The drivers of port competitiveness: A critical review

academic research on port competitiveness has so far focused onthe identification of the drivers of port competitiveness and theirmeasurement. This paper argues that the port competitivenessand its drivers are significantly affected by major changes inmaritime industry, which scholars have not sufficiently addressed.Therefore, the manuscript explores the multidimensional nature of“port competitiveness”by conducting a systematic literaturereview of leading peer-reviewed international journals, betweenthe 1983 and 2014 time frame. The analysis allows a profoundunderstanding and a categorisation of the main drivers of portcompetitiveness. Main findings present a hierarchy of key driversand suggest that major industry transformations moderate theinfluential role of traditional drivers and reshuffle their relativesalience. The study also identifies some unexplored research areasfor future studies