An Exploratory of Factors Influencing of Digital Technology

Adoption in Thai Maritime Industry: Perspective of Thai Shipowners

Atcharaporn Janmethakulwat and

Bundit Thanasopon

School of Information Technology, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Thailand

Keywords: Digital Technology, Maritime Industry, Thai Shipowner, Technology Adoption, TOE Framework.

Abstract: This study addresses a literature gap in the maritime sector concerning the slow adoption of digital technology

by Thai shipowners to drive sustainable organizational development. Understanding the determinants of

digital technology adoption is crucial. Thus, this study examines the adoption process of digital technology

in Thai shipowners at the firm-level, specifically focusing on the perceived influence of technology,

organization, and environment. The study employs an exploratory approach and utilizes in-depth case studies

to build theory. The findings suggest that factors such as improved organizational efficacy, reduced

operational expenses, enhanced internal and external communication, top management support and

commitment, plan maintenance monitoring, documentation, compliance with legal, regulatory, and policy

requirements, and social pressure positively influence the adoption of digital technology in Thai shipowners.

1 INTRODUCTION

The term digital transformation refers to

organizational changes brought about by digital

technologies that result in the redefinition of existing

business capabilities, processes, and relationships.

Changes can be seen in business models and how

organizations create, deliver, and capture value

(Kleppe and Nortvedt 2020). Reshaping business

models through the adoption and use of digital

technologies creates a setting within the organization

and its environment in which new possibilities are

enabled, and value is made (Tijan et al. 2021).

Integrating and utilizing new digital technologies is

one of the most difficult challenges businesses face

today. Maritime transport is an essential mode of

international trade that is digitizing and undergoing

digital technology at varying rates in different

domains. Shipping, as a component of the logistics

chain, is a volatile industry characterized by

technological immaturity and impending regulatory

changes (Zaman et al. 2017).

Digitalization and digital disruption have already

begun to impact the maritime industry, affecting

operations and strategy, resulting in more unique and

successful business models. Innovative technological

applications, particularly in the marine industry, can

provide economic and societal value (Gavalas 2020).

As a result, the current phase of digital technology is

focused on adopting new digital technologies to

improve vessel measurement, monitoring, and

control. This can include advanced data

preprocessing and analysis to extract information and

knowledge in planning and decision support systems.

However, the success of digital technology depends

not only on the use of cutting-edge technologies and

methods but also, most importantly, on the adaptation

of organizational aspects. The specific management

issue is that the barriers to technology adoption

among maritime industry players in Thailand are

poorly understood, limiting the naval sector's ability

to achieve national sustainable development. The use

of current technologies is one of the most critical

issues in the digital technology of the marine industry

in developing countries (Yang 2019).

Although several studies focus on digital

technology adoption, there is no comprehensive study

on the digital technology adoption, especially in the

scope of Thai shipowners. To address the literature

gap, this study aims to better understand technology

adoption in Thai shipowners using The Technology,

Organization and Environment Framework (TOE

framework), as well as Institutional Theory.

Janmethakulwat, A. and Thanasopon, B.

An Exploratory of Factors Inﬂuencing of Digital Technology Adoption in Thai Maritime Industry: Perspective of Thai Shipowners.

DOI: 10.5220/0012035100003467

In Proceedings of the 25th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems (ICEIS 2023) - Volume 2, pages 669-677

ISBN: 978-989-758-648-4; ISSN: 2184-4992

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

669

2 CONCEPTUAL INSIGHTS

FROM PRIOR STUDIES

2.1 The Fourth Industrial Revolution

Becomes Maritime 4.0

According to the Global Maritime Forum's Annual

Summit 2019, the world is experiencing the so-called

Fourth Industrial Revolution. The first three industrial

revolutions were propelled forward by mechanics and

mass production, electricity and mass production, and

electronics and automation. The Fourth Industrial

Revolution is defined by cyber-physical systems and

interconnectedness. The Fourth Industrial Revolution

is fueled by a number of critical technologies,

including advanced robotics, 3D printing, autonomous

cars, artificial intelligence, segmented/virtual reality,

and digital breakthroughs such as finance and

blockchain. Along with several benefits such as

increased connectedness and efficiency, the Fourth

Industrial Revolution also introduced considerable

uncertainty and worry.

