Elvira Haezendonck | Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Universiteit Antwerp (original) (raw)

Papers by Elvira Haezendonck

IAME annual conference, Jun 27, 2019

Worldwide, there is a need to invest more in infrastructure. Most Western economies face a crumbl... more Worldwide, there is a need to invest more in infrastructure. Most Western economies face a crumbling infrastructure as infrastructure investment has fallen over the past decades. Also, trends such as population growth, urbanisation, population ageing, globalisation, stricter environmental regulation and climate change are spurring need for infrastructure investments worldwide. McKinsey Global Institute (2013) estimates the investment needs at US$ 3.7 trillion annually to close the infrastructure gap. On top of that, austerity curbs public spending, which is problematic given the critical role infrastructure plays in an economy. Authorities are increasingly calling on the private sector to narrow this infrastructure gap. There is an enormous potential among institutional players for infrastructure investing. Infrastructure has several attractive characteristics (insensitivity to the economic cycle, stable cash flows, long asset life cycle) which explain the appetite for infrastructur...

Sustainability, 2020

Today, most large port hubs embrace the circular economy (CE) transformation challenge, and inclu... more Today, most large port hubs embrace the circular economy (CE) transformation challenge, and include this together with smart digitalization and the Internet of Things (IoT) in their strategic priorities [...]

Sustainability, 2020

Large seaport hubs in Northwestern Europe are aiming to develop as circular hotspots and are stri... more Large seaport hubs in Northwestern Europe are aiming to develop as circular hotspots and are striving to become first movers in the circular economy (CE) transition. In order to facilitate their transition, it is therefore relevant to unravel potential patterns of the circular transition that ports are currently undertaking. In this paper, we explore the CE patterns of five Belgian seaports. Based on recent (strategy) documents from port authorities and on in-depth interviews with local port executives, the circular initiatives of these ports are mapped, based on their spatial characteristics and transition focus. The set of initiatives per port indicates its maturity level in terms of transition towards a circular approach. For most studied seaports, an energy recovery focus based on industrial symbiosis initiatives seems to dominate the first stages in the transition process. Most initiatives are not (yet) financially sustainable, and there is a lack of information on potential ne...

Maritime Economics & Logistics, 2019

The expansion of port hubs in densely populated areas increasingly causes headwinds. Besides the ... more The expansion of port hubs in densely populated areas increasingly causes headwinds. Besides the environmental harm, opponents also claim that port growth in terms of traffic, and the necessary capacity to handle cargo, no longer generate the proclaimed value added in their region. Based on two decades of research, valueadded measures, including wages, indicate that diversified port hubs should strategically focus on higher value added-creating types of cargo. This paper presents new data for the Antwerp seaport, and a comparative analysis of direct port value added for transshipment and gateway containers. By means of a bottom-up approach using the financial statements of 16 terminal operators, the value added of different types of traffic has been recalculated on 2015 data by transforming nominal tonnes into so-called "value tonnes". Interestingly, we find that value added coefficients of different cargo types have converged compared to 1995 data, and that gateway containers represent almost twice as much value added than transhipment containers.

International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2016

ABSTRACT Universities, and higher education institutions in general, are ever more influenced by ... more ABSTRACT Universities, and higher education institutions in general, are ever more influenced by output-driven performance indicators and models that originally stem from the profit-organisational context. As a result, universities are increasingly considering management tools that support them in the (decision) process for attaining their strategic goals. The growth-share matrix is one of these tools that has proven its value in diverse business and competitive contexts in the past few decades. The present study’s contribution is twofold. First, we apply and interpret the growth-share matrix as part of a strategic positioning analysis in a strategic university context. Second, we extend this tool by incorporating social inclusion as a third dimension in the analysis. In recent years, discussions on the rising social disparity among adolescents in higher education have increased and different types of actors have raised the motivation to create more equal opportunities for prospective students who rank among the group of socially disadvantaged adolescents. The findings of an empirical case of the proposed model for a particular Belgian academic programme show that increased social inclusion and higher performance parameters, such as growth in student enrolments and diplomas, can be reached simultaneously.

