Competitiveness Factors of a Shipyard in the Era of New Uses of Oceans

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the most relevant competitive factors of a shipyard. The method conducted interviews and questionnaires with multiple agents related to the company and analyzed several institutional, business, and academic documents. The case of study considered was the manufacturing center of Navantia, S.A. in the Ferrol estuary (A Coruña, North-West of Spain). The results indicate that the five most important competitive factors are the government and political support, the production organization, the product technology, manpower, and skills and knowledge. Thus, these five competitive factors are critical to analyze the competitiveness of a shipyard with the characteristics of the one studied for new uses of the ocean, such as offshore wind, wave energy, or aquaculture.