F. Parola | University Parthenope (original) (raw)

Papers by F. Parola

XV SIM CONFERENCE, 2018

Transport and logistics are expected to be among the service sectors most impacted by new technol... more Transport and logistics are expected to be among the service sectors most impacted by new technologies labelled as \u201cIndustry 4.0\u201d, due to the array of applications related to both smart transports and \u201cmobility as a service\u201d. In this perspective, logistics centres focused on cargo flows constitute a fruitful research field for assessing the impact of incoming technologies on the business models of logistics companies operating in these centres. The study aims to scrutinize how the adoption of emerging digital technologies could offer valuable marketing opportunities for logistics centres as well as their shippers, by examining over 100 manuscripts and performing a systematic literature review on 41 academic papers published in leading international journals. The paper provides valuable insights for both academics and practitioners. The systematic literature review demonstrates the lack of a comprehensive framework to assess the impact of new digital technologies on logistics centres\u2019 business models and market strategy. The outcomes suggest managers with viable options for innovating logistics centres\u2019 customer value proposition

The Routledge Handbook of Maritime Management, 2019

Journal of International Logistics and Trade, 2006

In the 1990s, following the challenges imposed by globalisation, the liner shipping industry expe... more In the 1990s, following the challenges imposed by globalisation, the liner shipping industry experienced profound changes, leading major carriers to create ad-hoc logistics business-units. Nevertheless the vertical integration of shipping lines along the transport chain faced important entry barriers in various regions.This paper aims at analysing the impact of such barriers on carriers' pathways of expansion in the logistics business. It mainly focuses on the East-Asian market, as a relevant empirical case in which important institutional and socio-political obstacles are still in force .Main results disclose sui-generis paths of expansion achieved by major carriers, in contrast with linear constructs of time and space proposed by classical TNC theories. In such respect, port operations reveal to be the most critical stage of the chain. The 'sidestep' of the port phase, leading to investments in other onshore activities (warehousing, inland terminals, etc.) as well as the

International Journal of Production Economics, 2019

This paper focuses on understanding the carbon footprint associated with international maritime c... more This paper focuses on understanding the carbon footprint associated with international maritime container supply chains. Although extensive studies exist on the impact of international shipping at a global scale, few tools and empirical papers are available to assess the progress made so far in the shift towards carbon clean maritime supply chain. Hence, there is the need for establishing a more transparent methodology to assess the amount and intensity of CO2 emissions at a trade level, but also to better understand how results differ from one trade lane to another. For addressing this gap, our study analyzes the impact of the key contributing factors on the longer-term variation of CO2 emissions in global container shipping. The following research objectives are pursued. First, we identify the key factors affecting CO2 emissions by container ships based on extant literature and business insights. Second, we measure the evolution of the total CO2 emissions by the container fleet in the past decade by offering multi-trade comparisons of the situations in 2007 and 2016. Third, we analyse to what extent the identified factors contributed to the observed changes in average CO2 emissions between 2007 and 2016, again per trade lane. Fourth, we discuss how these findings could be used by shippers and logistics service providers when designing cargo routing solutions in a supply chain setting based on their carbon efficiency. Towards low carbon global supply chains: a multi-trade analysis of CO2 emission reductions in container shipping Paper ID 54

Maritime Economics & Logistics, 2014

The inherent uncertainty, capital intensity and riskiness of investing in ships and port faciliti... more The inherent uncertainty, capital intensity and riskiness of investing in ships and port facilities have led to irregular corporate economic and financial performance for maritime logistics organizations. Although the relative impact of corporate strategy on firm profitability is a topic of considerable scientific and managerial interest, insights into contemporary issues in maritime logistics strategy are still limited. This article provides an exploratory contribution in bridging this gap, by measuring the effects of maritime logistics firm's corporate strategy on overall financial performance. Empirical findings show that investments for growth, focalization on the core business, related diversification and vertical integration have a positive impact on corporate profitability, whereas unrelated diversification does not affect firm's performance and international diversification has a negative effect. The outcomes are consistent with and add to the extant theoretical literature while insightful implications for research and practice are discussed.

R&D Management, 2015

ABSTRACT High-tech firms are triggered to externally acquire and combine additional supplementary... more ABSTRACT High-tech firms are triggered to externally acquire and combine additional supplementary and complementary resources to develop innovative capabilities and generate new knowledge, products, and business ideas. Firms may rely on cooperation, alliances, and other interfirm ties as well as on the external acquisition of the stock of resources and capabilities to foster their innovativeness and support their patent activity. This contribution develops and tests a conceptual framework for assessing external sources of a firm&#39;s innovative performance in high-tech industries. By simultaneously evaluating the explanatory power of technological alliances and financial resources in shaping a firm&#39;s innovative performance, measured as new patents registered, the paper provides some original outcomes from both conceptual and methodological perspectives. Research hypotheses are tested performing ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models on 90 European-listed firms operating in the aerospace and defence industry, engaging over 1,300 technological alliances within the 2007–2011 timeframe. The findings demonstrate that high-tech firms leverage on technological supplementary alliances to innovate and to create new knowledge embodied in artifacts such as patents. In addition, financial slack is proved to be a prerequisite for a successful patent activity in high-tech industries. Empirical outcomes, discriminating between small and large firms, bring valuable insights both for academics and practitioners.

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 2015

Port public-private partnerships (PPPs) are considered to be an important emerging mechanism for ... more Port public-private partnerships (PPPs) are considered to be an important emerging mechanism for port development and improvement in port performance especially for developing countries. This paper empirically investigates the effect of institutional factors in the success of port's PPPs; the latter defined as the attractiveness of the PPP project for private bidders and the market competitiveness of the facility. The empirical investigation of a large sample of ports finds that 'regulatory quality', 'market openness', 'ease to start a business' and 'enforcing contracts' are important institutional determinants of port PPP success and may ultimately contribute to port development and economic growth. The results are consistent with and add to the theoretical literature whereas practical implications for port authorities, managers and investors are discussed.