The Blackwell Companion to Maritime Economics, 2012

Geographies of Maritime Transport

A large number of studies have looked into the impact of a firm’s localization in a geographical ... more A large number of studies have looked into the impact of a firm’s localization in a geographical cluster. In one of the most well-known, Porter (Harvard Business Review 76: 77–90, 1998) explained that fierce competition within a cluster improves cluster firms’ performance. Folta et al. (Journal of Business Venturing 21: 217–242, 2006) looked at the impact of cluster size on cluster firms’ innovation rate, alliance partners and private investors. They found increasing individual performances until the cluster consisted of about 65 firms, after which the effect reversed. Decarolis and Deeds (Strategic Management Journal 20: 953–968, 1999) observed a positive link between cluster membership and the firm’s financial performance. Clusters are mostly considered as fruitful environments to generate competitive advantage because they increase productivity, stimulate innovation and attract new firms (Porter 1998, Economic Development Quarterly 14: 15–34, 2000; Marshall in Principles of econo...

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gone through incremental changes during the last decade... more Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gone through incremental changes during the last decades (Carroll in Business & society, 38: 268–295, 1999). The importance of the environmental component of CSR increased during this evolution. Initially, firms limited their actions to product innovations that reduce the final product’s environmental impact. This gradually evolved to process innovations, improving production processes and logistical systems. A new phase commenced when firms sought improvements beyond their own firm boundaries and collaborated vertically with their partners in the supply chain. The firms evaluated the environmental impact of their products during their whole life cycle to reduce these products’ environmental damage. A more recent and less discussed phenomenon is horizontal collaboration between firms. Firms seek environmental improvements in collaborative initiatives with competitors. Sharing resources, capabilities, and competencies are ways of building joi...

European Management Journal, 2021

ABSTRACT Industrial plant closures create a largely unexplored challenge for corporate social res... more ABSTRACT Industrial plant closures create a largely unexplored challenge for corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. Such plant closures lead to brownfield sites: economic assets and large pieces of land that often cannot be redeployed for alternative purposes, except by incurring significant costs. The direct effects of plant closures typically include a rise in unemployment and value chain disturbance (or dismantling), but brownfields are usually also associated with additional social effects and environmental pollution. Here, a proactive CSR strategy means reducing or mitigating the joint, negative social and environmental footprint of industrial plant closures beyond what is mandated by law (which has tended primarily to address direct effects). We assess the various strategies firms can pursue to mitigate negative, post-closure footprints and we distinguish between two alternative strategic options beyond the ‘legal obligations’ approach, namely the ‘core business related’ (core) CSR approach, and the ‘peripheral CSR’ approach. We explore the case of a plant closure by Bekaert S.A., a large, Belgian industrial firm, which adopted a peripheral CSR approach to manage and redevelop a brownfield site. In this context, we identify four enabling conditions for peripheral CSR to be implemented effectively.

Maritime Policy & Management, 2018

In the context of increased scale of carriers and vessel sizes, stakeholder opposition to port ex... more In the context of increased scale of carriers and vessel sizes, stakeholder opposition to port expansion, and heavy regulation, ports prepare their strategic response. A port's competitive strength strongly depends on its capability of developing or retaining competitive advantages. Ports consider options such as strategic partnerships, or any form of collaboration, which could help them to create more or alternative combinations of unique resources as sources of competitive advantage. Taking an extended resource base perspective, the competitive advantages of the Antwerp port cluster are analyzed, using both linear regression and factor analysis, for its integrated hinterland network area, on data of 59 port experts. The results of our analysis show that the port's hinterland extension did not (yet) result in new sources of competitive advantages. This leads us to the reflection that we cannot assume integrated port clusters always lead to projected positive strategic outcomes.

