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Growth Opportunity of A Limited Port in The Shadow of A Dominant Port: A Case Study of Bangkok Port, Thailand Chayakarn Bamrungbutr B.Eng. (Mechatronics Engineering), King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi M.Eng. (Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering), Asian Institute of Technology A Thesis submitted in fulfilment of requirements for Doctor of Philosophy Institute for Supply Chain and Logistics School of Business Victoria University September 2020 Abstract Maritime transportation has traditionally been a crucial part of world economy. Countries which are connected to a seaboard or major river will have the opportunity to develop a port which can provide access to water transportation. When there are two or more ports in the nearby area, customers tend to prefer to use the facilities available at the main ports since goods handling and transfer are more efficient and economical. Nearby ports which receive little or no special support from the government, and are thus overshadowed by the larger ports which inevitably leads to the loss of their market share (Tongzon 2002; Magala 2008). These shadow ports must find ways to survive and prosper in a competitive environment. Indeed, both main and regional ports could become shadow ports of another nearby port. Generally, ports will grow if they succeed in providing profits to the sellers and the related third-party service providers and delivering value to the buyers (Robinson 2002b; 2003). There are few studies regarding the port competition for growth and survival between two nearby main ports. Difficulties begin to arise if a new main port is established because of limitations or inefficiencies of an existing port which could not provide satisfactory services to customers or contribute to the economic activity of the nation (Limskul 1998). Therefore, with the loss of their market and lack of support from their governments, the existing ports need to find a way to survive. These ports are metaphorically under the shadow of the nearby superior port. Most of these shadow ports are regional ports which are situated near main ports. On the other hand, and of interest to this study, there is a situation where there are two main ports (where one port was built after the other) situated near each other. Thailand, is one of the countries that have a significant part of its economy reliant on water transportation. Here, the situation of having two main ports close to each other has arisen. These two ports are Bangkok Port (the older main port which is in Bangkok), and Laem Chabang Port (the more recently established main port which is in Chonburi province). i This study focuses on using the Opportunity Capture framework to understand and explain how a main port can manage to grow in the proximity of a nearby predominant main port. The original framework was suggested by Magala (2004). Ansoff’s Matrix (Ansoff 1957) and the Noticing, Collecting and Thinking (NCT) model (Seidel 1998) were used with this framework in an attempt to capture the opportunity for shadow ports. Port experts in Thailand were interviewed regarding their opinion on potential policies that the shadow ports should pursue in order to be viable and competitive. Five categories of experts include personnel from the Thai government, the shipping- related council/federation, logistics providers, relevant business sectors and respected academics who are researching in this area. Semi-structured interviews as a qualitative approach toward the development and understanding were based on the Opportunity Capture framework. The data from the interviews were analyzed qualitatively using the NCT framework in order to highlight important criteria and underlying factors required to create policies for the shadow port. Six findings were extracted from the analysis, and the strategic solution for Bangkok Port was derived from the use of the Opportunity Capture framework and evaluated with Ansoff’s Matrix. The findings and the strategy suggested here could be implemented to increase the competitiveness of Bangkok Port and, finally, to allow the port to grow if that is the direction that Thai government wishes for the port. Finally, this study found that Bangkok Port could gain more profit by adapting itself into a coastal port since there is a plan to establish a coastal port at Laem Chabang Port. Hence, Bangkok Port could use this opportunity to increase its competitiveness by becoming a domestic hub for distributing imported goods inside the country, and by collecting export goods before shipping them to Laem Chabang Port via coastal ships. With this solution, Bangkok Port could gain profit from such strategic directions by: (i) providing the services of domestic port, (ii) offering rental office for third-party logistics providers to use inside the port, and (iii) offering a container freight stations (CFS) service to open and close containers using existing equipment and skills. ii Doctor of Philosophy Declaration “I, Chayakarn Bamrungbutr, declare that the PhD thesis entitled ‘Growth Opportunity of A Limited Port in The Shadow of A Dominant Port: A Case Study of Bangkok Port, Thailand’ is no more than 100,000 words in length including quotes and exclusive of tables, figures, appendices, bibliography, references and footnotes. This thesis contains no material that has been submitted previously, in whole or in part, for the award of any other academic degree or diploma. Except where otherwise indicated, this thesis is my own work”. Signature Date: 14 September 2020 ( Chayakarn Bamrungbutr ) iii Dedication I still remember the first day that I met Professor Ross Robinson, I was so excited to meet him because he was a maritime expert and I was so happy that he agreed to be my principal supervisor. Ross, for one and a half years that I had worked with you, you had taught me countless things not only about my thesis but also how to be a good teacher. I still remember our last meeting that I sat beside your bed in a hospital. You dedicated yourself to my work, although you were unwell with pancreatic cancer. Although you are in heaven now, I am and I will continue to work and use the knowledge that you guided me to its best. I truly wish that I could make you proud of me. Furthermore, I would like to send my thoughts to one of my sisters, Tum, who had passed away during a journey of this thesis. She had been by my side and celebrated with me during every step of my past successes except this time. I really miss her a lot. I wish I could have more time to talk to her, laugh with her, and travel more with her. Tum, you will always in my heart and my thoughts. I will always miss you. iv Acknowledgements My doctoral study can be seen as a very long journal and there had been several obstacles and challenges especially in the first two years of my study. I often asked myself ‘what should I do?’, ‘how can I solve the problems?’, however, now I have come to the final step. Reaching this state would not be possible without the support and encouragement of many individuals and organizations. First of all, I would like to gratefully acknowledge to my principal supervisor and mentor, Associate Professor Jim Sillitoe, for his very helpful advice, much priceless knowledge, constant kind support, and enthusiastic encouragement throughout this work and my doctoral study at the Victoria University. Jim, you are like the knight in shining armour who came to me when I was in a dark and difficult time. You have made the last two years of my study as the wealthiest and memorable moment. I remember that you have told me “It is not easy, but it is worth it!”, Yes, Jim, it is worth it. Thank you so much for believing in me. Additionally, I would like to send my sincere respect and gratitude to my current and former associate supervisors, Dr Jo Vu, Dr Don Gunasekera, Dr Faraz Bidar, and Dr Hermione Parsons for their guidance and supportive comments during the preparation of this thesis. Next, I am thankful to Joe Monitto for all the help during his work at Victoria University. My grateful thanks are also given to Associate Professor Sophia Everett for her unconditional kindness and valuable advice that given to me even you are not my associate supervisor. Moreover, I would like to express great appreciation to Bangkok University, Thailand for the financial support to complete my degree at Victoria University. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be grateful. Next, I wish to extend my thanks and deep appreciation to the staff of Port Authority of Thailand, Maritime Department of Thailand, logistics provider companies in Thailand, Universities in Thailand, Talaad Thai, shipping-related council and v federation in Thailand, business owners that have participated in the interviews and gave valuable information used in this thesis. Furthermore, I would like to express my deep gratitude to beloved family members – my parents, my aunts, my uncles, my brother, and my cousins for their love, support, and encouragement always. Last but not the least, a special mention must be made to Sophon Somlor who always stand by my side in all these years of hard works, Thank you for your love, help, encouragement, and belief in me throughout this journey; without you, I would not be able to find success in this long journey. vi Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................... i Doctor of Philosophy Declaration ...........................................................................

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