Equity joint ventures and new partnerships formation in terminal management: a Stochastic Actor Oriented Model

The increase of equity joint ventures in the terminal container industry is an established phenomenon, which has been extensively analysed in the port management literature. However, studies have mainly focused on the expansion strategies of international terminal operators and equity venture networks at global level, neglecting their effects on port competitiveness in the domestic markets. Focusing on the Italian container terminal industry as a network system, the paper investigates the influence of endogenous and exogenous structural characteristics of terminal operators' networks on new partnerships formation. Through the application of the Stochastic Actor Oriented Model, the changes in ownership and network structure of container terminals have been analysed in two waves (2011 and 2015) in terms of: size (number of equity ties), density (propensity to build equity ties) and partners' selection (homophily and heterophily). Results show that the Italian container terminal industry is characterized by leading positions of a few players that have increased the number of equity ties. These issues are of crucial importance and deserve attention from the Port Authorities with reference to the terminals' concession policy and competition in the market.