Cognitive Strategic Model applied to a Port System

Port organizations have focused their efforts on physical or tangible assets, generating profitability and value. However, it is recognized that the greatest sustainable competitive advantage is the creation of knowledge using the intangible assets of the organization. The Balanced ScoreCard, as a performance tool, has incorporated intangible assets such as intellectual, structural and social capital into management. In this way, the port community can count on new forms of managing innovation, strengthening organizational practices, and increasing collaborative work teams. In this study, the concepts from analysis of the cognitive SWOT are applied to diagnose the port activity and its community. In workshops with experts and from the vision, mission, cognitive SWOT and strategies, a cognitive strategic map considering strategic objectives and indicators is designed in the customer, processes, and learning and growth axis for the port and port community. Causal relationships between objectives, associated indicators and incidence factors are established in a forward way from learning and growth axis to customer axis. Then, the incidence matrix is developed and the direct and indirect effects between factors are analyzed, which allows recommending the future course of the port and its community.