digital shipping the greek experience

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CHAPTER 12

DIGITAL SHIPPING: THE GREEK

EXPERIENCE

Nikitas Nikitakos and Maria A. Lambrou

ABSTRACT

While electronic business (e-business) is developing rapidly, the pace and

pattern of development of these technologies and related business

practices are quite variable across countries and industries. In the

shipping industry today, we observe various implementations and modes

of use of maritime electronic services, which target at the facilitation of

maritime business operations and tasks such as, chartering, procurement,manning, planned maintenance, technical and operational monitoring of

the vessels, voyage planning and navigation as well as safety, security and

emergency operations. Additionally, great efforts are made in order to

integrate applications and provide value-added services. For some

scholars, the global economy is converging towards common, homo-

genized and integrated organizational models, whereas e-business

methods are seen as a set of practices congruent with the ‘‘modern’’

way of organizing economic activities. In our work, we review current

practices and emergent patterns regarding digital shipping, we citeempirical evidence on e-readiness and maturity related with e-business

models, digital modes of operation and enabling technologies, as well as

perceptions of key barriers and incentives in the Greek-owned shipping

sector, as interlinked with overall firm characteristics and strategies.

Maritime Transport: The Greek Paradigm

Research in Transportation Economics, Volume 21, 383–417

Copyright r 2007 by Elsevier Ltd.All rights of reproduction in any form reserved

ISSN: 0739-8859/doi:10.1016/S0739-8859(07)21012-1

383

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0739-8859(07)21012-1.3d

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0739-8859(07)21012-1.3d



Whereas in the Greek-owned financially robust shipping sector, weobserve a low level of use and very moderate technology evolution trends,

we seek a more thorough understanding of the digital mode of operation in

the international shipping industry context; we devise a combined frame

of analysis consisting of (a) a typology of digital shipping business

models and (b) an extended Technology Acceptance Model for digital

shipping. We consider postulations about emergent digital shipping modes

of operation and important determinants of an organizational decisional

context, as essential means in order to set digital shipping strategies,

design market policies, and design and implement business models and technical options towards a future frictionless and networked shipping

environment.

12.1. INTRODUCTION

At present, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have gone

far beyond a mere means of electronic information and transactionhandling, becoming a foundation for efficient and innovative applications

linked to the core business capabilities and systems.

Electronic business (e-business) refers to the exchange of information and

electronic transactions across organizational networks, at any stage in a

value/supply chain, whether within an organization, between businesses,

between businesses and customers or between public and private sectors;

these electronic transactions may refer to commodities, tangible goods or

information goods and services (Castells, 2000; Filos & Ouzounis, 2003;

Jelassi & Enders, 2005). E-business technologies and methods primarilyallow enterprises to effectively and directly connect with clients, suppliers

and business partners.

Hence, a direct translation of this definition in the shipping environment

allows us to initially understand digital shipping, as any form of information

exchange and electronic transactions across electronic shipping organiza-

tional networks, at any stage in an integrated and intermodal value/supply

chain; These transactions can be realized within a shipping company, or a

shipping actor such as a shipping broker or charterer, between shipping

business partners (i.e., shipping company–broker–charterer interactions),between businesses and customers (i.e., shipping company–cargo forwarder)

or between public and private sectors (i.e., public port authorities–shipping

agent interactions).

NIKITAS NIKITAKOS AND MARIA A. LAMBROU384



Electronic shipping transactions may refer to any particular shippingmarket, namely freight transportation, passenger shipping, the cruise

industry, short-sea and ocean shipping, bulk or the container sector.

While e-business is developing at a rapid pace in most developed and

developing countries, the pace of development of these technologies and

related business practices are quite variable across countries and industries.

The pricing of ICTs and related services (in particular telecommunications),

the dynamics of the ‘‘local’’ IT industry, the ‘‘globalization’’ and openness

of the economy, the existence of lead users and positive governmental

policies are all seen as strong drivers for the rapid adoption and intensive useof ICTs. Understanding the broad spectrum of determinants of the

contrasted pace and path of e-business development across countries and

sectors is essential, because differences in rate and pace of adoption can be

explained either as being various stages along a common pattern of

technological and innovation diffusion or as being the result of differ-

entiated paths of development across countries and sectors. For some

analysts, e-business methods are a set of practices congruent with the

‘‘modern’’ way of organizing economic activities, whereas the global

economy is converging towards a common and integrated organizationalmodel.

Today however, it is generally agreed that ICTs are quite flexible and do

not ‘‘impose’’ any organizational model, rather their enactment is

determined by broader political, cultural or socio-technical factors. Given

contrasted initial conditions and differentiated processes of adoption and

use, the type of technology that is implemented and used, and the related

learning processes, lead to much contrasted paths of change across

organizational settings. Understanding the change process, drivers, barriers

and dominant perceptions are essential in order to make decisions about thedesign and implementation of various technical options and the articulation

of strategies and public policies within the shipping environment.

12.2. ICTs IN SHIPPING

The shipping industry has evidently been affected by the emergence of new

ICTs. The adoption and use of ICTs is increasingly being recognized as the

optimal medium for the exchange of information between shippers andcarriers throughout the supply chain. The benefits of utilizing new ICTs

along the entire shipping value-chain include quicker access to information,

improved communication with customers and business partners, better

Digital Shipping: The Greek Experience 385



customer service, reduced costs, higher productivity and quality of service.Fig. 12.1 demonstrates a high-level model of the maritime actors

(stakeholders) and their possible electronic interactions and operations (the

model refers in particular to freight shipping).

Modern ICTs have become a focal point for shipping companies in their

effort to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals by collaborating

closely with affiliated partners in their network-oriented value-chain

activities. Today, installations of communication networks in firms,

interlinking external value-chain participants and internal departments

enable companies to coordinate their informational, virtual and physicalvalue-chains in order to create added value for their customers, partners and

indeed for internal improved organizational performance (Dourmas,

Nikitakos, & Lambrou, 2005).

The maritime sector, encompassing a diverse set of interacting stake-

holders that includes manufacturers and distributors, shipowners, managers

and brokers, terminal operators, port authorities, regional and national

governments, ship builders and other third parties (associations, etc.), is

currently constrained by the lack of widely accepted standards and by

relatively high costs of software and hardware e-business solutions. At themoment, the lack of interoperability between applications from different

vendors prevents shipping companies from maximizing the benefits of

deploying ICTs onboard ships and ashore. Since few (if any) vendors of

maritime software systems can deliver a fully integrated system, the industry

is loosely faced with ad hoc, if not at all, integrated information systems.

Currently, maritime electronic services primarily target the facilitation of

routine and critical maritime business processes and tasks such as

chartering, procurement, manning, planned maintenance, technical and

operational monitoring of the vessels, voyage planning and navigation and

Register

Insurance Organization Ship Regulations compl. Flag

Int. Organ.(IMO)

Operation

Transaction Repairs and Maintenance Find Freight to transport Withdrawal

Shipyard Ship-Broker

Charterer

Maritime transport implementation

Agent MRO SupplierLocal Authorities (Ports)

Shipping Company

Fig. 12.1. Shipping E-Actors and Interactions.




safety, security and emergency operations. Additionally, great efforts aremade in order to link and integrate applications and provide value-added

services. A differentiation in available software solutions and practices is

observed in the market, whereas added value e-services in creating shipping

e-markets and interconnecting applications are apparent as well.

