Post-adoption and continuance use of maritime digital platforms and inter-organizational information systems, such as Port Community Systems (PCS), is often overlooked in the literature. This study focuses on the benefits associated with using PCS to coordinate port calls, and the purpose is to identify and explain how different mechanisms influence the continuance use of PCS. A framework that combines Organizational Information Processing Theory, Technology Continuance Theory, and design science is applied to a longitudinal single case-study in Sweden. The data was collected using 21 interviews with port call actors, two observations and two archival documents. The findings revealed how organizational, regulatory, and labour-related mechanisms cause information quality deficiencies, undermining the satisfaction and continuance use of PCS. The study further proposes mechanisms to enhance the satisfaction and continuance use of PCS. These mechanisms are critical to achieve the economic and environmental benefits of PCS.

Sweden’s dependence on maritime transport is evident by the fact that approximately 60% of the freight to and from the country is carried by sea. Given this dependence, maintaining efficient and effective maritime and port services is critical to trade outcomes. However, maritime and port actors face operational constraints and stricter environmental requirements. Around 15% of the vessels that call Swedish ports experience a median delay of 13 hours, resulting in operational inefficiencies. Furthermore, stricter environmental measures are expected to increase the cost of shipping by 10-40%. One measure for addressing these challenges is the implementation of Just-in-Time arrival in port calls that enhances operational efficiency and reduces emissions from the sector. These benefits are obtained by coordinating the sailing speeds of the vessels with the availability of services at the port of destination. Existing research has mainly focused on estimating the potential of Just-in-Time to reduce fuel consumption and emissions from maritime transport. However, the process through which Justin- Time is implemented is characterized by interdependencies among port call actors. Realizing the potential of Just-in-Time requires effective management of these interdependencies through appropriate coordination mechanisms. Research that identifies these coordination mechanisms and elaborate upon their adoption and use is limited, leading to a lack of understanding regarding how the potential of Just-in-Time can be realized in practice. Hence, this thesis focuses on identifying and elaborating upon the coordination mechanisms that required to implement and realize the benefits of Just-in-Time. 

To understand how the benefits of Just-in-Time can be realized in practice, this thesis deploys qualitative and quantitative methods. Case and process studies with pioneering Swedish ports in the implementation of Just-in-Time were conducted. Empirical data were gathered from the ports of Gothenburg, Gavle, and Oxelosund during 2020-2025 through interviews, observations, and archival data. Additionally, quantitative modeling was used to estimate potential fuel and emissions savings associated with implementing JIT in the Swedish context. 

Findings indicate that Just-in-Time benefits several port-call actors: owners and charterers realise fuel savings, emissions reductions, and compliance, while terminals and port authorities gain improved service quality, reliability, and environmental performance. To realize these benefits, the thesis proposes a set of coordination mechanisms to manage the interdependencies among actors: port community systems, time-slot berth allocation policies, contractual clauses, pilot exemption certifications, and vessel performance systems. These mechanisms facilitate the implementation of Just-in-Time either individually or by being complementary to each other. The focus has been primarily on the adoption of port community systems and time-slot berth allocation policies. The configurations of port community systems are presented, and the findings reveal that its adoption is a prerequisite for port authorities to adopt time-slot berth allocation policies. Furthermore, successful adoption relies on an inter-organizational change management approach that involves and engages port call actors. By involving and engaging port call actors in the adoption processes, they contribute to making the configurations and use of these mechanisms more effective. Barriers that negatively impact the adoption and effective use of these two mechanisms also emerged. These were regulatory constraints, low digital maturity, information deficiencies, and commercial dependencies. Their root causes arise both intra-organizationally (within port authorities) and inter-organizationally (across the wider port community). The thesis concludes that successful JIT implementation requires coordinated alignment across technological, operational, commercial, and regulatory domains.  

Purpose – Just-in-Time (JIT) arrival in the context of port calls can be used to reduce fuel and emissions toachieve environmental targets. The purpose of this paper is to study the implementation process of the PrebookingBerth Allocation Policy (PBP) and analyze the effectiveness of this policy for the implementation of JITin port calls.

Design/methodology/approach – The study deploys a single case study approach to empirically analyzeport authority’s transition from a first-come-first-served (FCFS) arrival policy to the PBP. Observations,interviews and documents were used to collect data during 2020–2022. The analysis deployed the capability,opportunity, motivation and behavior model.

Findings – The transition from FCFS to PBP requires an inter-organizational approach, engaging externalactors to manage diverse needs and preferences. This fosters effective transition and addresses conflictinginterests. The PBP enables JIT arrival, enhancing operational and environmental performance, but facesbarriers such as resource dependency and lack of trust. Information sharing capability among the actors,supported by Port Community Systems and adjusted operating rules, is crucial. Moreover, the PBP facilitatesintegration between sea and hinterland transportation, improving planning and efficiency across maritimetransportation chains.

Research limitations/implications – The single case study limits the generalizability of the findings.

