Competition in maritime transport networks

The traditional view on port competition considers only the horizontal structure of this sector,in which interaction between ports can be explained by oligopolistic models. The currentstudy examines interaction between ports in maritime transport networks with two types ofstrategic interaction, competition and coopetition coexisting. Although the analysis presentedin the study refers to ports, its results are also applicable to other network sectors. A generalmono-line chain structure is first considered to derive the basic properties of coopetition andthen extended to incorporate competition and coopetition in different network structures. Thepaper shows how interaction between service providers in a transport/logistics network maybe driven by the concurrence of both competition between its chains and coopetition withineach chain. The policy and management implications are also discussed