conceptual framework of this study suggests that ports should adopt strategies as insertion, integration and dominance for the management of interdependencies through the adoption of strategic tools to enhance effective stakeholder relations management and port sustainability.