Practical implications – Implementing the PBP is complex and demands careful planning from managers.Involving port call actors in the transition is helpful for port managers because they provide valuable feedbackand highlight overlooked issues.

Originality/value – Five propositions are suggested to highlight the role of inter-organizationalcollaboration, information sharing and overcoming barriers such as resource dependency to successfullyrealize the benefits of JIT in maritime transportation chains.

There is an urgent need to reduce emissions from maritime transportation to meet environmental targets set by international organizations and governments. To reduce emissions from maritime transportation, technical, market-based, and operational measures can be used. In this thesis, the focus is on operational measures, and in particular Just-in-Time arrival in the port call process. Just-in-Time arrival in the context of port calls refers to maintaining an optimal vessel sailing speed to arrive to the port when the availability of berth and other services are ensured. In earlier studies, the estimated fuel and emission savings potential of Just-in-Time arrival, is promising. Despite the promising potential of Just-in-Time, its implementation remains limited, with few real-world examples. The purpose of this thesis is to explore how to implement Just-in-Time arrival by studying coordination in the port call process.   

Two research questions were formulated to address the purpose. The first aims to capture the potential benefits of implementing Just-in-Time arrival in port calls and the second aims to address what is required to implement Just-in-Time arrival in port calls. This thesis is based on two studies in the Swedish context. First, a quantitative study, in which Automatic Identification System data in combination with port call statistics and vessel-specific data were used to estimate the fuel and emission savings potential of Just-in-Time arrival. Second, a qualitative single case-study exploring the coordination mechanisms necessary for implementing Just-in-Time arrival in port calls was conducted.   

The studies show that fuel and emission savings potential of Just-in-Time in previous studies is overestimated due to the assumptions used. Though, the implementation of Just-in-Time has potential to improve port call actors’ resource planning and utilization and increase the competitiveness of ports. This is because Just-in-Time arrival has the potential to aid actors in reaching mandatory emission reduction targets. To implement Just-in-Time arrival, it is necessary to coordinate the plans of actors. The required mechanisms to coordinate planning are pre-booking berth allocation policy and port community systems. The pre-booking policy implies booking time-slots for berths, facilitated by using the port community system. The port community system and the pre-booking policy enable the effective coordination of the planning processes of individual actors enabling Just-in-Time arrival in port calls.   

Det är nödvändigt att minska utsläppen från sjöfartssektorn för att uppnå de klimatpolitiskamålen som har fastställts av internationella och nationella organisationer. För att minska utsläpp från sjöfarten och uppnå de klimatpolitiskamålen kan tekniska, policy, och operativa åtgärder användas. Fokus i denna avhandling är på operativa åtgärder, mer specifikt Just-in-Time ankomst vid hamnanlöp. Just-in-Time ankomst innebär att hålla en seglingshastighet som möjliggör ankomst till hamn vid den tidpunkt kajplatser och andra tjänster (exempelvis lotsning) är tillgängliga utan fördröjning. Tidigare studier visar att det finns en potential att spara bränsle och minska utsläpp genom att införa Just-in-Time ankomst. Trots potentialen är införandet av Just-in-Time ankomst begränsat i praktiken. Syftet med avhandlingen är att utforska hur Just-in-Time ankomst kan implementeras genom att studera koordineringen av aktörers aktiviteter under anlöpsprocessen.   

Syftet uppnås genom att besvara två forskningsfrågor. Den första forskningsfrågan berör potentialen av införandet av Just-in-Time ankomst vid hamnanlöp. I den andra frågan undersöks hur olika koordineringsmekanismer kan användas för att koordinera hamnaktörerna för att realisera potentialen av Just-in-Time ankomst. Två studier har genomförts. Först gjordes en kvantitativ modellering för att uppskatta bränsle- och utsläppsbesparingar för Just-in-Time anlöp i Sverige, baserad på Automatic Identification System data, hamnanlöpstatistik samt fartygsdata. Därefter har en kvalitativ fallstudie genomförts som har utforskat hur olika koordineringsmekanismer kan användas för att koordinera enskilda aktörers planeringsprocesser under anlöpsprocessen samt undersöka potentialen av införandet av Just-in-Time ankomst.   

Resultat visar att bränsle- och utsläppsbesparingspotentialen med Just-in-Time ankomst i tidigare studier ofta har överskattats på grund av antaganden som använts. Vidare framkom att implementering av Just-in-Time ankomst ha ett positivt inflyttande på aktörernas resursplanering- och utnyttjade och att hamnar kan öka sin konkurrenskraft tack vare sambandet mellan Just-in-Time ankomst och obligatoriska åtgärder för att minska utsläpp. För att kunna implementera Just-in-Time ankomst krävs förbättrad koordinering mellan aktörerna genom införandet av en förbokningspolicy av kajplatser. För att kunna förboka krävs förbättrad planerings och informationsdelning, det senare kan nås genom införandet av digitala informationsplattformar (port community system).