SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE IN THE MARITIME TRANSPORT: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND FRAMEWORK

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the sustainability of the maritime transport industry. This paper also develops a framework for the measurement of the sustainability performance of maritime transport. The review questions are: RQ1: What are the research trends of sustainability of maritime transport? RQ2: What are the drivers of sustainability existing in maritime transport? RQ3: What are the key indicators of maritime transport sustainability performance?

Research Approach – To explore the implementation of sustainability in maritime transport, the approach proposed by Tranfield et al. (2003) was adopted to analyse and synthesise 45 articles (published in SSCI/SCIE or ABS 2021 enlisted journals between 2000 and 2022) extracted from the Scopus and Web of Science database.

Findings and Originality – The literature analysis presented in the paper identifies the maritime transport sustainability research and provides critiques of the empirical and conceptual works. Also, this paper present the key indicators and conceptual framework for the maritime transport sustainability performance assessment across the three dimensions of sustainability.

Research Impact – By addressing the research questions, a summary of research trends and current research content on sustainability performance of maritime transport is presented. Additionally, research gaps were identified, which provide opportunities for further research on the sustainability performance of maritime transport.

Practical Impact – The research framework supports practitioners in the implementation of sustainability operations and management. Also, the critical analyses of previous studies on sustainability performance in the context of maritime transport can provide solutions to aid decision-making undertaken by policymakers.