A Study on Port Improvement with the Activation of Cross-Border E-Commerce: A Study of Pyeongtaek Port

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to present what the port of Pyeongtaek, the hub of Korean trade with China, should improve in the current situation, wherein the e-commerce trade volume between Korea and China is increasing due to the development of online technology. Design/methodology - In this study, through prior research and expert interviews on e-commerce and port activation between borders, we derived the main improvement factors for 1) Administration and Systems, 2) Facilities, 3) Transport, and 4) Manpower, and selected 12 detailed variables for the major improvement factors. To identify the relative importance of the major improvement factors, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was applied, and a survey was conducted among 15 related experts. Findings - As a result, among the 12 detailed variables, Composition of Association (0.267) was the first factor to be improved, followed by Incentive Support (0.143) and E-Commerce Cluster (0.131). Based on these analyses, the main implications of this study are, first, in the current situation where the crossborder e-commerce market is growing, Pyeongtaek Port needs to form a consultative body among the government, local governments, and related businesses in connection with cross-border e-commerce and develop various support policies for the e-commerce market. Second, it will have to be able to provide differentiated services from competing ports by establishing e-commerce market-oriented clusters. Originality/value - In existing related studies, various improvements were presented to revitalize trade in line with the growth of the cross-border e-commerce market. However, with regard to most cross-border e-commerce businesses, one-dimensional improvement measures, such as improvement of payment systems, improvement of customs clearance services, and promotion of human resources, are presented in a piecemeal manner. In other words, none of the studies have proposed the importance and priority of each measure in terms of both the forward-looking and efficient allocation of resources, which is the purpose of this study. Therefore, this study contributed politically, practically, and academically by presenting countermeasures for ports to revitalize cross-border ecommerce and presenting strategic priorities using quantitative analysis methods.