American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 2017

The research aim is to develop and apply the conceptual inter-organizational knowledge transfer e... more The research aim is to develop and apply the conceptual inter-organizational knowledge transfer effectiveness (IOKTE) model to the inter-organizational transfer of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) related knowledge between public sector organizations in Flanders. The model assumes a relationship between an individual's ability to make PPP-related decisions and the extent to which knowledge is sought after, applied and shared in an inter-organisational manner within the public sector. The inter-organizational transfer of knowledge studied in this article is specific to PPP in Flanders and studied for public sector actors active at diverse policy levels. The aim is to uncover the extent to which the current system of inter-organizational knowledge transfer fits the user's satisfaction, expressed as the extent to which the use of the system improves the perceived decision-making on PPPs. The results indicate that searching for, sharing and using PPP-related knowledge sourced in public sector organizations improve the perceived decision-making ability. The research establishes that the current public sector PPP knowledge transfer system is perceived as being effective, yet for the assessment of its efficiency, insufficient data is found. Issues that stand to be improved are the fragmentation of the knowledge assets and the access across policy levels.

International Journal of Project Management, 2017

In order to apprehend how employees (managers and engineers) active in state-owned enterprises (S... more In order to apprehend how employees (managers and engineers) active in state-owned enterprises (SOE) learn from and share working experience in large-scale infrastructure development projects, this research analyses the project-based knowledge transfer and learning that occurred in two complex infrastructure (PPP) projects. Using face-to-face interviews with both internal and external project participants, an expost comparative analysis is made of two large-scale Belgian rail infrastructure projects. The results indicate that transferring the public sector project teams from one project to another allows for inter-project learning to take place. The knowledge transfers from the project setting to the state-owned enterprise are mainly the transfer of individual and tacit knowledge focussing more on (inter-) personal and individual learning, than on organisational learning. The latter is caused by the limited perceived strategic value of the researched projects, because of their public-private partnership (PPP) finance structure. As such, project-based organisational learning for these large-scale infrastructure (LSI) projects remains underdeveloped.

International Journal of Decision Sciences, Risk and Management, 2016

/BUSI drs. Mychal Langenus is a third year PhD Student at the University of Brussels (VUB). He ha... more /BUSI drs. Mychal Langenus is a third year PhD Student at the University of Brussels (VUB). He has obtained his Bachelors' and Masters' Degree in Applied Economics at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel magna cum laude before being involved in the EU Seventh Framework Programme 'PORTOPIA', as a project manager. His research interests involve: port management, performance management, complex environments and trust.

Research in Transportation Business & Management, 2014

River tourism becomes for many ports an important development area that often requires additional... more River tourism becomes for many ports an important development area that often requires additional infrastructure investments. As such there is a need to understand whether such investments are legitimized by the expected economic impacts. To this end we develop a scenario planning method to assess the economic impacts of river tourism on a port region in terms of added value, created employment, port revenues, and fiscal impact. We illustrate the method through the case of Brussels, which involves desk research, 19 interviews with diverse stakeholders, macroeconomic data and workshops with senior port management. The case illustrates step-by-step how to determine economic impacts under different scenarios. We argue that such an exercise aids port managers with examining the business case for river tourism and to determine the optimal level of investments in river tourism infrastructure. We conclude by offering managerial recommendations and discuss how the method can be applied to other cases.

International Journal of Project Management, 2015

While public entities are still increasingly interested in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), we... more While public entities are still increasingly interested in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), we recently observe increasing reluctance from private partners to engage in PPP-bidding. Up-front costs that PPP bidders make, are considered too high compared to the bidding chances, and may result in less bidders in the future. In this paper, we empirically analyze transaction costs of PPPs in the pre-contractual stage and compare these to similar costs borne by private partners for traditional public procurement. Statistical analyses based on sample of 172 public infrastructure projects enable the estimation of the pre-contractual cost burden. Based on the study results, suggestions are made to lower these costs or to improve the cost position of the private sector, in order to safeguard the competitive setting of the PPP market.

