Despite the fact that the Northeast Asia (NEA) region, which had four of the top five and
20 of the top 30 container ports in the world in 2003, can be regarded as holding a central
position in liner shipping and the handling of container cargo volumes, very little research
has been done into the evaluation of its port competitiveness (EPC). For this reason, the
EPC in NEA can be regarded as a problematic and urgent issue to be solved, and worthy of
academic attention.
From this aspect, this research set out to attempt to address the above issue by means of
utilizing expert knowledge. However, the EPC contains problems of complex multipleattributes
and multiple-hierarchies (CMAMH). In addition, difficulties concerning certain
characteristics of evaluation such as complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity are also
involved. To deal with such problems, in this research, the employment of integrated fuzzy
evaluation (IFE) as a methodology was decided upon.
As a result of the adaptation of the methodology, certain indications from this research to
the theory and practice for container ports have emerged and are clearly identifiable. With
regard to theory, this study has contributed to theoretical development significantly in four
ways. First, the factors and taxonomy of port competitiveness for the container ports in
NEA have been provided for the first time. Second, this is the first integrated approach for
the EPC in NEA, the most competitive area in the world. Third, this research was also the
first to attempt extracting critical weak points and/or influential factors affecting current
port competitiveness. Finally, the adoption of IFE made it possible for the first time to
uncover the interactive relationships between the competing container ports.
In terms of practice, this research has also provided certain contributions of utmost
importance. First of all, the study has provided a suggestion for the most recent port
ranking in respect of port competitiveness. Moreover, changes in competitiveness power,
which are dynamically and interactively affected by the relationship between the ports,
have been successfully estimated and suggested. Thus, such changes in the
competitiveness in NEA can now be easily forecasted by port actors