According to World Economic Forum research

by 2022, 42% of essential skills required for most

occupations will change, with an increasing demand

for critical, analytical, and creative thinking,

technological design, programming, leadership,

system analysis, emotional intelligence, and complex

problem-solving. Leaders in the Fourth Industrial

Revolution are concerned about the future of business,

and leveraging data. Sharing data can help resolve

operational inefficiencies in the marine sector and

accelerate industry development. In an increasingly

digital and networked world, there is a rising demand

for reliable communication and information-sharing

routes. The maritime industry is particularly prone to

weak data and document management, complicated

regulatory requirements, money laundering and fraud,

and insufficient traceability. Sullivan et al. 2020 state

that the marine sector is building collaborative

platforms to extend the life of

vessels via the use of

linked digital capabilities. The Fourth Industrial

Revolution and Maritime 4.0 share many parallels,

notably in terms of technology. The distinction,

however, is in the manner in which each of the

technologies interacts and overlaps with one another

across numerous sectors of the marine industry.

Maritime 4.0 refers to the integrated use of digital

processes and technologies in the design,

development, building, operation, and maintenance of

ships as displayed in Figure 1 (Papageorgiou 2020).

Overall, both industry 4.0 and maritime 4.0

represent the next phase of industrial and maritime

evolution, respectively, and share several similarities

in terms of the technologies and approaches they use

to achieve their goals.

Figure 1: The journey to intelligent shipping

(Papageorgiou, 2020).

2.2 Digitalization and Advancements in

the Maritime Industry

The maritime transport sector faces several

challenges in adopting digital technology. Firstly,

there is often a lack of leadership, as management

tends to take a conservative approach and resources

are limited. Although technologies like Blockchain

and autonomous shipping can foster digital

technology adoption, many employees and managers

are resistant to change and lack awareness of how

digital technology can positively affect the business

(Bajpai 2021).

Secondly, the utilization and ownership of data

presents a challenge. Data confidentiality has become

increasingly important for services such as predictive

maintenance, use tracking, route planning, and

resource planning (Gavalas 2020). However, various

parties may have an incentive to withhold specific

facts from other business participants, and data

ownership is frequently contested. A comprehensive

legal assessment of data flows is often critical for

data-intensive services and business models,

especially when the organization has a strong interest

in protecting secrecy.

Thirdly, cyber-security is a major concern. IT-

intensive activities create new security zones when

plates, containers, and other items are linked.

Protection receives a new layer of cyber-security to

prevent unauthorized third parties from accessing

critical sensors and controllers via existing interfaces

and network connectivity. Applying cyber-security

measures can be problematic due to existing safety

and security requirements and updates to associated

legislation (Gavalas 2020).

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Fourthly, regulatory issues pose a challenge.

Unlike industries such as manufacturing or retailing,

maritime transportation operations are inextricably

linked to global economics and politics. Moreover,

the sector's operations are governed by national and

international laws (Zeng et al. 2020).

Fifthly, International laws and conventions such

as UNCLOS, SOLAS, COLREG, and MARPOL may

affect the permissibility of certain technologies,

particularly those used on uncrewed vehicles (Ikpogu

2021).

Finally, the lack of digital skills and a qualified

labor force in the maritime transport sector. This

problem is expected to worsen as new technologies

require the development of new skill sets and

technological expertise. To address this challenge,

cooperation between universities and the corporate

sector is needed, including investment in knowledge,

new study and training programs, and other measures

to ensure an adequate human resource pool for the

continued development and application of

innovations in the maritime transport sector (Van Dyk

and Van Belle 2019).

Overall, the barriers to digital technology

adoption can vary depending on the industry,

organization, and specific technology being adopted.

It is important for organizations to carefully consider

these barriers and develop strategies to overcome

them to ensure successful digital technology

adoption.

3 THEORETICAL

FOUNDATIONS APPLIED TO

RESEARCH

3.1 Technology, Organization and

Environment Framework (TOE

Framework)

The Technology, Organization and Environment

Framework (TOE framework) was developed in 1990

by Tornatzky and Fleischer. It identifies three aspects

of an enterprise’s context that influence the process

by which it adopts and implements a technological

innovation: technological context, organizational

context and environmental context see in Figure 2.

