Seaport–Dry Port Dyads Cases from Sweden and Finland

Paper in proceeding, 2013

Purpose Dry ports have been developed, among other, to support seaport operations and sustainable development of international transport systems. The purpose of the paper is to increase understanding of service systems of seaport-dry port dyads by describing their development and service offerings. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative research strategy was applied to provide in-depth analysis of two seaport-dry port dyads. The data for the cases was collected through face-to-face and phone interviews. Findings In the two cases the roles of dyads vary, in the Finnish case the dyad serves Russian markets and Trans-Siberian Landbridge, while in the Swedish case the dyad mainly facilitates domestic hinterland operations and relives congestion. The results show that development of the dyad could also be a two-way collaboration between seaport and dry port. Research limitations/implications Empirical data was collected from two seaport–dry port pairs. This is a first step for development and service system analysis of seaport-dry port dyad concept. In the future, a more comprehensive view of the seaport-dry port service systems could be obtained through additional case studies. Originality/value In this study we introduce a new approach of seaport – dry port dyad having focus on the dyadic relationship. Thus, this study contributes to theory of development and understanding of the concept of seaport – dry port dyads through the description of their service systems and thereby adds to knowledge on the development of the concept.