Extensible Markup Language (XML)-based integration standards can

greatly facilitate such a task. All future ICT systems supporting e-shipping

can be built to be XML compliant, following proven approaches for

business process integration, which have emerged in other business sectors

in the last years. In the maritime industry, various initiatives such as theMTML (Maritime and Trade Markup Language) utilize the XML standard

to encode marine and trading transactions.

Moreover, particular maritime tools in digital form, incorporated in

shipping processes, namely the digital electronic navigational charts (ENC),

weather, traffic, navigational or environmental information systems exist.

Several initiatives (within the European Union and internationally) have

established the Vessel Traffic Management and Information Systems

(VTMIS).

These developments signal a growing demand for integrated ship–officecomputer and communication systems, and therefore a close cooperation

and interoperability between shipping service providers and the network or

ICTs service providers.

The introduction of ICTs in the shipping companies’ operations onboard

and ashore, associated with national or international actions (i.e., offering

offshore or satellite coverage), diffuse information about weather forecast-

ing, navigational hazards, changes in nautical charts, tides and sea states,

etc., already has a considerable momentum.

In the last years, the ICTs’ infrastructures on ships have impressively beenupgraded. Newbuildings are being equipped with satellite systems which give

the ability for instant and uninterrupted communication between the ship

and the office. The broad implementation of GMDSS (Global Maritime

Distress and Safety System) from INMARSAT, multiplies maritime

communications. Today there is the ability for connection with wired

networks on shore such as, PSTN (public switched telephone network),

PSDN (public switched data network) and communication services such

as ISDN (integrated digital network) or xDSL (digital subscriber line).

Ships are also equipped with modern radiotelephones VHF/DSC (digitalservice call), VHD/GMDSS, AIRBAND and SSB MF/ HF. According

to INMARSAT data, most of the big shipping companies follow an

offensive ICT strategy. About 75% of ocean-going ships are equipped with




computers in order to communicate with the company. Most of the shippingcompanies adopt modern SMA (ship management applications) with

Swedish companies leading the way.

The fast pace of satellite communication developments during the last

years has resulted in innovative technologies that will provide broadband

connections to the maritime industry. In the telecommunications market, a

variety of alternative satellite communication services are offered by new

providers to the ocean-going but also to the short-sea shipping industry,

where INMARSAT held the leading role for many years. Iridium and

Globalstar present competitive products in voice services, whereas VSATsystems provide broadband connections to the vessel.

Systems based on geostatic satellites like Thuraya, in combination with

land mobile telephony systems, comprise an alternative solution at a lower

cost of use in specific geographical areas. The choice of the suitable/

convenient service depends both on the specific users requirements/needs

and on the equipments’ acquisition cost.

On the other hand, the competition between the providers is expected to

minimize costs and offer many companies the opportunity to adopt new

services. This will result in the efficient exchange of data, the support of totalsolutions and finally, a virtual incorporation of vessels into the corporate

network. Telecommunication services are not within the scope of this study,

but there is a direct link with the communication and data exchange

capabities between the office and the vessel, and the e-business readiness of

shipping companies.

Against this background, the use of state-of-the-art ICTs and e-shipping

applications is expected to flourish in maritime practices, processes and

transactions, leading to the modernization of the shipping companies

globally, in all respects and levels of operations, between the ship and theshore. In the following section, we focus on the patterns and trends of this

digital shipping evolution, as regards in particular the Greek-owned

shipping sector.

12.3. THE OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK OF

DIGITAL SHIPPING

According to Stopford (2002), maritime communications were developed

during the 1950s and 1960s with the use of telex. In the 1970s, the

development of new technologies boosted telecommunications with the use




of databases and software for voyage estimation. In the 1980s, electronicdata interchange (EDI) networks were developed resulting in the use of

e-services, not only by big shipping companies, but also by small and

medium-sized ones (SMEs). During the last decades, with a giant leap which

occurred in the ICT sector, the cost of ICT solutions’ acquisition has

decreased considerably whereas the operational costs remain high, as in

terms of training, use and efficiency, more experienced staff is needed and

the cost of labour is increasing, compared to the past decades where

hardware systems prices were quite high and the labour was cheap.

More precisely, the adoption of ICT in shipping companies started beforethe last century following three main phases: (1) the ‘‘communication’’,

(2) the ‘‘cooperation’’ and (3) the ‘‘coevolution’’ phase, which is related to the

development of advanced digital shipping models. The communication and

cooperation phases include some specific stages, which are connected with

chronological evolution. The gradual adoption of ICTs by shipping com-

panies, increases the interchanged value among cooperating (or connected

speaking of networks) productive units internal or external to the company.

Each stage builds on the previous, steadily approaching the bold vision of a

networked and cooperative digital environment. The appeal of this vision isconsiderable, since the competition and cooperation strategies are seen as the

basis of the future digital economic activities.

The ‘‘communication’’ phase. When we take a really long-term view of

business communications in shipping, the Web is not quite as revolutionary

as it seems at first sight. Over the last 150 years, the technology for

generating and receiving messages has improved – telegraph, telex, fax and

now e-mail and web technologies – but the basic tasks are to a great extent

unchanged. What has changed is the cost, both in terms of communications

and the labour required to use them. Both are dramatically cheaper today.A revolution came in the 1960s when a computer could be interconnected to

a network allowing information to be processed and managed. Previously,

telegrams and the telephone had relied on operators to handle messages and

calls, so messaging was too slow and expensive to run, for instance in a

negotiation involving several charterers/owners. In the 1990s, a whole new

dimension was opened up when information networks became available.

Internet emerged as a cheap and easy way of communication between the

company mainframe and PC networks. The usage of Internet for

exchanging e-mails leads to the next phase, that of cooperation.The ‘‘cooperation’’ phase. When technology finally allowed the use of

Internet to perform economical and commercial transactions on-line,

between enterprises on a business to business basis, a real commercial




cooperation started using ICT as a tool, allowing the companies to processorders, purchases, sales, e-payments or negotiations and contracts, among

others. The first step was the use of the EDI systems, which have occupied a

central place mainly in the liner business in recent years. EDI is a specific

type of inter-organizational information system, which facilitates the

transmission of structured machine-readable data from computer to

computer memory across organizational boundaries. Unfortunately EDI

is expensive, inflexible and not very user friendly. Each shipping company

has developed a system, supported by a large and very expensive IT

department ($10–15 million per annum spent). Compatibility is as much of aproblem as cost. It is common sense that businesses in the following years

will migrate from EDIs to more interoperable information systems and

networks. The second step was the network development via Internet.