The term technological context refers to both internal

and external technologies that are significant to the

company. This includes current practices and

equipment internal the firm, as well as the set of

available technologies external to the firm.

Organizational context refers to descriptive measure

about the organization such as scope, size, and

managerial structure. Environmental context is the

area in which as firm conducts its business, its

industry, competitors, and dealings with government

(Tornatzky et al. 1990).

Figure 2: Technological, organizational, and environmental

framework (TOE framework) (Tornatzky and Fleischer,

1990).

TOE was employed as the theoretical basis in

their study to investigate the adoption factors of inter-

organizational information booking system. The

research provides a comprehensive understanding of

the adoption behavior relating to technological

innovation in the maritime supply chain. They found

that not only the factors such as relative advantage,

ease of use, firm size, and top management support but

technology adoption in maritime supply chain is also

influenced by other salient factors such as industrial

characteristics, information confidentiality, supply

chain partners’ power, governmental power, and

ownership structure. Moreover, digitalization and

many technological advances provide opportunities for

stakeholders in the supply chain to improve efficiency,

enhance productivity, and reduce the impact caused by

environmental uncertainty (Zeng and Pawar 2020).

Ikgapu 2021 also supported that the new

technology requires four factors to ensure its success

in digital era of shipping; the factors include

technology availability, organizations expected,

environment and favorable policies and security of

technology infrastructure.

3.2 Institutional Theory

According to the institutional theory, organizational

decisions are not driven purely by rational goals of

efficiency, but also by perceived social pressure and

the influence of cultural factors and concerns for

legitimacy. Institutions are transported by cultures,

structures, and routines and operate at multiple levels.

According to perceived social pressure and influence,

firms become more similar as a result of isomorphic

pressures and legitimacy pressures (DiMaggio and

Powell 1983). This suggests that firms within the

same field tend to become homologous over time, as

An Exploratory of Factors Inﬂuencing of Digital Technology Adoption in Thai Maritime Industry: Perspective of Thai Shipowners

671

competitive and customer pressures motivate them to

repeat industry leaders. Several recent research on e-

commerce or EDI dissemination and assimilation

have used an institutional perspective. It's

documented that mimetic, coercive and normative

institutional pressures existing in an institutionalized

environment may influence organizations’

predisposition toward an IT-based interorganizational

system (Teo et al. 2003). Mimetic pressures occur

when businesses adopt a competitor's approach or

innovation. Coercive pressures are a group of formal

or informal forces exerted on organizations by other

organizations upon which the previous organizations

depend. Normative pressures are generated by dyadic

partnerships in which organizations communicate

information, regulations, and standards. Sharing these

norms through relational channels amongst members

of a network facilitates consensus, which, in turn,

increase the strength of those norms and their

potential influence on organization behavior

(DiMaggio and Powell 1983).

Unlike other industries such as manufacturing or

retailing, the activities of the maritime transportation

industry are closely related to global economics and

politics. Moreover, the activities within the industry

are also affected by the governmental regulations

from different countries. Therefore, the perceived

social pressure and influence becomes the driving

force to examine as another one factor which

influencing on intention to digital transformation

adoption besides perceived near-term consequence

and perceived ease of use.

4 RESEARCH DESIGN AND

METHOD

4.1 Research Method

This exploratory study was positioned within an

interpretive research paradigm. To answer the

research questions, we collect data from three

shipowners in Thailand. Evidence from the in-depth

cases is used to build theory. A multiple-case study

method is used to explore the relationships between

factors influencing adoption. A qualitative case study

method is appropriate because the aim of this study is

to generate fresh and deeper insights into the factors

influencing digital technology adoption relating to

Thai shipowners. Please note that, this paper is a

preliminary study. The results obtain will be used to

frame our future interviews as we plan to collect more

cases. The qualitative insights obtained from the case

studies will be used to build a research model which

will be confirmed by a large-scale survey.

