Business models for development of international maritime centre

Maritime centre is regarded as the clustering of various maritime sectors, with the ability to maximize the competitive advantages of the constituent maritime sectors in a country or city. As maritime centre is not a fixed or stable concept, our research firstly aims to find out the corresponding mechanisms for maritime centre evolution. The dynamic mechanisms are originated from diverse modes of regional economic development, in the perspectives of factors, such as economic status and trade pattern. More importantly, the study analyses the internal environment and aims to propose business models which are suitable for each mode of maritime centre development, namely the maritime production centre, maritime service centre and all-in-one maritime centre. Business models are formulated by policies and strategies as well as their mappings in order to achieve competitive advantages of the maritime centre. Empirical case studies will be presented for each mode of maritime centre. This paper takes a further step beyond the existing literature of maritime centre development. Instead of taking centre itself as a study object, the research analyses both the external economic society and internal environment of a maritime centre as a system. From external environment, the study analyses the regional economic mechanism and development modes that promote the dynamic maritime centres. In terms of internal environment, this study provides practical recommendations on how maritime centres should be developed. It also provides policy makers of maritime centres with a systematic plan and mapping, en route to higher value-add maritime centre.