Internet technology at present has gone far beyond a mere means of

electronic transactions, becoming a foundation for applications linked to

the core business systems, attributing the primary concept of e-business.

E-business technologies allowed enterprises to effectively and directly

connect with clients, suppliers and business partners. The connection has

recently been made easier by the continuous emergence of new interoper-ability techniques and standards (like XML, ebXML). Modern ICTs work

as a tool for shipping companies in their effort to gain a competitive

advantage over their rivals by selecting and integrating the appropriate

partners in their network-oriented value-chain activities. Today installations

of Internet-based networks in firms, connecting external value-chain

participants and internal departments enable shipping companies to

coordinate their virtual and physical value-chains in order to create added

value for their customers, partners and especially for themselves.

In this phase, the whole evolution develops a network-centric enterprise(NCE). One of the main characteristics of NCE is viewing the actors as

composing a continuous networked and adaptive digital environment. The

ability of a competitive digital business network to generate and exploit

competitive awareness (an awareness of one’s competitive domain or

competitive space) has emerged as a main point. Connectivity and

awareness about customers, competitors and the environment allow

shipping companies to understand better what the characteristics or

attributes of their services are or need to be in order to maximize value.

Awareness of customer needs also contributes to improved capacity andlogistics planning which, in turn, can improve service availability. In the

process of exploring awareness, the most significant item is the role of a

virtual world. Virtual collaboration enables individuals to collaborate in a




virtual domain. These individuals can be geographically dispersed, which isvery common in shipping business. One of the major advantages of

collaboration is an improved service provision process – one that is not only

faster and less costly, but also produces value-added services.

The main task in shipping is the offering of transportation services for

cargos or passengers. Shipping stakeholders, who cooperate to produce the

transport service most of the time, are located in different geographical

areas. This characteristic results in the foundations of a distinctive virtual

organization. More specifically, the personnel ashore and onboard may

work in virtual teams. These teams support the ‘‘productive’’ units, whichare the nodes of a network, which could be globally extended. The nodes

cooperate and interact by gathering, diffusing and sharing information.

These nodes can be departments/units of a shipping company or belong to

other external, third-party companies which participate in the network

(permanently or when needed). The value and productivity that each node

offers, depends on its information capacity.

Another contribution of the network-centric concept is that it exploits the

use of information to suppress transaction costs and risk. Shipping

companies attempt to limit administrative and operational cost and riskby using Management Information Systems (MIS) in most operating

procedures. An example is the implementation of SPS (ship positioning

system) towards suppressing costs and risks. Checking the ship’s position

gives the head office the ability to suggest and order alternative courses in

order for a ship to avoid hazardous conditions at sea or harbour which can

threaten the safety of the ship, the crew and the cargo (e.g., deviation for

avoidance of bad weather conditions, belligerent zones, terrorist or pirate

actions). In addition, the head office can give orders to master ship

operations relative to the commercial activity of the ship, such as limit thedaily operational cost by reducing the operational speed or changing the

ship’s course, or delivering freight by deviating the ship in a harbour where

demand came up. Even after the completion of a carrying task, the

management needs information about the results of the ship’s commercial

activity in order to avoid the repetition of mistakes and record the operation

in order to perform statistical and business intelligence tasks.

The ‘‘coevolution’’ phase. Coevolution is described as a process in which

interdependent species evolve in an endless reciprocal cycle – ‘‘changes in

species A set the stage for the natural selection of changes in species B’’ – andvice versa. The same holds true in business. Managerial efforts are primarily

focused on day-to-day product and service-level struggles with direct

competitors. Over the past few years, more managers have also emphasized




cooperation; strengthening key customer and supplier relationships and insome cases, working with direct competitors on initiatives like technical

standards and shared research to improve conditions to everyone. As a con-

sequence of this evolution, the dynamic networking of the organizations drives

to the dynamic cooperation of the players (could also be the competitors) on

the marketplace and the connection of the resources in a system, building a

community that shares business, knowledge and infrastructures. This will

dramatically affect the ways enterprises, including shipping organizations, are

constructed and business is conducted in the future and the actual less adaptive

organizations will be replaced by more, fluid and often transitory structuresbased on alliances, partnerships and collaboration (Fig. 12.2).

12.4. DEMAND FOR ICT AND ELECTRONIC

SERVICES AND APPLICATIONS

The significant differences in maritime markets brought up different needs

for telecommunication systems and electronic services. To be more precise,vessels that endeavour in the markets of bulk cargoes perform a small

Fig. 12.2. Networked and Collaborative Shipping Models.




number of voyages during the year, carrying one kind of cargo most of thetimes. Bulk carriers have a limited volume of transactions as they perform

6–10 voyages per year. Thus, they do have fewer requirements regarding the

needs for the exchange of data.

In the case of tanker ships, although the same number of voyages per year

(6–10) is observed in these markets, depending on the charter party (time,

voyage charter or Contract of Affreightment), the need for the exchange of

data is constantly increasing, due to strict legislation frameworks imposed

for pollution prevention and security assurance (IMO), as well as for the

monitoring of the vessel’s performance.In liner shipping, vessels (namely, containerships, ro/ro, passenger

shipping) have circular voyages to perform. The result is the increasing

need for the trip’s organization and coordination, the vessel’s monitoring

(technical and operational), cargo loading/discharging and last but not the

least, issuance of documents and certificates. Thus, vessels endeavouring in

liner shipping have an increasing need for data exchange.

Furthermore, in the era of intermodal transportation, where different

transportation modes are combined and serve the integrated supply chain,

vessels play a major role, and coordination with other modes and nodes of anetworked transport chain is required.

As aforementioned, electronic services enable the facilitation of maritime

business tasks and processes, from chartering to safety and security

operations. Providers of electronic maritime services (EMS) and solutions

are fulfilling more and more the present needs of their customers and are

positioned to cover the emerging ones. Additionally, great efforts are being

made by software solution providers in order to link applications (integration)

and provide continuous support so as to gain competitive advantage. On the

other hand, a lot of shipping companies that have the size and the know-howappeared to develop their own in-house applications and in certain cases, to

commercialize their products. A differentiation in the ICT products provided

is also apparent; this happens in order for software solution providers to

attract greater number of customers and thus acquire a bigger portion of the

market by customizing the software/solutions, targeting to ‘‘lock them in’’.

Providers are also trying to give added value services by creating shipping

e-markets and interconnecting applications of their competitors.

Electronic maritime services (EMS) can be divided into 10 basic

categories, according to the type of intended use:

1. Communication software/teleconference

2. Planned maintenance/ship performance/monitoring/hull and machinery

maintenance




3. ISM and ISPS code monitoring4. Inventory control (provisions/stores/spares)

5. Electronic procurement (provisions/stores/spares)

6. Operations/voyage management

7. Crew manning/human resource management

8. Financial applications/MGA

9. Chartering and S&P solutions

10. Maritime electronic marketplaces.

This categorization is adopted based on the available EMS provided by

vendors in the shipping industry. However, the solutions are not exhaustiveas new needs of the shipping companies are constantly covered by new

developments and customizations in the existing solutions for office and

onboard purposes.

