Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences and Economics, Alzahra University, Tehran
2
M.A of Business Management, Faculty of Management and Economics, Science & Research Branch University, Tehran, Iran
3
Department of Management, Faculty of Humanities, University of Hazrat-e Masoumeh, Qom, Iran,
4
Ph.D of Economics of Mofid University and Teacher of University of Hazrat-e Masoumeh, Qom, Iran
Abstract
Iranian ports, especially those located at south, are primary centers of trade between Iran and the world. In recent years, these ports have played an increasingly critical role in national economy. The aim of this research is presentation a framework to investigate the drivers affecting selection of the best bulk terminal as the destination of Iranian and also determination of the importance of these factors to prioritize bulk terminals. The present study develops a multi-criteria decision-making model for identification and prioritization of factors affecting selection of a port as destination port by importers of bulk cargoes. Attitude of this research is quantitative and purpose of this research is applied and in terms of method is descriptive-survey. The methodology of present survey included two steps. First, presentation a framework for identifying and ranking the drivers of gaining the competitive advantage in bulk ports for importing bulk products. Second, drivers affecting selection of port and their rating were identified and ranking of studied ports were done. For first step, background of the research and opinion of the experts and DEMATEL method and hierarchical analysis was used for second step. Among the bulk importers 20 experts were selected using purposive sampling method to answer the questions. Considering experts’ comments and their processing through DEMATEL techniques, one could suggest that the f drivers of unloading rate, entry of port, and skilled labor force were the most significant drivers to gain competitive advantage in bulk ports. This is while customs formalities were suggested to be the least significant driver from their viewpoint. According to the results of the research, structural, context and content drivers are the appropriate framework for assessing the identification and ranking the drivers to gain competitive advantage in bulk ports for importing bulk products in Iran.
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