Does superior service performance provided to shipping lines improve the perceived value of a port?

Port authorities strive to provide value to port users to maximise user satisfaction and loyalty to the port over the long term. This assumes superior performance adds utility to the port service and this will be reflected in the perceived value of the port services offered. There is a lack of empirical evidence that the relationship between port service performance and perceived value exists. This paper examines this issue using a sample of 93 assessments of seven North American ports by shipping line representatives. Exploratory Principal Components Analysis of 17 service performance criteria identified four dimensions of port performance and examined their influence. Performance did not influence perceived cost of using the port but did influence both value and value‐added supplied by the port. This suggests that ports that have difficulty competing in terms of port costs can compensate with superior performance, providing guidance for both investment and marketing.