The Greek-owned ocean-going fleet in particular is ranked in the first

place globally numbering 2,923 vessels greater than 1,000 gross registered

tonnes, and shows continuous adjustment to the changing conditions of the

shipping market by developing infrastructure, increasing efficiency and

quality of services. Moreover, its investment programme in newbuildingshas exceeded US $20 billion during the last five years. However, in the field

of communication and e-business applications, the investments are not

following the same trend. According to the ship management companies’

perspective and prevailing perception, the reasons accounting for the major

obstacles in the adoption of electronic services are start up costs or costs of

acquisition, lack of reliability and efficient technical support, as well as the

high cost of satellite communication services. Additional reasons are

compatibility and interoperability problems in the present framework of

processes, the lack of standardization in digital forms and documents thatconstrain the advantages stemming from the adoption of e-business

applications.

As far as the Greek short-sea sector is concerned, it is evident that large

operators, such as ocean-going carriers, are to a certain degree able to

handle the financial, operational and cultural problems regarding the use of

ICTs today and in the near future as they rely on a more robust asset basis,

relatively large staff of well experienced and trained personnel and adequate

further resources. On the contrary, small operators are expected to

experience serious difficulties in daily operations with tighter administrativeand operational activities related in particular with regulation compliance.

Short-sea shipping (SSS) companies appear to be very vulnerable and this




applies to the shipowners, as well as to the companies servicing the shipapproaching or staying in port.

Recent work suggests that Internet may be revolutionizing traditional

small and medium-sized business practices. By offering location and time

independence, and ease of communication, Internet can help smaller firms

gain efficiencies and cost savings that previously only larger firms could

enjoy. A variety of reasons have been offered for the apparent reluctance of

some firms to engage in e-business, notably financial and human resource

constraints and the failure to see its benefits, of which, the failure to

understand the benefits is the most critical, since it increases the perceivedrisk of engaging in e-business.

Thus, robust ICT applications, though at an infant stage in Greek-owned

enterprises, can be seen to offer a significant benefit for SSS. Although larger

carriers are still being consolidated since the 1950s and 1960s plethora of

ship operators, small operators are still responsible for a significant part of

the regional traffic or SSS in Europe. This is the case in the Mediterranean,

as well as in other parts of Europe. SSS accounted for 63% of the entire

volume of goods transported by sea in the EU-15 in the year 2003, totalling

over 1.6 billion tonnes. The United Kingdom and Italy accounted for thelargest share of cargo handled by SSS, totalling 342 and 302 million tonnes,

respectively. The Mediterranean and the North Sea had the largest share of

SSS, with 30% (491 million tonnes handled), and 27% (448 million tonnes

handled), respectively .

In this context, a central problem for SSS actors is to combine knowledge

(about application of rules, legislation, standards, etc.) with information

(data on route, port, ship, cargo, crew, etc.), towards more efficient

operations. This problem is deteriorated by the fact that both knowledge

and data are heavily distributed.

12.5. EMPIRICAL DATA

12.5.1. The Greek-Owned Ocean Shipping Sector

During the works of the Greek Research and Technology Committee of the

e-business Forum in January 2005, a special task force was formed with

the main objective to investigate the current state, trends and issues in theGreek-owned, ocean shipping industry with regard to EMS. The research

focused on the assessment of critical factors of demand and supply




regarding telecommunication (satellite) solutions and electronic services.This is a study of the characteristics of telecommunication and maritime

software solutions that are recommended by the Greek and International

ICT Market and analysed the global market on maritime electronic services

and solutions, their present state and prospects. Furthermore, the research

team created a workgroup which consisted of 138 members, representing

different groups of experts in the maritime sector and the Greek shipping

industry such as ship operators, satellite communication services and

telecommunication providers, software solution providers and maritime or

business administration and information technology research and educationinstitutions. Roundtable sessions were organized and discussions with all

parties simultaneously took place in order to understand the problems faced

by all parties, the prospects for their solutions and promotion of new

developments in both the telecommunication and business application

sectors.

For the purposes of this study, we created a questionnaire to be

answered by the ICT managers or general managers of ship management

companies in Greece, endeavouring in the ocean-going market. Briefly,

these questions addressed the size of the company (number of office staff,type/size/number of vessels), the telecommunication solutions used and

intended to be used, planned future developments, the EMS used, the type

and level of integration of applications, the type and level of connection

and data exchange between the shore and the vessels, motivation and the

perceived barriers in the adoption of new technologies and software

solutions. The respondents were primarily general managers and ICT

managers who were responsible for making the firm’s ICT-related

decisions. In addition to the roundtable sessions and the questionnaire, a

number of semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to ensurethat the questions being asked will cover the needs and the research

objectives of the team.

The overall research objectives were (a) to study the characteristics of

telecommunication and maritime software solutions that are recommended

by the Greek and International ICT Market, (b) to analyse the global

market on maritime electronic services and solutions, their present state and

prospects, (c) to record the present use of the electronic services and

solutions in the Greek shipping industry and the potential for further

development according to international practices and finally (d) to study thenecessary business processes and actions that are required, as well as the

mechanisms of promotion of the technological solutions in the maritime

industry.




In the following section, the most important questions and underlyingissues examined are presented, as well as the results extracted from the

questionnaire survey, in combination with the overall methodology used

(roundtables and interviews).

The Greek-owned ocean-going fleet: According to the given answers by 13

ship management companies, the number and types of vessels managed are

the following:

Bulk carriers: 48 Crude tankers/product carriers: 109 + 13 Containerships: 1 Reefer: 4 Ro-Ro: 1.

In total 176 vessels (Fig. 12.3).

IT department in ocean-going shipping companies: A 77% of the companies

have IT departments experts, while 23% do not have an IT department or

an expert; they outsource the IT support to third parties (Fig. 12.4).

Decision-making for investments on telecommunication and IT solutions:The decisions are mostly made by general managers (62%) and by IT

managers (38%). The general manager is in most cases the shipowner, even

if the company already has an IT department and an IT manager. The IT

manager always proposes to the general manager who is the one that

approves (Fig. 12.5). A formal budget document and IT policy are not

present in the majority of the companies and decisions on new developments

in the company are made, only on occurring events.

Container ships

1%

ProductCarriers

7%Reefer

2%

Crude tankers/

62%

Ro-Ro1%

Bulk Carriers

27%

Fig. 12.3. Percentage of Type of Vessels Operated by the Questioned Ship

Companies’ Management.




In-house development – IT outsourcing infrastructure and application

monitoring:

Hardware support. According to the given answers, the hardware support

is made in-house by 46% of the companies, 23% is outsourced and/or

31% have a combination of both in-house and outsourced support

(Fig. 12.6).

The software used by the shipping companies in the office and onboardare classified into two categories:

(a) Operating systems (Windows, Linux, etc.) and general applications

support (e.g., MS Word, MS Excel, etc.): 46% of the ship manage-

ment companies use their staff for the installation and maintenance

of the clients’ operating system, while 31% use third-party companies

and 23% use both solutions (Fig. 12.7).

