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

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The Performance of Seaport Clusters
vis-à-vis experts working with large organizations. When relevant, an analysis of differences
in responses of both groups is made.
7.6 Selection of cases
The empirical part consists of three cases. This enables comparison between the cases to
find out to what extent results are related to the ‘local context’ and to what extent they can
be generalized. Since the three case studies are in different environments, results that hold
for these three cases can be regarded as ‘stylized facts’ that hold for other cases of port
clusters as well. The case selection was based on criteria other than cluster performance, to
avoid a focus on ‘cluster success stories’ that dominate in the empirical research (Markusen,
1999).
Three criteria have been used to select the cases. First, the port clusters should be located
in different environments. Thus, port clusters had to be located in different port ranges (such
as the Hamburg-Le Havre port range). Second, a case study should be feasible, given
limitations imposed by language (English or Dutch). Third, the cases should be ‘substantial
clusters’, in the sense that port activities are of substantial size, both in absolute terms and
in terms of their importance in a regional economy. Ports in very large cities, such as New
York and Bombay are not selected, because the port cluster is a small component of the
regional economy. As a consequence, the heterogeneity of the cluster population is small
compared to the heterogeneity of the urban region, the cluster labor market is strongly
dependent on the metropolitan labor market and cluster specific agglomeration economies
and diseconomies are also subordinate to metropolitan agglomeration forces. Fourth, the
ports should have a ‘transit function’. In such ports, competition with other ports is relevant.
On the basis of these criteria, the port clusters in Rotterdam, Durban and The Lower
Mississippi were selected. The port of Singapore could also have been selected on the basis
of the criteria, but this port was not included, because difficulties were expected with the
survey instrument, in terms of ‘finding the right experts’ and ‘getting realistic answers’
because cultural differences might lead to different (less outspoken) answers and the
questions require a ‘self critical attitude’ which was thought to be more questionable in the
Singaporese context, where governmental organizations are very important.
It can be argued that the three selected port clusters are the largest of their continents.
Rotterdam and The Lower Mississippi are the largest in throughput volume. Both have a