International journal of maritime economics, 2000

The performance of a seaport mn be assessed in strategic terms by means of portfolio analyses bas... more The performance of a seaport mn be assessed in strategic terms by means of portfolio analyses based on traffic volumes expressed in nominal tons. This article suggests that differences in the creation of value added among traffic mtegories mn great1y contribute to such strategic assessment. A weighted analysis of traffic data allows the identifimtion of market niches with potential for future development. However, the actual weighing of traffic volumes usually lacks transparency and is based on weighing rules which have only limited validity. Therefore, these rules mnnot be viewed as appropriate for a generalised use in the context of seaport comparisons. In this paper, an 'Antwerp rule' and a 'range rule' are developed, based on relevant maritime traffic information. The former rule mn be usefully applied to data on the Antwerp port, whereas the latter allows the introduction of the value added concept in comparative traffic studies that include all ports in the Hamburg-Le Havre range. The introduction of intrinsic mrgo handling tons in port comparisons enables ports with important volumes of general mrgo, such as Antwerp, Zeebrugge and Hamburg, to improve their competitive position.

Business Ethics: A European Review, 2014

In CSR literature, the principle of voluntarism is predominant and implies that responsible busin... more In CSR literature, the principle of voluntarism is predominant and implies that responsible business activities are discretionary and reach beyond the rule of law. This principle fails to explain that governments have a great interest in CSR and exercise influence on firms' CSR activities. Therefore, we argue in favour of a contingency approach on voluntarism in CSR. To this end, we analyse academic literature to demonstrate how governments are part of the CSR debate. We selected 703 papers where the impact of governments is mentioned from five journals in our field (BE:ER, BEQ, BSE, B&S, JBE) in the period of 1982 to 2011. We studied the titles and abstracts of these papers and provide an overview of (i) the geographical orientation of the reviewed studies, (ii) the variety of government levels involved, and (iii) the various subjects where governments appear to be involved. In addition, an in-depth reading of a subsample of 39 articles offers more details on the role of governments in the CSR literature. Hence, we offer a structured overview on the discussion of CSR and governments, while stimulating a contingent understanding of the voluntarism concept in corporate social responsibility.

IAME annual conference, Jun 27, 2019

Worldwide, there is a need to invest more in infrastructure. Most Western economies face a crumbl... more Worldwide, there is a need to invest more in infrastructure. Most Western economies face a crumbling infrastructure as infrastructure investment has fallen over the past decades. Also, trends such as population growth, urbanisation, population ageing, globalisation, stricter environmental regulation and climate change are spurring need for infrastructure investments worldwide. McKinsey Global Institute (2013) estimates the investment needs at US$ 3.7 trillion annually to close the infrastructure gap. On top of that, austerity curbs public spending, which is problematic given the critical role infrastructure plays in an economy. Authorities are increasingly calling on the private sector to narrow this infrastructure gap. There is an enormous potential among institutional players for infrastructure investing. Infrastructure has several attractive characteristics (insensitivity to the economic cycle, stable cash flows, long asset life cycle) which explain the appetite for infrastructur...

Sustainability, 2020

Today, most large port hubs embrace the circular economy (CE) transformation challenge, and inclu... more Today, most large port hubs embrace the circular economy (CE) transformation challenge, and include this together with smart digitalization and the Internet of Things (IoT) in their strategic priorities [...]

Sustainability, 2020

Large seaport hubs in Northwestern Europe are aiming to develop as circular hotspots and are stri... more Large seaport hubs in Northwestern Europe are aiming to develop as circular hotspots and are striving to become first movers in the circular economy (CE) transition. In order to facilitate their transition, it is therefore relevant to unravel potential patterns of the circular transition that ports are currently undertaking. In this paper, we explore the CE patterns of five Belgian seaports. Based on recent (strategy) documents from port authorities and on in-depth interviews with local port executives, the circular initiatives of these ports are mapped, based on their spatial characteristics and transition focus. The set of initiatives per port indicates its maturity level in terms of transition towards a circular approach. For most studied seaports, an energy recovery focus based on industrial symbiosis initiatives seems to dominate the first stages in the transition process. Most initiatives are not (yet) financially sustainable, and there is a lack of information on potential ne...