(b) Specialized/customized maritime applications support: The specialized

maritime applications are either developed in-house or by solution

providers (vendors). It is logical that 69% of the companies that use abespoke application, use vendors’ services (help desk, after sales

services) as defined in the terms of the contract signed by both parties

(Service Level Agreements) (Fig. 12.8).

Yes

77%

No

23%

Yes

No

Fig. 12.4. Do you have an IT Department in your Company?

General

Manager

62%IT Manager

38%

Fig. 12.5. Who makes the Decision on Investments on Telecommunication and

IT Solutions?




Technical support of the enterprise network . The technical support of the

enterprise network is supervised by the IT departments (62%) of the

companies; their responsibility covers the maintenance (installation,

repairs, administration, etc.). A smaller percentage (23%) of thecompanies outsources these tasks due to the high technical knowledge

required for the maintenance of the network support, while 15%

combines both solutions (Fig. 12.9).

Inhouse /

Outsourced

31%

Outsourced

23%

In house

46%

Fig. 12.6 . Hardware Support.

Inhouse /

Outsourced

23%

Outsourced

31%

In house

46%

Fig. 12.7 . Technical Software Support (Operating Systems/Other Applications).

Outsourced

69%

Inhouse /

Outsourced

31%

Fig. 12.8. Technical Support for Maritime Applications.




(e.g., increased profits, minimized operational costs) drive decision-making,regarding technology adoption.

Commonly, organizations perceive e-business benefits and their motiva-

tion for adoption is influenced by the following aspects: building relation-

ships (e.g., customers, suppliers or employees); marketing, sales and service

improvement (e.g., improvement of corporate image, attraction of

customers or distribution of information); improving financial performance

(e.g., reduction of operations’ cost); obtaining information (e.g., finding new

sources of supply, industry-related information or marketing intelligence).

As the literature suggests, other important factors are also influential one-business adoption motivation, including: firm strategy (strategic orienta-

tion); firm characteristics (age, size, industry sector, market scope) and firm

owner/manager demographics (age, education, leadership style).

16%

9%

15%

17%

17%

13%

13%

Web-based marketinformation services

S & P Information

Chartering Fixtures

Bunkering Information

Weather Forecasts

Ports’ Details

Spare parts / Provisions / Stores Prices

Fig. 12.11. Percentage of Type of Information Acquired from the Internet.

Not applicable38%

Outsourced

31%

Inhouse31%

Fig. 12.10. Support of Web-Enabled Applications and Web Presence.




Against this background, the study also examined the motivations for the

adoption of electronic applications by the shipping companies, which areranked below according to the importance given by the responders:

1. Improvement of service quality

2. Increase of efficiency

3. Increase in security

4. Improvement of internal controls

5. Decrease of cost.

12.5.1.2. Obstacles in the Adoption of Electronic Services/ApplicationsAs the literature suggests, factors constituting perceived barriers on

e-business adoption include attitudinal, structural, procedural and opera-

tional issues which inhibit e-services and the development of applications.

The central factors range from general macro-level dimensions (economic,

political, institutional, legal aspects) which impinge across businesses and

industries to specific micro-level factors (financial, human resources, set of

business competencies, security concerns, resistance to change, inertia in

decision-making) which impact on businesses employing ICTs. In addition,

barriers include particular product and sectoral characteristics, hencee-business in certain cases is deemed irrelevant. A conservative, risk-averse

orientation of an owner/manager may mean that a dominant negative

attitude is displayed towards its adoption. There may be a sense that,

Table 12.1.Percentage of Maritime Processes Where EMS are Used.

Communications (combined internal & external/ship to shore) 85%

Teleconference 15%

Inventory control (provisions/stores/spares) 69%

Electronic procurement 38%

ISM code/ISPS monitoring 62%

Voyage management 62%

Planned maintenance/ship performance 62%

Crew/human resources 69%

Accounting/MGA 77%

Monitoring/hull maintenance 23%Training 38%

Insurance 23%

Loadicator 100%

Ship investment analysis 15%

Decision support system 8%




business is dictated mainly by the end customer, supplier or distributor whodoes not want to embrace e-business technology, instead preferring

conventional, traditional methods. Conversely, those owner/managers

exhibiting entrepreneurial characteristics and implementing decisions based

on core sets of interacting conventional business and e-business compe-

tencies will be more able to take advantage of the medium for the longer-

term profitability of the firm.

Against this background, the study also examined the perceived obstacles

for the adoption of electronic applications by the shipping companies, which

are ranked below according to the importance given by the responders:

1. Initial cost of acquisition

2. Lack of efficient technical support

3. Annual operational cost

4. Lack of compatibility with the present state of business cycles

5. Lack of standards

6. Need for expert employees

7. Lack of sufficient data security.

12.5.2. The Greek-Owned Short-Sea Shipping Sector

The Department of Shipping Trade and Transport, University of the

Aegean, conducted a survey in June 2003, with a sample population of 40

Greek-owned short-sea cargo shipping companies. These companies were

examined in order to identify the level of ICT adoption and e-business

practices and EMS, the potentiality, the motivation and the major obstaclesthese shipping companies encounter in moving towards advanced digital

shipping models. The researched Shipping Companies (SC) were divided

into four categories, according to the number of ships they operate. The

shipping companies’ categorization and the sample’s percentage are

presented in Table 12.2.

The following were the main issues examined:

the level, maturity of ICTs use,

the perceived benefits of ICTs and the e-business practices’ adoption, the perceived obstacles hindering the exploitation of advanced e-business

models, the networking ability in shipping business processes and operations.




The questionnaire design included different question groups concerning thetargets set at the beginning of the project. The questionnaire, although

recording opinions, experiences and facts, to a certain extent, did not fully

detect the examined issues and their causalities. Consequently, with the

majority of the examined companies, semi-structured interviews followed,

interviewees were asked to focus on specific issues. The selection of the

participating individuals was made from four different working departments

(technical, operations, HRM and R&D) of the shipping organizations

ashore. The largest part of the questionnaire was covered by quantitative

questions requiring a rating by the participants. Open questions were limitedin the questionnaire but were abundant during the interviews, the goal being

to achieve a fruitful conversation. As far as the style of the questions is

concerned, we preferred to use all kinds, and more specifically the

percentages for each type of question were the following: 25% directive

questions, 60% deductive questions and 15% hypothetical questions.

The most important survey results stemming from the questionnaire and

the interviews data collection and analysis are:

(1) Shipping companies target a competitive advantage through cost and

risk reduction and suppression of response time, trying to offer high-

quality services and make a good reputation. Companies cooperate with

other shipping actors, building business networks and acting all together

as a team but networking is not fully supported by ICTs. Only big and

medium-sized shipping companies pioneer in network development,

expansion and functions supported by ICTs.