ECONOMIA E DIRITTO DEL TERZIARIO, 2013

Il presente studio si propone di affrontare il tema dell’impatto crocieristico sul territorio, as... more Il presente studio si propone di affrontare il tema dell’impatto crocieristico sul territorio, assumendo una prospettiva di lungo termine; infatti, il turismo crocieristico contribuisce a valorizzare il territorio mediante il "passaparola" o word-of-mouth (WoM) attivato dai crocieristi. Lo studio, basato su un’analisi empirica relativa ai porti di Genova, Bari e Messina, approfondisce il rapporto tra soddisfazione del crocierista circa la destinazione e intensita del WoM attivato e, nell’ambito dei fattori che influenzano il livello di soddisfazione del passeggero circa la destinazione, esamina gli attributi relativi alla fase terminalistico-portuale (per es. terminal, servizi di accoglienza, informazioni turistiche, ecc).

Maritime Policy & Management, 2005

We close analysing one of the core problems of the market, namely the evolving role of the dedica... more We close analysing one of the core problems of the market, namely the evolving role of the dedicated terminals. For the pure stevedores they represent an opportunity to secure a cargo, while in the hands of the liners they enable cost stability and the possibility to put pressure on pure ...

Maritime Policy & Management, 2007

Over the last few years, liner and stevedoring markets have been facing new challenges. The progr... more Over the last few years, liner and stevedoring markets have been facing new challenges. The progressive concentration on the demand side (carriers) and the emergence of global alliances in the mid-1990s have triggered a similar process of consolidation on the supply side (stevedores). In turn, more recently, the strategic choices of pure terminal operators have led to the progressive involvement

Maritime Economics & Logistics, 2009

Maritime container terminals are playing a growing role within global transport chains. As interm... more Maritime container terminals are playing a growing role within global transport chains. As intermodal nodes between sea traffic flows and inland distribution, they are very important to shipping lines. The current trend of moving towards economies of scale in regard to mother vessels is also having a tremendous impact on seaport operations and hinterland transportation in terms of 'call size'. This paper deals with the study of multimodal container flows at an Italian maritime terminal, focusing the attention on the performance of road and rail connections. In this framework, the current modal unbalance generates heavy problems of congestion and compromises the overall terminal competitiveness. This paper applies a discrete event simulation approach, in order to evaluate the feasibility of an alternative and more balanced scenario achievable in a short-mid-term perspective. Our goal is to enhance the performance of rail connections, without proposing the realisation of a new railway line which is only attainable in the long run, but trying to exploit to the full the available endowment of assets through a deep operational restructuring. Simulation runs performed in this perspective revealed the adequacy of such an approach and demonstrated the successful effects of a modal re-equilibrium.

Maritime Economics & Logistics, 2007

Institutional change of the 1990s in port sectors worldwide has been followed by the emergence of... more Institutional change of the 1990s in port sectors worldwide has been followed by the emergence of port investing/operating transnational corporations (TNCs). Yet the supply of investment opportunities may be diminishing and evidence suggests the investment time window is closing. Timing thus becomes a critical component of the internationalisation process of firms. This paper focuses on temporal aspects of internationalisation. It puts immediate emphasis on Asian TNCs since-as latecomers-they have grown to dominate the industry. We perform a longitudinal analysis of TNC behaviour in relation to changes in domestic and foreign market conditions. Constraints of an institutional nature facing TNC entry in foreign markets are forcing firms to 'leapfrog' some of the logical sequential phases of internationalisation often assumed by mainstream theory. The degree of openness of foreign markets still largely dictates both opportunities and modalities of private entry. Findings suggest that institutional conditions determine to a large extent what strategic choices may be possible in any given context.

Journal of Transport Geography, 2013

Port reforms around the world have opened regional container port terminal markets. The emergence... more Port reforms around the world have opened regional container port terminal markets. The emergence of a wide array of global terminal operators has led to a differentiation in entry strategies driven by their respective objectives and by factors exogenous to the firm. This paper looks at antecedent factors that play a role in a company's entry strategy in a public-private partnership (PPP) setting by performing binomial logistic regression on a large sample of container terminal deals over the period 2002-2010. More specifically, it analyses to what extent firm-specific, external, project and cross-cultural factors play a decisive role in the choice between direct PPPs (i.e. stepping into a new PPP arrangement such as a new concession agreement) and indirect PPPs (i.e. stepping into an existing PPP arrangement through acquisitions). The empirical findings demonstrate the pivotal role of some firm specific characteristics (market experience and business model), external factors (host country development and market openness, government effectiveness, market concentration degree, and market saturation) and project-related factors (project size, number of partners involved, and equity joint venture with the Port Authority), also unveiling some preliminary results in relation to cross-cultural variables.

Journal of Transport Geography, 2009

(A. Frémont). 1 Shipping lines which have taken on many roles in the supply chain, involving more... more (A. Frémont). 1 Shipping lines which have taken on many roles in the supply chain, involving more than just sea transport. One of these activities is terminal operations, which is of interest in this paper. 2 In this respect, a very common term used in the container handling business by leading consultants (Drewry, OSC, etc.) is Global Terminal Operators (GTOs). Nevertheless, in this paper, we prefer to use the term ''ITO" because, as demonstrated by Parola and Veenstra (2008), only a few terminal operators show a real global terminal network. Therefore, it is more appropriate to discuss ''international" players, avoiding the potentially misleading GTO terminology, although widely used. ITOs (as well as GTOs) refers to both PTOs and ISLs as defined earlier.