Port congestion and logistics cost management: Identifying organizational determinants through exploratory factor analysis at the Port of Agadir

Abstract

Port congestion has become a significant problem for logistics performance and, consequently, for controlling logistics costs through supply chains. Many studies conducted on port performance throughout developing countries have primarily focused on technical and infrastructure aspects of port performance; very few have looked at the organizational causes of port congestion, and those studies are not comprehensive enough to provide an empirical basis upon which to evaluate the effect of organizational causes on port congestion. Therefore, this study seeks to define the organizational causes of port congestion and to examine how they relate to the management of logistics costs at the Port of Agadir, Morocco. The research has utilized a quantitative survey of a total of 192 actors actively involved in the port logistics ecosystem to gather information. The data collected from the survey was subjected to exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using SPSS statistical software program. This research identified five primary dimensions that characterize the studied phenomenon: (1) Port Congestion, (2) Logistics coordination among various stakeholders, (3) Logistics costs, (4) Port infrastructure, and (5) Port operations organization. These five dimensions account for 67.04% of the total variance of the assessed variables. From a theoretical perspective, the findings will provide empirical evidence to support developing theory concerning the organizational factors affecting port logistics performance within development-controlled port contexts. From a management perspective, the findings will provide new insight into the need for integrated approaches to address infrastructure, inter-organizational coordination and operational organization issues as a means of reducing logistics costs and enhancing port efficiency.

Classification JEL: R41, R49, L91, D23

Paper type: Empirical Research