Maritime Economics & Logistics, 2019

The expansion of port hubs in densely populated areas increasingly causes headwinds. Besides the ... more The expansion of port hubs in densely populated areas increasingly causes headwinds. Besides the environmental harm, opponents also claim that port growth in terms of traffic, and the necessary capacity to handle cargo, no longer generate the proclaimed value added in their region. Based on two decades of research, valueadded measures, including wages, indicate that diversified port hubs should strategically focus on higher value added-creating types of cargo. This paper presents new data for the Antwerp seaport, and a comparative analysis of direct port value added for transshipment and gateway containers. By means of a bottom-up approach using the financial statements of 16 terminal operators, the value added of different types of traffic has been recalculated on 2015 data by transforming nominal tonnes into so-called "value tonnes". Interestingly, we find that value added coefficients of different cargo types have converged compared to 1995 data, and that gateway containers represent almost twice as much value added than transhipment containers.

International Journal of Inclusive Education, 2016

ABSTRACT Universities, and higher education institutions in general, are ever more influenced by ... more ABSTRACT Universities, and higher education institutions in general, are ever more influenced by output-driven performance indicators and models that originally stem from the profit-organisational context. As a result, universities are increasingly considering management tools that support them in the (decision) process for attaining their strategic goals. The growth-share matrix is one of these tools that has proven its value in diverse business and competitive contexts in the past few decades. The present study’s contribution is twofold. First, we apply and interpret the growth-share matrix as part of a strategic positioning analysis in a strategic university context. Second, we extend this tool by incorporating social inclusion as a third dimension in the analysis. In recent years, discussions on the rising social disparity among adolescents in higher education have increased and different types of actors have raised the motivation to create more equal opportunities for prospective students who rank among the group of socially disadvantaged adolescents. The findings of an empirical case of the proposed model for a particular Belgian academic programme show that increased social inclusion and higher performance parameters, such as growth in student enrolments and diplomas, can be reached simultaneously.

The Blackwell Companion to Maritime Economics, 2012

Geographies of Maritime Transport

A large number of studies have looked into the impact of a firm’s localization in a geographical ... more A large number of studies have looked into the impact of a firm’s localization in a geographical cluster. In one of the most well-known, Porter (Harvard Business Review 76: 77–90, 1998) explained that fierce competition within a cluster improves cluster firms’ performance. Folta et al. (Journal of Business Venturing 21: 217–242, 2006) looked at the impact of cluster size on cluster firms’ innovation rate, alliance partners and private investors. They found increasing individual performances until the cluster consisted of about 65 firms, after which the effect reversed. Decarolis and Deeds (Strategic Management Journal 20: 953–968, 1999) observed a positive link between cluster membership and the firm’s financial performance. Clusters are mostly considered as fruitful environments to generate competitive advantage because they increase productivity, stimulate innovation and attract new firms (Porter 1998, Economic Development Quarterly 14: 15–34, 2000; Marshall in Principles of econo...

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gone through incremental changes during the last decade... more Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gone through incremental changes during the last decades (Carroll in Business & society, 38: 268–295, 1999). The importance of the environmental component of CSR increased during this evolution. Initially, firms limited their actions to product innovations that reduce the final product’s environmental impact. This gradually evolved to process innovations, improving production processes and logistical systems. A new phase commenced when firms sought improvements beyond their own firm boundaries and collaborated vertically with their partners in the supply chain. The firms evaluated the environmental impact of their products during their whole life cycle to reduce these products’ environmental damage. A more recent and less discussed phenomenon is horizontal collaboration between firms. Firms seek environmental improvements in collaborative initiatives with competitors. Sharing resources, capabilities, and competencies are ways of building joi...

