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

Chapter 1 - Introduction 3
1.2 Overview of the study
The study consists of an introduction and three parts: a theoretical part, an empirical part
and a concluding part (see figure 1). The theoretical part, comprising chapters 2-6, answers
the theoretical research question. In chapter two the cluster concept is discussed and in
chapter three the issue of the performance of a cluster is addressed. In chapter four a
theoretical framework to analyze the performance of cluster is presented. Central in this
framework is a distinction between variables of cluster performance related to the structure
of the cluster and variables of cluster performance related to the governance of the cluster.
These are discussed in detail in chapters five and six respectively.
The empirical part, comprising chapters 7-12, answers the empirical research question.
Chapter seven presents the research method. Chapter eight deals with port clusters and
introduces the three case studies. In chapter nine, the research issues for analyzing the
performance of seaport clusters are identified. In chapter ten, the results of the case studies
with regard to the effects of cluster structure on the cluster performance are discussed. In
chapter eleven the results on the relation between cluster governance and performance are
discussed. Chapter twelve, on strengths and weaknesses of the three port clusters, finalizes
the empirical part.
The concluding part consists of chapters 12-15. In each chapter the most important
conclusions are highlighted and suggestions for further research are presented. In chapter
thirteen conclusions relevant for analyzing clusters are discussed. Chapter fourteen
discusses conclusions relevant specifically for seaport clusters. In the final chapter
opportunities for policy and management in seaport clusters are discussed. Figure 1 shows
the structure of the research.