The Performance of Seaport Clusters - RePub - Erasmus Universiteit ...

Chapter 10 – Structure and Performance in Seaport Clusters; Results of the Cases 131
• The most relevant entry barrier is the inaccessibility of knowledge and networks. In all
three port clusters, networks are relatively closed and knowledge is relatively
inaccessible. In the conversations this was explained with reference to a specific local
‘port community’. This port community is internationally oriented but inaccessible for
entrants with no prior expertise in the port cluster. Especially in the LMPC, the vast
majority of respondents regard the cluster community as closed for outsiders.
• A significant majority agrees that exit barriers have a negative effect on the cluster (in
the long run). According to the experts, exit barriers reduce dynamism. This argument is
regarded as more important than the ‘static’ argument that ‘firms committed to the
cluster (because of high exit barriers) are more likely to invest in the quality of the
cluster’.
• Specific investments are regarded as a relevant exit barrier. Experts indicate this can
also be regarded as an entry barrier. This underlines the theory that exit barriers are by
definition entry barriers as well and provides an argument for port authorities to make
specific investments - provided that firms are willing to lease these investments - in
order to reduce entry barriers. This is an important result, because it implies that
arrangements that lower the need for firms to invest in specific assets contribute to the
performance of a port cluster. Possibilities for such arrangements are discussed later.
• With regard to local capital, the difference between Rotterdam on the one hand and
Durban and the LMPC on the other is striking. Contrary to Rotterdam, in the latter two
clusters, the absence of ‘local capital’ is regarded as a relevant start-up barrier. This
might be explained by the fact that banks in Rotterdam (branches of multinational
banks) as well as a venture capitalist partially owned by the port authority (together with
partners from the banking industry) actively seek customers in the port cluster. Such
organizations are lacking in the other two ports.