European Management Journal, 2021

ABSTRACT Industrial plant closures create a largely unexplored challenge for corporate social res... more ABSTRACT Industrial plant closures create a largely unexplored challenge for corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. Such plant closures lead to brownfield sites: economic assets and large pieces of land that often cannot be redeployed for alternative purposes, except by incurring significant costs. The direct effects of plant closures typically include a rise in unemployment and value chain disturbance (or dismantling), but brownfields are usually also associated with additional social effects and environmental pollution. Here, a proactive CSR strategy means reducing or mitigating the joint, negative social and environmental footprint of industrial plant closures beyond what is mandated by law (which has tended primarily to address direct effects). We assess the various strategies firms can pursue to mitigate negative, post-closure footprints and we distinguish between two alternative strategic options beyond the ‘legal obligations’ approach, namely the ‘core business related’ (core) CSR approach, and the ‘peripheral CSR’ approach. We explore the case of a plant closure by Bekaert S.A., a large, Belgian industrial firm, which adopted a peripheral CSR approach to manage and redevelop a brownfield site. In this context, we identify four enabling conditions for peripheral CSR to be implemented effectively.

Maritime Policy & Management, 2018

In the context of increased scale of carriers and vessel sizes, stakeholder opposition to port ex... more In the context of increased scale of carriers and vessel sizes, stakeholder opposition to port expansion, and heavy regulation, ports prepare their strategic response. A port's competitive strength strongly depends on its capability of developing or retaining competitive advantages. Ports consider options such as strategic partnerships, or any form of collaboration, which could help them to create more or alternative combinations of unique resources as sources of competitive advantage. Taking an extended resource base perspective, the competitive advantages of the Antwerp port cluster are analyzed, using both linear regression and factor analysis, for its integrated hinterland network area, on data of 59 port experts. The results of our analysis show that the port's hinterland extension did not (yet) result in new sources of competitive advantages. This leads us to the reflection that we cannot assume integrated port clusters always lead to projected positive strategic outcomes.

American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 2017

The research aim is to develop and apply the conceptual inter-organizational knowledge transfer e... more The research aim is to develop and apply the conceptual inter-organizational knowledge transfer effectiveness (IOKTE) model to the inter-organizational transfer of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) related knowledge between public sector organizations in Flanders. The model assumes a relationship between an individual's ability to make PPP-related decisions and the extent to which knowledge is sought after, applied and shared in an inter-organisational manner within the public sector. The inter-organizational transfer of knowledge studied in this article is specific to PPP in Flanders and studied for public sector actors active at diverse policy levels. The aim is to uncover the extent to which the current system of inter-organizational knowledge transfer fits the user's satisfaction, expressed as the extent to which the use of the system improves the perceived decision-making on PPPs. The results indicate that searching for, sharing and using PPP-related knowledge sourced in public sector organizations improve the perceived decision-making ability. The research establishes that the current public sector PPP knowledge transfer system is perceived as being effective, yet for the assessment of its efficiency, insufficient data is found. Issues that stand to be improved are the fragmentation of the knowledge assets and the access across policy levels.

International Journal of Project Management, 2017

In order to apprehend how employees (managers and engineers) active in state-owned enterprises (S... more In order to apprehend how employees (managers and engineers) active in state-owned enterprises (SOE) learn from and share working experience in large-scale infrastructure development projects, this research analyses the project-based knowledge transfer and learning that occurred in two complex infrastructure (PPP) projects. Using face-to-face interviews with both internal and external project participants, an expost comparative analysis is made of two large-scale Belgian rail infrastructure projects. The results indicate that transferring the public sector project teams from one project to another allows for inter-project learning to take place. The knowledge transfers from the project setting to the state-owned enterprise are mainly the transfer of individual and tacit knowledge focussing more on (inter-) personal and individual learning, than on organisational learning. The latter is caused by the limited perceived strategic value of the researched projects, because of their public-private partnership (PPP) finance structure. As such, project-based organisational learning for these large-scale infrastructure (LSI) projects remains underdeveloped.