4.2 Data Collection

The following stages were followed with regard to the

identification of interviewees with knowledge

relating to digital technology in the maritime

industry. Thai shipowners firms were contacted and

the focus of the study was discussed. If the maritime

firm had been engaged in the adoption of digital

technology, the key participants were identified.

Additionally, the snowball method was used to

generate additional respondents from the cases. Semi-

structured interviews were conducted with the

management level in three shipowners located in

Thailand. In total, six executive managers from the

three firms were interviewed. To ensure accurate

information was provided, the participants were

assured that their names and the companies’ names

would not be disclosed. The demographic profiles of

the cases are summarized in Table I. Each interview

lasted from fifty to sixty minutes. Interviews were

recorded and then instantly transcribed. The validity

and reliability of the presented responses were

considered. In addition, internet and archival

materials were combed through for information on

each company. The latter information was then

triangulated with the interview-gathered information.

The responses of multiple responders from the same

company were triangulated.

Table 1: The demographic profiles of the Thai shipowners.

Case

Profiles of the Thai Shipowners company

Founded Listed

company

Business Type

No. of

vessels

No. of

employee

1989

Yes

Bulk Carrier,

Cement

Carrie

38 906 pax

No. of

respondents

/Position/Working

experience

A1 Training Instructor

Manage

27 y

Technical Manager 24 y

2015

Yes

Marine

Petroleum

Transportation

20 423 pax

No. of

respondents

/Position/Working

experience

B1 Chief Financial

Office

30 y

B2 Chief Technical

Office

41 y

1992

Marine

Petroleum

Transportation

13 265 pax

No. of

respondents

/Position/Working

experience

Technical Manager 24 y

HSSEQ Manager &

DPA

12 y

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4.3 Data Analysis

Analyses were conducted on adoption narratives. All

management responses were transcribed the day

following each interview. The most frequently

reported characteristics impacting adoption were

discovered after comments were consistently

categorized. Within-case analysis and cross-case

analysis were undertaken iteratively. Data were

compared with existing theory and the data was

allowed to talk. Several propositions were derived

from the interviewers' comments.

5 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

The combined analysis from literature review and

semi-structured interviews revealed eleven factors as

driving the digital technology adoption in Thai

shipowners which shown in Table II.

Table 2: Summary of the digital technology adoption.

Theme Main Finding Case

Technological-related criteria

Availability of

access to

digitalization

Easier access from around the world A1, A2

anizational-related criteria

Improved

organizational

efficiency

1. Increased Operational Efficacy

and Reactivity

2. Cost optimization

A1,

B1, B2,

Reduced

operational

expenses

1. Cost savings on operations due to

the optimization of processes and

staff

2. Decrease in fuel prices

3. Decrease in expenditures related

to procedural delays

A1, A2,

B1, B2,

C1, C2

Cargo

Management

Productivity

1. Cost reduction for freight storage

2. Cargo damage and theft

estimation using data-driven

analytics

Data Analytics

for management

1. Ability to concentrate on one's

own main business strategies

2. Better asset management insights

B1, B2

Better Internal

and external

communications

1. Connectivity of the head office

2. 24X7 connectivity

3. Online virtual meetings, training,

and conferences

4. Multiple, inexpensive

communication methods

5. Interactive between onshore and

offshore

6. Real-time information for

shipowners to enable risk

management

A1, A2,

B1, B2,

C1, C2

Top

management

support and

commitment

1. Top management support can

help to get the necessary resources

(facility, capital, IT, and human

resource) and then achieve the

enefits of digitalization adoption

B1, B2,

C1, C2

2. 2. Self-efficacy and set up KPI to

measure the successful

implementation

Plan

maintenance

monitoring &

Unplanned

situation

1. A notification when it's time for

maintenance

2. Improved contingency plan for an

unplanned situation

3. Guideline or generate for a

routine job

A2,

B1,

Documentation 1. Reduced paperwork improves

productivity and response times.

