PORT CHOICE AND SUSTAINABLE DECISION MAKING IN CONTAINER LINER SHIPPING: A BIBLIOMETRIC REVIEW AND CONTENT ANALYSIS

Abstract

Trade globalization, the increase in container ship size, and the competitive nature of the maritime industry have rendered port selection a complex decision – making process that involves many criteria. Port selection by container shipping lines is a strategic decision integral to their route and network planning, significantly influencing the operational and business performance of the organization. Contemporary scholarly literature, although addressing diverse facets of port selection by container shipping lines, lacks in offering a detailed and comprehensive analysis that encompasses a range of research methodologies, maritime and hinterland port elements, carbon reduction strategies, and available sustainability alternatives in container shipping networks. This paper presents a retrospective review of port choice from the perspective of container shipping lines by the combination of bibliometric and content analysis approaches. The bibliometric approach utilized by the bibliometrix package in the R software revealed the most relevant articles related to port choice. The bibliographic coupling approach in VOSviewer revealed five research clusters: (1) Port performance evaluation; (2) Environmental considerations in liner networks; (3) Port choice dynamics; (4) Port competitiveness; and (5) Strategic decision – making in global shipping networks. Content analysis of the most impactful articles in each research cluster provides findings forming a solid foundation of insights for the sustainable development of port choice from the perspective of container shipping lines.