A conceptual application of cooperative game theory to liner shipping strategic alliances

Since its advent, the liner shipping industry has been characterized by fierce competition and cooperation amongst the member carriers. In recent years, almost all the liners have sought extensive cooperation with others, as reflected mainly by the formation of strategic shipping alliances. Despite this, there are still some liners who prefer the ‘go-it-alone’ policy and have achieved relative success. It seems that cooperation is not always necessary for a liner company's success. It follows that a study that aims to find the rationale behind liner cooperation (or non-cooperation) is of great significance. Over many years of development, game theory has proved to be a useful tool in the study of economics. It is analytically applicable in this market. With these arguments in mind, this paper aims to apply cooperative game theory to analyse co-operation among members of liner shipping strategic alliances. This will involve: (i) presenting a detailed and systematic analysis of liner shipping strategic alliances: (ii) a concise overview of the development of game theory with specific focus on cooperative game theory, and (iii) deducing a conceptual framework through the application of cooperative game theory to liner shipping strategic alliances. The accomplishment of the aforementioned objectives will enhance understanding of inter-organizational relationships and decision-making behaviour in the liner shipping sector.     

A critical evaluation of strategic alliances in liner shipping

During the last few years, the liner industry has endured a period of radical change, largely due to the formation of the so-called global strategic alliances amongst leading container carriers. However, not even after a full year of operations, a series of cross-alliance mergers and acquisitions has forced three out of the four newly formed alliances to restructure and/or modify their partner base. While this recent development does not put an end to such kind of agreements, as the merged companies are still committed in a second generation of strategic alliances, it highlights the fact that, despite the intentions of their respective partners, such alliances are actually characterized by a high level of instability. This paper, after considering the key profiles of strategic alliances in liner shipping, argues that their current structure may prove inherently inadequate to deliver an acceptable level of stability. The main factors driving such instability can be found in the increased organizational complexity of the alliance as well as in the establishment of a certain degree of intra-alliance competition, whose effects are likely to undermine the level of mutual trust between partner companies. Causes and effects of such factors are investigated and some measures aimed at controlling alliance instability are also suggested.     

Strategic alliances in container liner shipping

The economic crisis in the years between 2008 and 2010 has demonstrated the necessity for substantial adjustments on behalf of container lines. Capacities were shifted quickly to emerging and less affected markets allowing a faster recovery of globally organized companies. This paper illustrates the dynamics in the container shipping market. Alongside the main characteristics of the Top 20 ocean shipping companies, liner services are described. These services are classified by geographic coverage and vessel deployment. In addition, this paper provides a better understanding of the collaboration among service providers. Starting from a general framework of co-operative liner services, in-depth analyses of the global alliances in liner shipping are obtained. These formations - Grand Alliance, New World Alliance and CKYH Alliance - are compared with alternative forms of collaboration in the liner shipping industry. The analysis of alliance announcements which are related to operational and strategic changes indicates that the “global alliances” cannot be regarded as closed corporate-like entities. In effect, service agreements are not only negotiated with the focal members of the specific alliance. Instead, every service is arranged individually and under specific conditions. By understanding the dynamics within alliances, we are able to develop an assessment relating to the stability of collaborations. Ultimately, these insights direct us to several paths for future research.     

Korean liner shipping in the era of global alliances

In the course of the last two decades Korean shipping has emerged as a major player in the liner market. In 1970 there was not a single container ship in the Korean fleet; yet, within the next two decades, shipping companies from Korea have become included among the top 10 liner operators in the world, in the context of a spectacular ascent of Asian companies in international container shipping. During the same period the organization of liner shipping itself underwent major changes. In the 1970s and 1980s, pools and powerful consortia prevailed, maximizing frequency and optimizing fleet deployment under pressure from the high investment entailed by containerization. The era of consortia, however, came to a close in the early 1990s; intermodalism and the expansion of the major liner companies into forward and backward segments of the transport chain rendered them inflexible for pursuing individual strategies of product diversification with a view to larger market shares. Global alliances were finally born as a result of a major reshuffling of co-operation agreements and of the globalization of the production process on the demand side. The aim of this paper is to follow and assess the options available to an aggressive low-cost national fleet in its journey to competitive maturity through a period of changing organization of liner shipping, focusing on the course of the leading Korean container company, and one of the largest in the world today, Hanjin. It highlights at the same time both the deep structural changes which liner shipping has undergone in the last two decades and the effects of current changes, such as the recent wave of mergers in this sector.     

The coopetition game in international liner shipping

In maritime freight transportation, carriers build collaborative relationships with other carriers while competing with each other to optimize their own profits. In such a scenario, a game of coopetition is formed. We formulate a nonlinear mixed-integer problem to determine the optimal levels of coopetition for a single company and embed the resulting problem into a general game theoretic framework. A diagonalization algorithm that incorporates an ascent direction search technique is developed to effectively evaluate the game. The numerical results show that carriers choose similar coopetition levels to maximize their profits, and the coopetition game can reach equilibrium under general conditions.     

