STRATEGIES OF SHIPPING COMPANIES IN GREECE

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to investigate the strategy that the shipping industry is implementing in Greece. The researcher implemented a survey research with the use of a close-ended questionnaire. A convenience sample of 105 employees working in shipping companies in Greece was gathered to answer the research aims. According to the results of the study, most of the companies in which the respondents work were founded more than six years ago. For the most part, companies choose flags of countries with the lowest possible taxation. In relation to the strategy of the companies, most of them evaluate the satisfaction of their customers. Also most companies take care to immediately repair the damage / accidents and work with specific suppliers. Most companies also apply supplier evaluation procedures. The analysis also revealed that companies use environmental protection procedures and have a budget for training costs. They also apply an evaluation of the integrity of the training for all employees, but also an evaluation of the degree of organization of the company. Many of the companies use good working conditions (e.g. new ships), pay and education / training as an incentive to attract seafarers. In addition, the companies under study, as a strategy for their development, place great emphasis on crew training. Most companies also consider formal communication, business goals and financial goals, as well as informal communication, to be quite important. Finally, in almost all companies, formal control systems are used by senior management to gather information about the tasks they want to focus on, and managers maintain control in areas that do not require special attention of senior managers.