Competitiveness Evaluation Factors and Strategic Development for the Port of Busan using the SWOT·AHP Method

This study suggests a strategic direction for developing the Port of Busan based on evaluating and prioritizing the relative importance of competitiveness factors for ports using SWOT analysis and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. The Port of Busan is the world’s sixth largest container port and the largest port in South Korea. The Port of Busan constitutes a key industrial infrastructure for an exporting country. Despite the economic and industrial importance of the Port of Busan, little research has examined its strategic development. This study derives a SWOT matrix for evaluating the competitiveness of factors from previous studies and expert reviews, and it constructs a hierarchical analysis structure model based on the SWOT matrix. To deduce a strategic direction for developing the Port of Busan, a questionnaire based on SWOT·AHP was distributed to industrial and academic associations to prioritize competitive factors. This study presents four strategic tactics based on strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T) (S/O, S/T, W/O, and W/T) as strategic directions for developing the Port of Busan. This study will contribute objectively to the overall effort by the government to improve the operation of the Port of Busan and establish development strategies.