(2) Business networking costs, based on the ICTs implementation and use

could not be defined precisely and a considerable percentage (40%)ignored it. Answering to open questions, managers admitted that the

first priority of the company is to cover the cost for digital

communication with the ships financing for satellite connections and

Table 12.2.SSS Sample.

Shipping Company Category Number of Ships Sample’s Percentage

SC1 1–5 25

SC2 6–10 20

SC3 11–20 25

SC4 W 20 30




to a lesser extent for infrastructures integrating the ship and the headoffice’s information systems.

(3) For the majority, business networking supported by ICTs contributes to

the company’s viability, market solidification and quality of services but

did not confirm that all the above results depend exclusively on the

ICTs’ enabled networking.

(4) The main problems for using ICTs are the systems’ compatibility and

apprehension and information management resources and skills. Most

companies outsource the organization’s computer centre operations,

telecommunication networks and software applications development toexternal vendors.

(5) The applications that are mostly used by the shipping companies are

primarily related to ship safety and secondarily related to the facilitation

of their commercial activities. The first priority is to ensure continuous

and safe communications with the ships. More precisely, the most

common systems for the Greek shipping companies are Radio-Satellite

communication systems and Internet, ship maintenance information

systems, ship positioning systems and information systems for

commercial transactions.(6) The main perceived benefits of the above systems’ usage are: flexibility

increase, time response reduction, information acquisition/exchange and

particular services offer. Managers witness that the high frequency of

transactions and the need for communication imposes the ICTs’

adoption in order to support the business process which is based on a

‘‘sense and respond’’ mentality.

(7) The main perceived problems of the networked software systems’ use

are related to interoperability, incompatibility and the frequency of the

systems’ malfunctions. Most of the shipping companies use softwareprograms and ICTs applications that are commercially available for sale

as software packages. The main reason for the ICTs outsourcing

preference is that software packages are supported by vendors (for

installation, updating and maintenance) and can cover common

functions for all ships.

(8) The main reasons why shipping companies do not use networked

software systems are: the high cost of the initial investment, the high cost

of legacy system migration, the lack of knowledge and skilled personnel,

the lack of technological solutions and interoperability and complexityof regulations for e-business. Although most shipping companies

continue investing money on installing computers and application and

communication systems, interviewees admitted that the management




demands a visible and clear relationship between the costs of the ICTsand the ultimate company’s economic performance.

Correlating the market sector, the firm’s characteristics – company size and

ICTs and advanced e-business practices and stance – gives us the following

important results:

(1) Big and medium-sized SSS companies participate in networks with more

nodes and do not have problems with compatibility in contrast to small

SSS companies. Of course networking cost is higher for bigger

companies.(2) Big and medium-sized SSS companies use almost all referred software

systems to broadly support the business process in contrast to small

companies, which use the necessary systems to support (especially in

safety and security issues) ship navigation and communication with the

head office.

(3) In big and medium-sized SSS companies, the extended use of networked,

integrated software systems is hindered by the preoccupation that the

personnel will react to the change, and software systems will cause

declination of standard functions. For small companies on the otherhand, the most important hindering factors for the use of integrated

systems are the high costs for initial investment and conversion, the lack

of knowledge and skilled personnel, the lack of technological solutions,

the interoperability problems and the complexity of regulations on

e-business.

12.6. A TYPOLOGY OF DIGITAL SHIPPINGBUSINESS MODELS

E-business models are defined as concepts, methodologies or frameworks/

architectures that aim at guiding companies to identify and develop

sustainable initiatives in order to exploit ICTs and hence support their

strategic goals; create value for their stakeholders, capture a dominant

market position or a viable market niche, reduce cost and improve

efficiency. The popularity of e-business has resulted in the rise of a number

of e-business models theories and typologies (Timmers, 1998; Kauffman &Dai, 2002; Viehland, 2005)

Foundation theories of digital business models include MIS concepts and

techniques, Business Strategy and Strategic Information Systems’ principles.




Currently, e-business models theories seem to have converged and coevolvewith the quite mature stream of e-business strategy.

The following six main functions could be attributed to a business model

(Chesbrough & Rosenbloom, 2002): articulation of the value proposition,

identification of a market segment, definition of the structure of the firm’s

value-chain, specifying the revenue generation mechanisms, description of

the firm’s position within the value network and formulation of a

competitive strategy in the digital business environment.

In the following section, we explain the basic concepts and principles that

pertain e-business models in order to analyse and present innovative,emergent and future digital shipping business models, as based on the

experiences and lessons learned from studying and empirically testing the

Greek-owned shipping sector, regarding the adoption of ICTs and

e-business strategies and practices.

The classic literature of e-business models identifies a number of the most

important modes of digital business operation; their emergence into the

shipping environment context can be viewed as follows:

1. E-presence: A basic transformation of the traditional-physical, com-mercial activities of the company into electronic forms are implemented,

such as basic business information provision and exchange, i.e.,

informational website of a shipping company, information pages with

details such as ports of call, fleet capacities, etc., or interactive services

such as electronic shipping orders, cargo electronic shipping reserva-

tions.

2. Electronic maritime operations: Information systems and communica-

tion infrastructures can enable an efficient operation of the central

shipping operations of a company activated in a particular shippingsector (bulk, container, etc.). These digital operations supported by

particular state-of-the-art software platforms, include: Communications (combined internal & external/ship to shore) Teleconference Inventory control (provisions/stores/spares) Electronic procurement ISM code/ISPS monitoring Voyage management

Planned maintenance/ship performance Crew/human resources Accounting/MGA Monitoring/hull maintenance




Training Insurance Loadicator Ship investment analysis Decision support system.

3. E-intermediaries and e-markets: A new type of intermediaries, third part

information portals, e-brokers, e-charterers have appeared and devel-

oped, aiming at providing added value services such as information

brokerage (i.e., routes, available carriers, third parties), electronic

negotiations and chartering, electronic auctions for cargo transporta-tion or an integrated electronic marketplace platform of a shipping

sector (bulk, container, short-sea, etc.) that resembles and rationalizes

a physical shipping market environment into its digital form. A critical,

still open question regarding this business model is whether the

new electronic intermediaries disintegrate or re-integrate a shipping

market.

4. E-supply chain management and multimodal e-transportation: Various

forms of electronic services and technologies support upstream and/or

down stream activities across a supply chain. These may include casessuch as, real-time fleet management and product/freight distribution

based on wireless communications technology or e-auctions for

optimized intermodal logistics realization. In this model, the digital

shipping companies’ activities are seen as integrated with the overall,

intermodal activities across a supply chain that offers rationalized and

added value services with a door-to-door customer service provision

orientation.

5. Electronic port services: Within a port community, the effective flow of

information is considered to be an important variable, whereas a highlysophisticated information technology is required to provide reliable and

timely information for a multitude of actors within the port community.

