Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze the opportunities for research on the theme evaluation of seaport performance through the investigation of a bibliographic portfolio of articles with scientific relevance.  In order to reach this goal, the intervention tool used was ProKnow-C (Knowledge Development Process – Constructivist), which consists of a structured process for the generation of knowledge on a determined theme from the interests and limitations of the researcher, following a constructivist view and requiring a constant interaction between the researcher and the object of his research. The highlighted results are the identification of the main characteristics of the scientific publications about performance evaluation and the proposition of opportunities for research to researchers and seaport manager from the theoretical affiliation adopted for the theme performance evaluation. It was concluded that: (i) most researches about performance evaluation, aim at measuring the operational efficiency of seaports; (ii) the evaluation criteria do not contemplate and evaluate the performance of all the agents that play a role in the seaport environment; and (iii) the evaluation tools used do not show evidence as where and how to intervene to improve the performance measured. Thus, challenges emerge for researchers and also for seaport managers.

Key words: Seaport management, evaluation of seaport performance, systemic analysis, opportunities for research, ProKnow-C (Knowledge Development Process – Constructivist).