Application of the Balanced Theory of Port Competitiveness (BTOPC) to the Cruise Industry

The Balanced Theory of Port Competitiveness (BTOPC) was developed to inform the literature and practice concerning decision-making at global seaports, specifically in container terminals. It explains how decision-makers must balance the need to satisfy investors (Investor Competitiveness) with that of customers (Customer Competitiveness) in their decision-making process. Failure to do so can harm their ability to attract and retain investors and customers. This paper aims to apply the BTOPC theory to analyze managers' decisions at Cruise Ports. Through a series of interviews and surveys with port managers at Cruise Ports in France, Taiwan, Japan, the United States, and Italy, this study finds that the BTOPC explains the decisions of port managers when attracting new customers but does not fully explain the decisions managers make when trying to attract new investors to the Cruise industry. Using these findings, this study informs the BTOPC to improve its application to Cruise Ports. This is the next step in attempting to create a unified theory of Container and Cruise port decision-making.