Among them are freight forwarders, transport companies, rail

operators, and container carriers in terminals, customs, and port

employees. To carry out an effective data management, appropriate

electronic devices must be used; furthermore they should be integrated

into the port and transport network communications via a computer

system. Since the introduction of the EDI systems in the mid-1980s, the

port sector has progressively endorsed several ICTs such as web portals,intranets, extranets and support software platforms (i.e., ERPs,

Workflow Managements Systems) and communication platforms

(i.e., wireless and sensor systems, RFID technology).




However, despite the fact that several technologies and devices areavailable in the market, they are not broadly employed yet. Only a few

international ports have taken maximum advantages of the existing ICTs

to improve their operational efficiency, minimize terminal congestion and

establish a fully integrated system. Shipping companies should be able to

integrate their applications with port applications towards a seamless,

networked shipping environment.

6. E-regulations’ compliance-safety and security: Maritime safety and

security remains a critical issue, requiring shipping companies and

ports to expand capacity without compromising the safety and securityof organizations and citizens. Most of the necessary maritime

information required for shipping rules and regulations’ compliance is

currently available as unstructured textual data maintained and

provided by multiple distributed sources. With security regulations

likely to continue to intensify, more research is needed on freight

shipping and passenger shipping security technology such as electronic

seals, container tracking (such as RFID) and equipment screening. FAL

has urged the IMO member states to work towards a ‘‘single window

concept’’, an idea also pursued by a number of European andinternational projects on Electronic Port Clearance, by one-stop port

based intermodal web portals. Tools for automatic compliance check

are also useful (i.e., ISM, ISPS compliance assessment tools). Research

can also assess the effectiveness of Homeland Security programmes also

help to determine funding requirements for port and shipping security.

7. Ancillary and value-added shipping services: Apart from the core

shipping and port operations that are digitally provided and support

based on state-of-the-art ICTs and e-business methods, a number of

ancillary, yet important, value-adding electronic services and applica-tions are emerging, including, e-learning, e-health, e-government

services:

e-learning: e-learning platforms can be developed and used in the

shipping industry environment, where trainees/seafarers have specific

learning needs in order to adapt and perform successfully in a

continuously changing organizational, business and employment envir-

onment. Common career paths in the shipping industry may require

alternate career changes and job rotation such as acquisition of different

positions onboard, work on different types of ships, and employment,ashore, in an office position related with the shipping and port operations

management. The e-training pedagogical and information processes,

enable flexible and individualized content and training provision in terms




of adaptive-blended learning (combined traditional lectures, e-learning inthe office, e-learning onboard with an instructor), cooperative learning

(practice onboard, emergency drills with peers) and contextualized

learning and content, based on real shipping business situations and

problems.

8. Third-party services: In the shipping environment a multitude of

actors co-exist and interact, including international organizations (i.e.,

IMO), educational and research institutions, industry associations,

insurance organizations, P&I clubs, ship surveyors, etc. These shipping

third parties may implement and use information systems ande-business applications that interoperate with shipping companies’

e-services.

9. Mobile shipping data services: Following the Internet revolution, a

second wave of technological innovation has emerged, regarding

digitized information using wireless technology and personal commu-

nication services, including short messaging services, email, download

services and Internet connection services, enabling communication and

informational applications for shipping managers, employees, port

officers and workers, etc. The users of M-shipping data services areprovided with timely and accurate information, data and communica-

tion capabilities anywhere, anytime – a comparative advantage over

fixed-network services that present geographic and time constraints.

Efficient shipping decision-making and operations management can be

greatly facilitated by timely management of perishable information and

data, as well as by individualized communication (i.e., chartering

negotiations, vessel technical maintenance and repair operations).

10. Communication network services: The enabling infrastructure for

advanced digital shipping services consists of, onboard telecommunica-tions (i.e., short range or satellite communications) and ashore–office

communications (i.e., xDSL, Internet, Wifi, etc.). Although commu-

nication services do not represent a pure digital shipping business

model, they are included in the typology since they constitute a

dominant and important type of the ICTs used in shipping.

Apart from the digital shipping business models presented above, hybrids

and combinations or variations of these are also apparent and foreseen.

In addition to the above-proposed taxonomical analysis of digital

shipping services and models, a useful distinction is the one that cites

e-business models with regard to the side that it primarily implements, and




offers the electronic services under consideration; hence a digital shippingbusiness model can be:

(a) a supply-side or seller-oriented system, where in a one to many

relationship, a shipping company can offer informational and transac-

tional services to its customers, i.e., passenger trip/ticket e-reservations,

cargo shipping capacities e-booking, cargo capacities e-auctions;

(b) a demand-side or buyer-oriented system, where an e-shipping application

is offered by a shipping customer (i.e., shipper, cargo forwarder) and a

shipping company may act as a ‘‘user’’ of this service (i.e., cargo

booking, vessel oil procurement, etc.);

(c) a third party or an e-marketplace platform, where a third party or a

consortium of shipping or ICT stakeholders own and operate an

intermediary application (i.e., a chartering platform).

Complementary to this understanding is the meticulous identification of all

the stakeholders (actors) who are involved in a particular business model,

the information flow for its realization, as well as the revenue or economic

model, which ensures the sustainability and attractiveness of each one of the

digital shipping business models (Fig. 12.12).

The above-presented taxonomical analysis serves as a generic roadmap

for understanding digital shipping options and respectively aid in decision

and policy making in the shipping context. Its normative character offers a

complementary means towards an integrated, strategic orientation of the

shipping companies and the shipping stakeholders in an emergent digital,

information and knowledge intensive environment (Fig. 12.13).

12.7. A TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL FOR

DIGITAL SHIPPING

A technology acceptance model (TAM) represents an important theoretical

contribution towards understanding information systems, e-business usage

and respective acceptance behaviours. The goal of TAM is ‘‘to provide an

explanation of the determinants of computer acceptance that is explaining

user behaviour across a broad range of end-user computing technologies

and user populations’’.A TAM considers that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use,

determine intentions to use a system. Perceived usefulness is also seen as

being directly impacted by the perceived ease of use. Attempts to extend




TAM have generally taken one of three approaches: by introducing factors

from related models, by introducing additional or alternative belief factors,

and by examining antecedents and moderators of perceived usefulness and

perceived ease of use (Wixom & Todd, 2005).More precisely, the TAM consists of two main beliefs, perceived utilities

and perceived ease of application, which determine attitudes to adopt a new

technology. The attitude towards adoption depicts the prospective adopter’s

positive or negative orientation/behaviour about adopting a new technol-

ogy. Attitudes are determined by relevant internal beliefs. Attitude towards

adoption is influenced by factors such as: (1) perceived ease of adoption,

(2) apprehensiveness, (3) perceived utilities of technology (extrinsic

motivation) and (4) enjoyment (intrinsic motivation). In addition, the

individual managers’/users’ characteristics like age, qualification, their priorexperiences in adopting technology, technology suppliers’ commitment,

compatibility with existing technology and enhanced value are important

factors. Social pressure is another important factor. Based on a strong

Fig. 12.12. Digital Shipping Business Models.




behavioural elements orientation, TAM assumes that when someone forms

an intention to act, this immediately results in the freedom to act without

limitation. In practice, constraints such as limited ability, time, environ-

mental or organizational limits, and unconscious habits will limit the

freedom to act (Davis 1986; Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1989; Wang,

Hsu, & Fang, 2004; Pisanias & Willcocks, 1999).Against this background, in the following section we present an extended

TAM adapted and extended to the context of an emerging digital shipping

environment, in particular the shipping work environment, in order to

formulate a framework that allows for a broader and less normative

understanding of digital shipping business models, their adoption and

implementation organizational contexts and consequently enable knowl-

edgeable and strategic decision-making of the shipping companies and

the shipping stakeholders, in a emergent and information intensive

environment.In the extended TAM for digital shipping (TAM-DS), we present a two-

layered model that encompasses both background factors as well as direct,

critical factors for the adoption and use of digital shipping services.

