Abstract
Abstract This study explores the conceptual investigational foundations of how two existing concepts of supply chain exploitative practices and supply chain explorative practices together may further inform the balanced theory of port competitiveness (BTOPC). The defined and validated factors of the BTOPC are further investigated via the lens offered by ambidextrous supply chain strategy, which is defined and measured through the simultaneous practice of exploitative and explorative activities. The exploratory nature of this study aims to help academics to further the theory of port competitiveness and assist practitioners in improving port management. Eight in-person interviews with practitioner and academic port experts were conducted in addition to follow-up telephone conversations. This study finds that supply chain exploitative and explorative practices indeed offer a unique vantage view for assessing the port competitiveness when utilizing the BTOPC factors.
Highlights
The concept of ambidexterity (CoA) suggests that firms should find a way to effectively manage two orthogonal elements (Birkinshaw and Gupta 2013; O'Reilly and Tushman 2013; Turner et al 2013) that are generally established in the literature as exploitation and exploration
Port operations may benefit from CoA when it is employed in conjunction with the balanced theory of port competitiveness (BTOPC) (Hales et al 2016; 2017) that simultaneously considers the effect of port strategy on customers and investors to increase port competitiveness
Port operations may be employing both exploitation and exploration type activities which is an approach that is employed in the supply chains (Kristal et al 2010) where operations exploit extant resources that reside within the entity and explore resources that reside outside the entity
Summary
The concept of ambidexterity (CoA) suggests that firms should find a way to effectively manage two orthogonal elements (Birkinshaw and Gupta 2013; O'Reilly and Tushman 2013; Turner et al 2013) that are generally established in the literature as exploitation and exploration. Port operations may be employing both exploitation and exploration type activities which is an approach that is employed in the supply chains (Kristal et al 2010) where operations exploit extant resources that reside within the entity and explore resources that reside outside the entity. This ambidextrous supply chain strategy is shown to help organizations with achieving greater levels of performance (Lee and Rha 2016; Rojo et al 2016). Discussion and implications of the findings precede the conclusions and limitations
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