TITLE:
Evaluating the Competitive Position of Port of Douala in Central Africa Regional Ports Market Conduct Using the SSA
AUTHORS:
Nguelle Véronique Balla
KEYWORDS:
Competitive Position, Port of Douala, Central African Seaports, Market Struc-ture, Shift Share Analysis
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Applied Sciences,
Vol.10 No.7,
July
29,
2020
ABSTRACT: This paper aims to analyze the competitive position
of Port of Douala in Central African ports market structure. In other words, it
consists of measuring port market level and competitiveness through an
assessment of their growth rate and market share. The purpose of the paper is to provide
us with information on periodical changing status of ports competing with each
other. It also provides us with an effective managerial tool to port operators
in the assessment of ports market share and position. For doing so, the measurement technique as Shift-Share Analysis was
applied in the study by using a panel dataset of the 7 selected ports of
Central Africa sub-region from 2008 to 2018. The paper used the recent dynamics
and characteristics of port market in terms of port throughputs to compare the
yearly trend and market share. By conducting the study of the market growth
rate model, the findings showed that the Port of Douala was the top leader of
the market in 2009, 2015, 2016 and 2018. The findings also revealed the
competitive positions of these ports under study have changed over the period
of study due to the significant change of their market share with average
growth rates. The final results showed that several determinant factors have
affected the present hierarchy of competitiveness level in the selected ports
market especially with small and medium size ports that are strengthening their
positions vis-a-vis larger ones. However, the results could be used for
analyzing the relative efficiency and overall performance of the Central
African Sub-regional seaports including the Cameroonian ports.