Analysis of Competitive Strategies and Cost Effects in the Digitalization of the Shipping Industry

Minghui Wu, Shibo Zhang, Xinying Zhou, Yingru Wang and Shengying Zhao ()
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Minghui Wu: School of Marine Law and Humanities, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian 116023, China
Shibo Zhang: School of Marine Law and Humanities, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian 116023, China
Xinying Zhou: School of Marine Law and Humanities, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian 116023, China
Yingru Wang: School of Marine Law and Humanities, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian 116023, China
Shengying Zhao: School of Marine Law and Humanities, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian 116023, China

Mathematics, 2025, vol. 13, issue 23, 1-25

Abstract: The digital transformation of the shipping industry presents both strategic opportunities and cost challenges. This study employs a Cournot duopoly model to analyze how digital technology adoption affects freight pricing, market demand, and profit dynamics under varying cost structures. Methodologically, we integrate operational efficiency and carbon reduction effects into a competitive framework—a novel approach that reveals a tripartite prisoner’s dilemma in technology adoption, a phenomenon seldom explored in shipping literature. Our findings indicate that digitalization can lower freight rates when implementation costs are low, but may lead to price increases under high-cost conditions. Strategic asymmetries often result in winner-takes-all outcomes, while bilateral adoption may erode collective profits. For practitioners, this study offers a dynamic decision-making framework to help shipping firms align digital investments with cost-benefit realities and sustainability goals, thereby avoiding suboptimal competitive equilibria.

Keywords: digital technology; shipping industry; carbon intensity reduction; cost-benefit optimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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