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A Framework for Adopting a Sustainable Smart Sea Port Index

Author

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  • Alaa Othman

    (College of International Transport and Logistics, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Alexandria 1029, Egypt
    Faculty of Logistics, University of Maribor, 3000 Celje, Slovenia)

  • Sara El-gazzar

    (College of International Transport and Logistics, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Alexandria 1029, Egypt)

  • Matjaz Knez

    (Faculty of Logistics, University of Maribor, 3000 Celje, Slovenia)

Abstract

The new business environment, and the new era of digital transformation put pressure on the global supply chain and accordingly on ports to cope with such changes; these require ports to be smarter and adapt to the new technological approaches. Smart ports SP express the prevailing trend for the transformation strategies. Although many previous studies discuss smart ports requirements there is no integrated vision provided before to capture different comprehensive elements of smart port and show its impact on sustainably. Therefore, this research aims at developing an integrated smart port index SPI, capturing different elements of SP and linking them to port sustainability performance. The research conducted a systematic literature review to identify all pillars that are required for the smart port adaptation and showed its impact on sustainability with a full-text reading stage that resulted in 48 articles. The paper indicated that few studies of the SPI have been proposed before to improve SP activity in different domains: operations, environment, energy, safety, and security; however, there is a need to address the several key issues related to port operations, and to consider human resources factor as part of the smart port requirement, particularly an integrated index that captures different pillars in SP elements and shows its effect on sustainable performance. The study reveals that SP initiatives around the world have different integration levels. According to this, the smart port index can be considered as the first integrated index linked to sustainability and including human resources; however, there are some limitations that could be an open issue to future researchers and practitioners to foster new practical research initiatives that can rely on this index to adapt the smart port practices in different ports, taking into consideration the human resources aspect and testing their impact on port sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Alaa Othman & Sara El-gazzar & Matjaz Knez, 2022. "A Framework for Adopting a Sustainable Smart Sea Port Index," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-26, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:8:p:4551-:d:791374
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Elżbieta Szaruga & Elżbieta Załoga, 2022. "Qualitative–Quantitative Warning Modeling of Energy Consumption Processes in Inland Waterway Freight Transport on River Sections for Environmental Management," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-21, June.
    2. Aleksandra Bartosiewicz & Adam Kucharski, 2024. "Indicators of port sustainability: The example of Baltic Sea container ports," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(3), pages 2371-2384, June.
    3. Yuanxu Li & Xin Tian & Zhaoxu Lu & Junfeng Wu, 2025. "Impact of Digital Transformation on Sustainable Development of Port Performance: Evidence from Tangshan Port," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-21, July.
    4. Alaa Othman & Sara El Gazzar & Matjaz Knez, 2022. "Investigating the Influences of Smart Port Practices and Technology Employment on Port Sustainable Performance: The Egypt Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-25, October.
    5. Mingzheng Liu & Kee-hung Lai & Christina W. Y. Wong & Xu Xin & Venus Y. H. Lun, 2025. "Smart ports for sustainable shipping: concept and practices revisited through the case study of China’s Tianjin port," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 27(1), pages 50-95, March.

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