Fig. 12.13. An Extended Technology Acceptance Model for Digital Shipping(TAM-DS).




In the TAM-DS background factors we include:Firm-specific characteristics: The particular sector (i.e., bulk, container) in

which the firm operates, the size (vessel fleet), the financial basis, the

organizational culture of a shipping company regarding new technologies

and technical change, the company’s prior experience regarding the ICTs

projects’ implementation, their ICTs procurement and staff training

processes all influence the adoption decisional context. Accumulated

technical knowledge of the adopters and positive working relationships

with the technology suppliers through previous shared experiences, have a

positive relationship with the intention of adoption.Shipping owner/manager personal factors: The decision-maker of a digital

shipping service investment and operation is most commonly a high-level

manager or shipping owner; the demographic characteristics of the decision-

maker, that is age, education, stance to new technologies, personal skills and

knowledge regarding new technologies, prior experience with ICTs projects,

relationship with the ICTs’ suppliers, all influence the decisional context of

adoption.

Type of digital shipping services: The type of digital shipping services, as

presented in the digital shipping business models, whether the adoption anduse decision refers to a simple or heavyweight application or core or

ancillary application, i.e., (a) a simple informational web service, (b) the

integration with a complex procurement platform of a supplier and (c) a

stand alone security assessment application, etc., embeds complexity, and

organizational impacts elements, thus influence the perceptions regarding

usefulness, ease of application and cost implications, hence influence the

decisional context of adoption.

Furthermore, the application functionality, the operations–tasks’ char-

acteristics and the respective task–technology fit also impact the decisionalcontext of adoption.

ICTs maturity: Whether the examined digital technology and application

are innovative with limited previous proven successful implementation

business cases, or it is a state-of-the-art solution, influence the decisional

context of adoption. Shipping companies with an orientation towards

technological innovation are prone to experiment with new ICTs and seek a

competitive advantage.

ICTs vendor factors: The image, the size, the capabilities (such as the sales

and negotiation capabilities) and the assets (experienced programmers,integrators and consultants) of the ICTs’ vendor, as well as a prior




relationship with the shipping company are significant factors in promotingdigital shipping, and influence the decisional context of adoption.

Socio-economic factors: The globalization and international competition,

social pressure on sensitivity and corporate social responsibility regarding

environmental, safety and security issues, respect and appreciation for

innovation, learning and knowledge creation are factors that influence the

decisional context of adoption.

All the above TAM-DS background factors determine the first layer,

direct–critical TAM-DS factors, namely:

Perceived usefulness: Applying the new technology in order to benefit forthe adopting company’s well being is regarded as a subjective perception.

Usefulness or utility for the adopting organization, usually means economic

benefits resulting from adopting a digital shipping service. These benefits

may consist of increases in productivity, enhancement of service quality,

cost savings, improvement in the market share and entry into a new market.

It may also consist of improved shipping employees’ seafarers’ job

performance and job satisfaction and the associated intrinsic and extrinsic

rewards. Other forms of benefit relating indirectly to the adoption of the

technology such as the generation of a quality image or enhancement of thecorporate image also account to perceived utilities. When the new ICT

technology threatens organizational continuity (disruptive technology), the

digital shipping service’s utilization may be perceived as negative.

Perceived ease of application: The degree to which the shipping company’s

management expects the new technology adopted to be free of exceeding

effort and support, regarding its transfer and utilization is a direct factor of

adoption intention. Compatibility with existing the company’s information

systems, work operations, work norms and culture are embedded elements

in the digital shipping technology complexity of application.Perceived cost: an additional factor that we explicitly include in the

TAM-DS, is the perception of monetary costs of shipping decision-makers,

regarding the adoption of digital shipping services. Actually, this is

considered a strong determinant that has a negative relationship with

adoption intention, unless clear cost-benefit arguments can be contributed

to the decisional context.

The last three important TAM-DS factors have a direct impact on the

digital shipping services’ intention of adoption and result in varying digital

shipping services settings across markets, geographical regions andcompanies.




12.8. SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION

Digital shipping is defined as any form of communication, information

exchange and electronic transactions across shipping electronic organiza-

tional networks. These transactions can be realized within a shipping

company, between shipping business partners (i.e., shipping company–

broker–charterer interactions), and between businesses and customers (i.e.,

shipping company–cargo forwarder). Electronic shipping transactions may

refer to any particular shipping market, namely freight transportation,

passenger shipping, the cruise industry, short-sea and ocean shipping, thebulk or the container sector.

This chapter overviewed the generic phases and patterns of the ICTs and

electronic services’ evolution in the maritime sector and we explain pertinent

characteristics for their use and diffusion.

Furthermore, we cite empirical evidence from two research studies

regarding the adoption of digital shipping services: (i) in the Greek-owned

ocean-shipping sector and (ii) in the Greek-owned SSS sector. In these

studies we address firm and sector characteristics, EMS used, type and level

of integration of applications, type and level of network cooperation anddata exchange between the shore and the vessels, planned future

developments, motivation and perceived barriers in the adoption of digital

technologies and software shipping solutions.

Building on the above theory and empirical findings, we present a

theoretical, combined frame of analysis consisting of (a) a typology of

digital shipping business models and (b) an extended TAM for digital

shipping, broadly applicable in the international shipping environment.

We consider that digital shipping evolves around 10 dominant business

models, namely e-presence, electronic maritime operations, e-intermediariesand e-markets, e-supply chain management and multimodal e-transportation,

electronic port services, e-regulations compliance-safety and security,

ancillary and value-added shipping services, third party services, mobile

shipping data services and communication networks services.

In order to explain how different organizational actors adopt various

digital shipping business models and services, we present an extended

TAM-DS that includes the adapted, direct Adoption Intention determi-

nants (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of application, perceived cost)

and their background factors, including firm-specific characteristics,shipping owner/manager personal factors, type of digital shipping

services, the ICTs’ maturity, the ICTs’ vendor factors, and socio-economic

factors.




This chapter formulated a frame of analysis that allows for a broader andless normative understanding of digital shipping business models, their

adoption and implementation organizational contexts in order to assist in

knowledgeable and strategic decision-making of the shipping companies and

the shipping stakeholders in a emergent and information intensive

environment.

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