Adoption of the dry port concept: a diffusion of innovation assessment

Paper i proceeding, 2018

Purpose
It has been established that dry ports, when implemented effectively, reduce seaport congestion, improve throughput rates and, due to movement of containers from road to rail, reduce harmful emissions. This study investigates the activities related to implementation of dry ports at three U.S. seaports: Jacksonville, Savannah and Charleston. These activities are then analysed considering diffusion of innovation attributes.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for the study was collected through face-to-face interviews at seaports of Jacksonville, Savannah and Charleston. To ensure validity, the triangulation of data sources has been done; i.e. a number of secondary sources were used, such as reports and internal documents as well as site visits to the facilities. 
Findings
The concept and reality of dry ports has evolved in the past decade, in response to growing global containerized transport. It has been recognized that there are three components to successful dry ports:  (1) on-dock rail, (2) reliable inland connection and (3) a functional inland facility.  These three components have a diverse group of stakeholders, many of whom are unknown to one another. These three components, operating in coordination with one another, create the dry port concept. 
Research limitations/implications
Empirical data for the cases has been collected in the United States; a more comprehensive view of the phenomenon could be obtained through additional cases from other countries.
Practical implications
With a growing demand for containerized freight transportation, efficient seaport inland access via dry ports is increasingly a necessity.  If the attributes of successful innovations are understood, with respect to their influence specifically on dry ports, then they can be managed to contribute to the successful implementation of dry ports.
Original/value
The novelty of the research lies in its approach of using diffusion of innovation attributes that have been historically proven to impact the adoption rates of innovations to provide insight into the adoption of the dry port concept.