Use of exploratory factor analysis in maritime research Maskey, Reenu; Fei, Jiangang; Nguyen, Hong-Oanh
Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics,
June 2018, 2018-06-00, 2018-06-01, 2018-06, Letnik:
34, Številka:
2
Journal Article
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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the approaches that are undertaken while applying exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in maritime journals to attain a factor solution that fulfils the criteria ...of EFA, achieves the research objectives and makes interpretation easy. To achieve the aim of this paper, published articles across maritime journals will be examined to discuss the use of EFA. This will be followed by an example of EFA using an empirical data set to emphasise the approaches that can be undertaken to make appropriate decisions as to whether to retain or drop an item from the analysis to attain an interpretable factor solution.
The results of this study demonstrate that majority of maritime studies employing EFA retain a factor solution based on the researchers’ subjective judgement. However, the researchers do not provide sufficient information to allow readers to evaluate the analysis. The majority of the reviewed papers failed to provide important information related to EFA explaining how the final factor structure has been acquired. Furthermore, some papers have failed to justify their decisions, for example, for deleting an item or retaining factors with single measured variable.
The first contribution of this study is the analysis of how studies carried out in the maritime sector have been applying EFA in their studies. The second contribution of this study is to provide future researchers aiming to use EFA in their studies for the first time an example of a complete EFA process, explaining different steps that can be undertaken while carrying out EFA.
Cruise shipping is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the maritime industry. This is due to the growing demand of the sector and the extension of capacity and cruise service coverage. This study ...uses network measures and random network models to analyse the structure, characteristics and connectivity of the cruise shipping network in Asia and Australasia. An analysis of 200 cruise voyages operated by 12 international cruise lines between 139 ports across 20 countries in the Asian and Australasian regions has found that the cruise shipping network is a scale-free network. This means the degree distribution follows a power law. A few ports play a central role in connecting ports in the network. However, their importance in the network varies depending on which measure of centrality is used, i.e. the degree, betweenness, closeness and eigenvector centrality. The establishment of a link between two ports is influenced by their connections with a third one or triangle relationship.
The aim of this paper is to empirically examine a comprehensive list of factors that are anticipated to affect information sharing (IS) in supply chains (SC) in the context of a landlocked developing ...country Nepal. A survey questionnaire was developed and data were collected from 131 supply chain participants in Nepal. Exploratory factor analysis and path analysis were conducted to examine the fitness of the proposed model and the relationships between the identified factors and information sharing. The results suggest that interaction routines and personal connection influenced both operational and strategic information sharing while organisational compatibility, incentives, project payoffs, commitment (inter-organisational), top management commitment and supply network configuration affected operational IS and government support and monitoring were associated with strategic IS. The paper provides empirical evidence on how information sharing is affected in the context of a landlocked developing country. The paper also identifies and discusses the similarities and differences in the importance of these factors on information sharing between developed and developing countries. The main limitation is the moderate sample size as compared to the large number of variables contained in the study which may have limited the use of analytical tools. The study provides a better understanding of information sharing behaviours of supply chain participants in Nepal which will help firms to develop strategies accordingly to enhance information sharing.
This study develops a discrete variable investment model and applies it in the study of the decision to adopt e-business by transport and logistics companies. The data analysis is carried out in two ...phases; in the first phase, factor analysis is conducted to identify the principal components influential to the e-business adoption decision; in the second phase, logistic regression is conducted to further analyse the effect of individual components on the adoption decision. The analysis of the data obtained from a survey of Australian transport and logistics companies has found various factors influential to the adoption decision. The first factor relates to service quality improvements brought about by e-business adoption including a higher level of competitiveness, service differentiation, value adding, improved customer services and supply chain integration. The second factor concerns the financial aspect of e-business adoption including large initial investment expense, financial constraints, and costs of operation and maintenance. The third factor concerns expectations about market demand in terms of volatility and growth in demand for freight and logistics services. The analysis and results shed light on the behaviour of transport and logistics companies and the sector’s view toward e-business adoption. For example, the decision to adopt e-business should take into account not only the benefits but also the costs of adoption, running and maintenance as well as financial constraints. The model developed by the study can be applied to any sectors or industries, in which companies face discrete investment choices.
•A discrete variable model of investment was developed.•The model was then applied to analyse the decision to adopt e-business.•Data were collected from Australian transport and logistics companies.•Data analysis was conducted in two stages, factor analysis and logistic regression.•The results shed light on the sector’ views on e-business adoption.
