Navigating the digital disruption: an ontological security lens on Dutch and Danish ports

Ports are essential nodes of the global supply chain that are under pressure to become ‘smart’ ports. The digital transition and possible adoption of AI-decision support tools destabilise routine port operations, creating uncertainties about a port’s future identity narrative and resulting in potential ontological insecurities. Given the scant literature on smart port transitions from the lens of a smart port’s self-identity and ontological security, this study aims to fill this gap. The study explores how ports navigate digitalisation and AI adoption while maintaining their ontological security using Pratt’s (2016) Relational Ontological Security theory lens. We conduct a document-based comparative case study of ports in the Netherlands and Denmark, using PRISMA reporting and deductive content analysis. This study reveals that the digital and AI transition is a strategic negotiation of the institutional self to maintain the existing port identity amidst (anticipated) digital disruptions. The findings highlight a clear difference in how they secure ontological security; Dutch ports seek to set global normative standards. In contrast, Danish ports stabilise their identities by aligning with established standards to secure their specialised, customised regional niches. These findings conclusively highlight that port digitalisation and AI adoption in ports in Denmark and the Netherlands are not just a technological challenge but also a strategic re-establishment of the port’s self-identity and maintenance of ontological security.