护航中希海上“新丝路”

2010年10月2日,正在希腊访问的温家宝总理与希腊总理帕潘德里欧共同出席中国船级社(CCS)与希腊卡迪夫航运集团公司新造船入级检验服务协议签署仪式。期间,中国船级社总裁李科浚应邀参加了温家宝总理视察中希大型合作项目——比雷埃夫斯港集装箱码头的活动。10月22日,中国船级社地中海地区委员会2010年年会在北京召开。交通运输部部长李盛霖、副部长徐祖远分别出席相关活动,并亲切会见全体委员。短短20天时间里,我国政府总理、部长相继出席了中国船级社与希腊相关方的合作项目及活动。很显然,在进一步深化中希全面战略伙伴关系的背景下,中国船级社被寄予了更多期待。     

The evolution of Canadian liner shipping policy

This paper traces the evolution of Canadian liner shipping policy from its beginnings, at the time of the initial formation of shipping conferences, in the late nineteenth century, to its current form, as provided by the 1987 Shipping Conference Exemption Act. It is shown that evolution has been associated with a shift in policy orientation from an initial British-based position to a contemporary form that is distincly American in nature. The reasons for this shift are analysed and the similarities and differences between curent Canadian and U.S.A. legislation are identified. The paper shows that the adoption by Canada of an American-style policy became inevitable once the container revolution had physically integrated the transport systems of both nations.     

班轮运输业反垄断豁免前瞻

列举了班轮运输业的四大垄断形式,简要介绍了主要航运国家的反垄断豁免规制,分析了反垄断豁免的利弊,预测了反垄断豁免的演变趋势,提出了对我国发展班轮运输业的建议.     

Complexity theory applied to management of shipping companies

Theory of complexity , in the author's opinion, describes life better than the hitherto available theories, as it deals more effectively with dynamic, non-linear and cyclical phenomena. The author will here attempt the application of the theory of complexity to the management of shipping companies , especially those of Greek management style. This paper will also deal with the relationship of competition in shipping. The question that will be put and answered is whether a firm should be a hierarchical, inflexible structure, ordered from above. If, however, a company is seen as a self-organized emerging order, then a new approach must be adopted, i.e. that of complexity theory. The choice of the above combination is because a shipping environment is indeed unpredictable, volatile, cyclical and international, as well as complex. It is believed that this new theory can yield a new, more pragmatic, insight into the way shipping companies and ships should be managed. The innovative element of this work is that it will be the first time internationally (except for the work of Li and Parsons [1]) that the theory of complexity will be applied to shipping. In addition, no previous attempts have been made to apply this theory to management of shipping companies.     

关于加强台湾海峡两岸集装箱班轮运输管理的公告

为加强台湾海峡两岸间集装箱班轮运输管理,规范两岸间集装箱班轮运输市场秩序,根据《中华人民共和国国际海运条例》(以下称《国际海运条例》)、《台湾海峡两岸间航运管理办法》(交通部1996年第6号令)等有关规定,现将两岸间集装箱班轮运输管理有关事项公告如下: 一、两岸间接     

Equality of bargaining power in contracts for international liner shipping

Mandatory rules exist in contracts for international liner shipping primarily because of imbalances and non-equity in the allocation of contract responsibilities. The superior bargaining position owned by the carriers depends largely upon liner market monopoly levels, the supply and demand balance between the shipper and carrier, and the cargo volume size of the shippers. With the development of shipping technologies, mode of transport, and shipping competition policy, the unequal comparison of bargaining forces between shippers and carriers changes. When the existing mandatory rule was deemed no longer necessary due to changing circumstances, legislation requirements to restore freedom to contract became apparent. When both sides have equal bargaining power, adoption of the principle of freedom of contract for their business relationships is suitable. The Rotterdam Rules concerning freedom of volume contract construction is based on equal bargaining powers between both sides and responds to the evolving situation of the industry. The Rules represent the development trend of today’s theory of contracts for international liner shipping and the demand for legal and institutional changes.     

国际集装箱班轮联盟发展透视及我国航运企业应对策略

分析国际集装箱班轮联盟的发展现状以及班轮联盟的优势和弊端,并在此基础上,针对我国航运企业发展的实际情况,提出我国航运企业的应对策略。     

Network economies in liner shipping: the role of home markets

This paper deals with the measurement of the network complexity of some selected shipping groups, also identifying the contribution of co-operative agreements among carriers. The empirical investigation is focused on: (i) the analysis of the distribution of the carrying capacity per range; and (ii) the comparison of that capacity with the throughput handled in the port facilities of the group. These variables are interpreted in the light of the impact that alliances have on the geographical wideness of the services supplied by each partner. This factor also allows to depict how the cultural and political origin of shipping lines affects the decision of joining an alliance and the outcomes deriving from such co-operation.     

Network economies in liner shipping: the role of home markets

This paper deals with the measurement of the network complexity of some selected shipping groups, also identifying the contribution of co-operative agreements among carriers. The empirical investigation is focused on: (i) the analysis of the distribution of the carrying capacity per range; and (ii) the comparison of that capacity with the throughput handled in the port facilities of the group. These variables are interpreted in the light of the impact that alliances have on the geographical wideness of the services supplied by each partner. This factor also allows to depict how the cultural and political origin of shipping lines affects the decision of joining an alliance and the outcomes deriving from such co-operation.     

情景规划法在航运企业战略规划中的应用

介绍情景规划法的概念、特点、相对优势及其与传统规划法的区别,为优化企业资源配置,指导企业行动方向,为未来不确定的情景准备预案和应对情景所需的资源,提出情景规划法在航运企业战略规划中的应用步骤：确定规划目标;分析主要外部影响因素;构建情景矩阵;详尽描述每个情景;量化每个情景对企业的影响,阐明相应的战略对策。     

“后危机时代”航运公司的战略选择

以2007年3月13日全美第二大次级抵押贷款机构--新世纪金融公司濒临破产为标志,拉开了上世纪三十年代以来的最为严重的一次金融危机的序幕.一年半以来,在世界各国的共同努力下,全球金融体系趋稳,全球经济下滑势头受到了初步遏制.尤其是中国政府实施了大规模的经济刺激计划,使中国经济仍保持了较高的增长速度,为世界经济发展做出了贡献.