International Journal of Decision Sciences, Risk and Management, 2016

/BUSI drs. Mychal Langenus is a third year PhD Student at the University of Brussels (VUB). He ha... more /BUSI drs. Mychal Langenus is a third year PhD Student at the University of Brussels (VUB). He has obtained his Bachelors' and Masters' Degree in Applied Economics at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel magna cum laude before being involved in the EU Seventh Framework Programme 'PORTOPIA', as a project manager. His research interests involve: port management, performance management, complex environments and trust.

Research in Transportation Business & Management, 2014

River tourism becomes for many ports an important development area that often requires additional... more River tourism becomes for many ports an important development area that often requires additional infrastructure investments. As such there is a need to understand whether such investments are legitimized by the expected economic impacts. To this end we develop a scenario planning method to assess the economic impacts of river tourism on a port region in terms of added value, created employment, port revenues, and fiscal impact. We illustrate the method through the case of Brussels, which involves desk research, 19 interviews with diverse stakeholders, macroeconomic data and workshops with senior port management. The case illustrates step-by-step how to determine economic impacts under different scenarios. We argue that such an exercise aids port managers with examining the business case for river tourism and to determine the optimal level of investments in river tourism infrastructure. We conclude by offering managerial recommendations and discuss how the method can be applied to other cases.

International Journal of Project Management, 2015

While public entities are still increasingly interested in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), we... more While public entities are still increasingly interested in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), we recently observe increasing reluctance from private partners to engage in PPP-bidding. Up-front costs that PPP bidders make, are considered too high compared to the bidding chances, and may result in less bidders in the future. In this paper, we empirically analyze transaction costs of PPPs in the pre-contractual stage and compare these to similar costs borne by private partners for traditional public procurement. Statistical analyses based on sample of 172 public infrastructure projects enable the estimation of the pre-contractual cost burden. Based on the study results, suggestions are made to lower these costs or to improve the cost position of the private sector, in order to safeguard the competitive setting of the PPP market.

International journal of maritime economics, 2000

The performance of a seaport mn be assessed in strategic terms by means of portfolio analyses bas... more The performance of a seaport mn be assessed in strategic terms by means of portfolio analyses based on traffic volumes expressed in nominal tons. This article suggests that differences in the creation of value added among traffic mtegories mn great1y contribute to such strategic assessment. A weighted analysis of traffic data allows the identifimtion of market niches with potential for future development. However, the actual weighing of traffic volumes usually lacks transparency and is based on weighing rules which have only limited validity. Therefore, these rules mnnot be viewed as appropriate for a generalised use in the context of seaport comparisons. In this paper, an 'Antwerp rule' and a 'range rule' are developed, based on relevant maritime traffic information. The former rule mn be usefully applied to data on the Antwerp port, whereas the latter allows the introduction of the value added concept in comparative traffic studies that include all ports in the Hamburg-Le Havre range. The introduction of intrinsic mrgo handling tons in port comparisons enables ports with important volumes of general mrgo, such as Antwerp, Zeebrugge and Hamburg, to improve their competitive position.

Business Ethics: A European Review, 2014

In CSR literature, the principle of voluntarism is predominant and implies that responsible busin... more In CSR literature, the principle of voluntarism is predominant and implies that responsible business activities are discretionary and reach beyond the rule of law. This principle fails to explain that governments have a great interest in CSR and exercise influence on firms' CSR activities. Therefore, we argue in favour of a contingency approach on voluntarism in CSR. To this end, we analyse academic literature to demonstrate how governments are part of the CSR debate. We selected 703 papers where the impact of governments is mentioned from five journals in our field (BE:ER, BEQ, BSE, B&S, JBE) in the period of 1982 to 2011. We studied the titles and abstracts of these papers and provide an overview of (i) the geographical orientation of the reviewed studies, (ii) the variety of government levels involved, and (iii) the various subjects where governments appear to be involved. In addition, an in-depth reading of a subsample of 39 articles offers more details on the role of governments in the CSR literature. Hence, we offer a structured overview on the discussion of CSR and governments, while stimulating a contingent understanding of the voluntarism concept in corporate social responsibility.