Int. J. Shipping and Transport Logistics, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2011 27 Copyright © 2011 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Managing port e-services in a socio-technical context Nikolaos Marianos*, Maria A. Lambrou, Nikitas Nikitakos and George Vaggelas Department of Shipping, Trade and Transport, University of the Aegean, Korai 2A, 82100, Chios, Greece E-mail: n.marianos@chios.aegean.gr E-mail: mlambrou@aegean.gr E-mail: nnik@aegean.gr E-mail: g.vaggelas@stt.aegean.gr *Corresponding author Abstract: The paper presents a theoretical framework and an empirical examination of the provision of port e-services through exploratory research. The presented survey examines the socio-technical environment in which port e-services are developed and provided, as well as the related investment decision making and evaluation procedures, in the Greek port sector. A number of hindering and enabling management and organisational factors are identified towards fully exploiting ICT capabilities and port e-services; our framework is deemed to be applicable to ports with similar geopolitical, economic, industrial and management characteristics to those of the examined organisations. The research outcome is a first step towards the provision of a systematic, unified framework for analysing and planning port e-services initiatives, in a socio-technical context. Keywords: e-governance models; electronic port services; ICT; container terminals; port management systems; port services; new port environment. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Marianos, N., Lambrou, M.A., Nikitakos, N. and Vaggelas, G. (2011) ‘Managing port e-services in a socio-technical context’, Int. J. Shipping and Transport Logistics, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp.27–56. Biographical notes: Nikolaos Marianos is a PhD candidate in Shipping at the Trade and Transport Department of the University of the Aegean. His thesis is about integrated methodologies for the evaluation of electronic port services. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Shipping and Transportation Economics and a Master’s degree in Transportation and New Technologies from the Shipping, Trade and Transport Department of the University of the Aegean. His fields of interest include port policy and development, e-business, e-government, electronic shipping services, electronic port services, IT evaluation and e-learning. Maria A. Lambrou is an Assistant Professor in e-business at the Department of Shipping Trade and Transport. She received her PhD from the National Technical University of Athens, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering – Computer Science Division, in the area of Service Engineering (1998). She has participated in a number of European research projects in the fields of service engineering and e-business applications and she has considerable research technical and managerial experience. Her