Located in Southeast Asia as one of the most dynamic economic regions in the world and close to north-south shipping routes, Vietnam's seaports play a vital role in promoting its international trade ...and economic growth. And yet, most ports are small and owned by the public sector. Their performance is subject to various factors relating to government policy, operational and market conditions. Although the Government has been trying to improve the sector's performance through corporatization, its corporatization model is unique in many ways compared with reform models in other countries. This study seeks to analyse the effects of government policy, operational and market conditions among other factors, on Vietnamese seaports' efficiency. Double-bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA) and univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using the data sample of 41 ports for years 2015 and 2016. The analysis results show that the factors of production, regional location and reform policy had a significant impact on port performance.
•This paper examines factors influential to port infrastructure tariff practices.•Tariff policy, stakeholders’ participation and transparency are very influential.•Tariff regulation has a limited ...influence over port tariff design practices.
The process of formulation, revision and approval of port infrastructure tariffs is complex and involves different stakeholders. The extant literature focuses more on port pricing research but pays less attention to the practice of port infrastructure tariff setting. This paper aims to identify and analyses the influential factors in the port infrastructure tariff formulation process using survey data collected from 67 port authorities. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is first conducted before confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is applied to analyse the latent factors underlying port infrastructure tariff setting. The analysis results suggested the four factors influential to infrastructure tariff practice, namely tariff policies, transparency, tariff regulation and stakeholder participation. The paper also presents the implications for port authorities, management and stakeholders.
•The current study seeks to study the relationships between logistics integration, technical efficiency, and allocative efficiency in the international container shipping sector.•The literature on ...maritime logistics chain integration mainly focuses on the operational aspects or technical efficiency. But it is still unclear whether supply chain integration also affects allocative efficiency. And whether there is any relationship between technical efficiency and allocative efficiency.•The results show that logistics integration has a positive impact on both allocative and technical efficiency, while technical efficiency and other factors are also influential to allocative efficiency.
It is well known that the international logistics and supply chains are subject to the domination of seaports and shipping lines each with increasingly significant market power. This implies that international supply chains, which typically involves sea transport as a key chain segment, could be subject to the double marginalisation problem. This means, chain operators are likely subject to both technical and allocative efficiency issues. The former is related to the use of inputs in production and distribution, and the latter is generally related to the market structure that affects resource allocation. The current study seeks to study the simultaneous relationships between three components, namely logistics integration, technical efficiency, and allocative efficiency in international container shipping. Exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling are conducted using data collected from a survey of global shipping lines. The analysis results show that logistics integration comprises of two main interrelated aspects, namely relational integration, and operational integration. It has significant effects on both technical and allocative efficiency. Technical efficiency and market contestability are affected by relational integration, while allocative efficiency and infrastructure capacity are affected by operational integration. Based on the analysis results, implications for port, terminals and stakeholders are also discussed.
This study investigated the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the Asian-Australasian cruise shipping network. The analysis was carried out using complex network analysis ...and data collected for two periods, before and after the pandemic outbreak. The analysis revealed that the network structure and properties have changed after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interestingly, the network's density and the number of links have increased, but its scale-free property remains with the degree distribution follows the power law. The network has a higher connectivity efficiency with a smaller average path length and a higher clustering coefficient. Its hub ports still maintain an extensive connection. The network's flow efficiency becomes higher and connectivity stronger after the pandemic. The role of cruise ports has changed as indicated by the degree, betweenness, closeness and eigenvector centralities. The study's findings indicate that the cruise shipping sector could further enhance efficiency and identify strategies to assist the management in similar circumstances.
Standard data envelopment analysis (DEA) tends to be sensitive to the number of variables of a chosen sample, and it is unable to account for their random nature. Standard DEA can exhibit statistical ...inconsistency, biased results, and an arguable inference process. Thus, in this study, an efficiency evaluation method is used to overcome these limitations, especially since no studies of port efficiency have addressed this issue. This study applies bootstrapped DEA to a sample of the 43 largest Vietnamese ports and compares the results with those from stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and standard DEA. The results show that while the efficiency scores obtained from the three methods provide useful and consistent measures of the ports' efficiency, they differ significantly. Furthermore, while the efficiency scores produced by bootstrapped DEA are consistent, unbiased, and not sensitive to the sample size, standard DEA and SFA yield efficiency scores that are much larger than bootstrapped DEA. In addition, bootstrapped DEA provides the confidence intervals for efficiency scores and allows for hypothesis tests of port performance.
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