Gary A. Lombardo

Short Sea Shipping: Alleviating the Environmental Impact of Economic Growth

This paper quantifies the potential environmental benefit of short sea shipping. Critical strategic issues relevant to formulating public policy are developed. Coastal shipping has traditionally been a major sector of the maritime industry. This continues to be the case in the European Union, but the sector has diminished in relative importance in North America as the transport industry has become increasingly dominated by less environmentally-friendly interstate trucking and railroads. Congestion threatens to overwhelm overland carriage and limit economic growth. An alternative strategy is to revitalize coastal shipping as short sea shipping to alleviate traffic congestion and enhance economic development by maintaining freight flow efficiency. Because ship transport offers higher fuel economy and lower emission of harmful pollutants, the environmental benefits of short sea shipping over land transportation can be quantified and used to inform public policy.

Maritime businesses: volatile stock prices and market valuation inefficiencies

This paper examines twelve maritime equity price series for behavioral stability and efficient market pricing for the 1989-2002 period. Five self-affine fractal analysis techniques for estimating the Hurst exponent, Mandelbrot-Levy characteristic exponent, and fractal dimension are employed to explore the price series fractal properties. Techniques employed are rescaled-range analysis, power-spectral density analysis, roughness-length analysis, the variogram or structure function method, and wavelet analysis. Formal hypothesis tests provide evidence of a change in market behavior between the 1989-1994 and 1995-2002 periods. Hypothesis tests also provide evidence against efficient valuation of the maritime businesses sampled, supporting the multifractal model of asset returns (MMAR) and disconfirming the weak form of the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH). Strong evidence is presented for antipersistence of some maritime equities in the sample, suggesting market participants habitually overreact to new information, and never learn not to. An important implication of this finding is that financial derivatives based on the sampled equities cannot be efficiently priced.

Cross‐cultural challenges for a global maritime enterprise

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a hypothetical case study which provides an opportunity for students to conduct realistic business analysis applying subject material related to cross‐cultural issues presented in the international business, international management and management courses.Design/methodology/approach – The hypothetical case study requires students to review and analyze cross‐cultural issues related to the appointment of the senior executive for a foreign office of a global business enterprise. A hypothetical Chinese maritime enterprise and its publicly‐traded subsidiary are profiled. Cross‐cultural considerations come into play as the senior executive for two foreign offices must be appointed.Findings – The case reflects refinements based upon its use during the past few years. Students are provided a realistic experiential exercise. Student feedback indicates a heightened sensitivity to cross‐cultural considerations that transcends their assigned textbook readings and trad...

The public administrator: Regulating for maritime transport efficiency

One role often fulfilled by public administrators is to regulate private enterprise in the public interest. The academic literature has not developed this area fully because public administration is not always tasked with this function. Nevertheless, when regulation forms a part of the responsibilities of the public administrator, it is among the most important. An essential foundation for effective regulation is a complete understanding of the implications and impact of regulatory action. In the absence of regulation, entrepreneurial awareness is applied in the private sector exclusively to satisfying consumer wants. In a regulated market, the entrepreneur’s focus is shifted toward regulatory imperatives. Regulation offers non-market opportunities for entrepreneurial innovation, as well as imposing new market constraints. This paper examines regulation of the maritime industry by the US federal government as an example.

International business negotiation: automobiles and ships

Purpose – The purpose of this case study is to provide an opportunity for students to conduct realistic business analysis applying subject material related to cross‐cultural issues presented in the international business and international management courses.Design/methodology/approach – The hypothetical case study requires students to participate in a complex international business negotiation while treating cross‐cultural issues. Two profiled hypothetical companies are negotiating to transport product from Japan to the USA. Negotiation issues are identified and national cultural considerations are emphasized.Findings – The case reflects refinements based upon its use during the past few years. Students are provided a realistic experiential exercise. Student feedback indicates a heightened sensitivity to cross‐cultural considerations and business negotiation skills that transcends their assigned textbook readings and traditional testing.Research limitations/implications – As with any classroom exercise, d...