A Comparative Analysis of Economic, Social and Environmental Efficiency of Major Seaports In India

Abstract

In performing the seaport operations, environmental, social, and economic-related issues are identified, which have resulted in the seaport operations primarily focusing on improving overall sustainability. To mitigate the negative environmental, social and, economic impacts around seaports, assessing sustainable key performance indicators initiatives is a fundamental principle for seaport functionality. This research study aims to achieve three objectives: First, to identify critical factors for sustainable seaports, seaport performance indicators and various key performance indicators relevant to major seaports in India. Second, to establish the relationships between different sustainability factors and various key performance indicators related to seaport sustainability performance measurement. Thirdly, to assess the efficiency of criteria-related to seaport sustainability efficiency and benchmark the seaports using sustainability indicators. The research study employs a mixed methods approach, integrating qualitative and quantitative research techniques. Initially, this research identifies and categorizes aspects of seaport sustainability factors and key performance indicators through systematic literature analysis (SLA), examining the concept of seaport sustainability across global seaports. In the qualitative phase of the study, seaport dimensions, seaport performance indicators, and relevant seaport key performance indicators for assessing seaport sustainability performance were identified, specifically within the context of Indian seaports. This study involved conducting Importance-Performance analysis and semi-structured interviews with 37 maritime/seaport domain experts in India. This technique was applied to finalize the selection of seaport dimensions, seaport performance indicators, and seaport key performance indicators on seaport sustainability performance assessment. The assessment of port sustainability dimensions and their corresponding key performance indicators is based on mean importance and performance values. The port economic and social sustainability dimension was considered highly significant, with port environmental sustainability receiving the highest performance ranking. The presence of a performance gap indicated areas necessitating improvement. The findings underscore the pivotal role of sustainable practices within India's maritime sector, underscoring the imperative to address all 37 assessment items for seaport sustainability. Expert evaluations, ranging from 4.11 to 4.42 on a five-point scale, highlighted the noteworthy sustainability performance across all criteria. iQuantitative data primarily consisted of responses collected through a questionnaire survey from 717 employees across the four major west coast seaports. This survey aimed to assess key performance indicators related to seaport sustainability initiatives. The collected data were then analyzed using the structural equation modeling method with AMOS 23.0. The research findings revealed that factors encompassing seaport environmental sustainability performance, seaport economic sustainability performance, seaport social sustainability performance, seaport internal sustainability performance, and seaport customer sustainability performance have significantly contributed to the overall holistic seaport sustainability performance. The research study reveals significant and anticipated correlations among various dimensions of sustainability performance in seaports. The findings underscore interconnections between diverse sustainability dimensions, suggesting that enhancements in one dimension can positively influence other aspects within a seaport's sustainability framework. Additionally, the research indicates mediation effects within relationships among different sustainability dimensions. An analysis of variance compared mean scores of sustainability assessment dimensions across the four major seaports. The research emphasizes key areas to enhance seaport ecosystem sustainability and achieve benchmarks for environmentally sustainable development. Moreover, these results provided valuable insights for maritime policymakers to facilitate the effective implementation of comprehensive sustainability plans within major Indian seaports. These insights also emphasized the importance of considering the holistic seaport supply chains when devising sustainable developmental strategies. Furthermore, benchmarking the sustainability performance of the four major west-coast seaports in India, responsible for handling a significant portion of liquid cargo, was conducted. This study involved the identification and analysis of longitudinal secondary data spanning the financial years 2016 to 2021. The research established a modeling framework to gauge efficiency and benchmark the sustainability-related performance of these seaports while identifying developmental targets. To achieve this, ten input and ten output parameters related to three pivotal dimensions of sustainability: social, economic, and environmental were examined. The data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique was used for the seaport performance evaluation considering sustainability dimensions. Both desirable and undesirable outputs were factored in under variable returns to scale (VRS), aiming to minimize undesirable attributes in seaport performance. The VRS (DEA-BCC) efficiency scale calculated values for the three sustainability dimensions and factors for iifour major west coast seaports for six years. The research findings revealed that the efficiency of the four major west coast seaports, which primarily handle liquid cargo, varied within the value range of 72.37% to 96.13% for FY-2016-17 to FY-2021-22. The study's outcomes indicated a significant correlation between seaport sustainability input and its corresponding output variables. The study suggests that advancements in a few input seaport sustainability indicators can positively impact the output indicators. Consequently, seaport management and stakeholders should make strategic and tactical decisions to enhance seaport sustainability efforts, pinpointing the effects of sustainability aspects within the seaports. Furthermore, the overall research findings illustrated variations in the values of seaport sustainability performance concerning environmental, economic, and social criteria. These discoveries aligned with established sustainability reports from significant global seaports. Moreover, the research outcomes gained further validation through correlation with real- world scenarios observed in Indian seaports. This research study offers comprehensive insights and can serve as a guiding framework for maritime researchers and port policymakers regarding seaport sustainability factors and their interconnected aspects. Future studies on this subject can leverage these findings to compare sustainability assessments of seaports in various regions and measure seaport sustainability performance (in environmental, economic, and social domains). Further study could involve benchmarking against major and minor seaports in India or globally, utilizing real-time data related to sustainability initiatives.