Governance, Governance Models and Port Performance: A Systematic Review

Studies on ports as business clusters and governance of the different actors in the port logistics chain are rapidly developing. In this context, one emerging topic concerns the analysis of governance models and their relationship with port performance. The present study is a systematic review of port governance that aims to describe the evolution of research on this topic between 1992 and 2013, identifying the governance models developed from this research and analysing the main characteristics of these models and their contribution to port performance. The results indicated that port governance studies remain incipient and follow a predominantly qualitative approach based on case studies and conceptual works. Regarding governance models and their relationship with port performance, although some models have been observed in the literature, the study of this subject has yet to be developed, and the relationship between governance models and port performance remains inconclusive. Although the existing models make a contribution, they allow gaps in terms of evaluating governance outcomes, identifying governance elements and discussing governance actions. These gaps make it hard to answer the basic questions associated with governance models: Who governs? What is governed? How is it governed? and For what is it governed?