2. Decreased transaction and

enforcement expenses

3. Sending electronic certificates

and documents

A1, A2,

B2,

Environmental-related criteria

Legal,

Regulatory, &

Policy

requirements

1. Managing dynamic government,

IMO, inter-financial policies

2. Regulations using ship data to

navigate and labor policy

A1, A2,

B1, B2,

C1, C2

Social pressure

influence

1. Improved competitiveness

2. Developed into the same industry

standard

A1,

B1, B2,

5.1 Technological-Related Criteria

One factor identified under the technology theme is

the availability of access to digitalization and only

Case A mentioned this factor. Easier access from

around the world and automatic system updates are

the main findings of this theme.

Availability of Access to Digitalization

The availability of the technical infrastructure, such

as broadband internet access and reliable power,

necessary to support the use of digital technology.

Case A reported that the digital technology will be

easier to access vessels from around the world. They

are the international fleet, the real-time information

for shipowners to enable risk management is most

required. “In addition, the ship in the middle of the

sea had poor communication. The signal is

transmitted via satellite phone calls, which are

expensive and unstable. Data may be delayed and

error, and errors must be improved. Currently, this

operating system is designed to provide mobile phone

users on board which is more stable and cost-

effective. which before that would only get the content

of the news But nowadays, it can be sent as a picture

that makes the information clear, accurate, and real-

time”.

From the evidence, we found only this one

technology factor, while, in organizational and

environmental context, we found eight and two

factors respectively. Moreover, the technological

factor is found in Case A only. This is a surprise when

compared with the literature conducted in other

industry settings.

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673

This discussion suggests the following

proposition:

P1: The technological-related critical is not the

main driving force for Thai shipowners to

adopt digital technology.

5.2 Organizational-Related Criteria

The large number of criteria highlighted by

participants indicated that organizational

considerations were dominating in their opinion when

assessing the implementation of digital technology

within the Thai shipowners company.

Improved Organizational Efficacy

Improved organization efficacy is one of the criteria

that three cases mentioned. Organizational efficacy

can be improved through digital technology adoption

in several ways. Case A and B reported that they can

also provide new and improved tools for

communication and collaboration, which can help to

increase productivity and reduce the time required to

complete projects.

“When I was a crewman the crew member on the

vessel around 24-25 people, but now it's 21-22

people, some vessels have 20 people, like the vessel

has a new system. that is easy to operate, easy to

maintain plus which will not be used by many people.

The company, therefore, they don't want to use a lot

of people, they reduce the number of people and do

cost optimization”.

In addition, Case C supported that digital

technologies can provide organizations with access to

new data sources and analytics tools such as

dashboards in ERP systems, which can be used to

make data-driven decisions and improve the overall

decision-making process. “Suppose in the future we

want to see almost everything of ship equipment in a

running ship. We will be able to access to new data

sources to check everything how the device will be,

how the dashboard cycle is, what temperature, and

how's the oil level. I ensure that technology must the

key to supporting the requirement”.

Reduced Operational Expenses

Three case shipowners have improved the process

through digital adoption. Reduced operational

expenses are one of the forces for digital adoption. To

reduce operational expenses, the shipowners utilized

digital technologies to cost savings on operations due

to the optimization of processes and staff, decrease in

fuel prices, decrease in expenditures related to

procedural delays, and decrease in unexpected

accident. The Chief Technical Officer of Case B has

strongly remarked that digital technology can allow

cost savings on operations due to the optimization of

processes and staff and improve profitability. “We

thought that if we put the data in the computer, we

will be able to reduce the calculation time from 20

minutes, it will be only 5 minutes, we save 10 minutes,

1 year we use to run 300 trips, 300 trips multiplied by

10 minutes, is 3000 minutes. It made the run from 300

become 302 trips, assuming the number of trips

increased that we earn more money. From saving

only 10 minutes per day, only 10 minutes per trip,

resulting in 2 additional trips, we thought that the 2

trips were worth the cost of a computer of 60,000

baht.”

Case A also supported that the digital technology

can be used to practice navigation skill. “We bought

that simulation software, and we have the size data of

the different types of marines that we have that we can

use to practice what you need to do when marines

enter different areas.”

Better Internal and External Communications

As the maritime business is known to operate 24

hours a day, communication between land and sea is

important. In the past, communication had to wait for

ships to dock in order to send messages. But

nowadays, digital technology is helping to make

operations between land and sea more efficient.

Especially, the Training Instructor Manager of Case

A remarked that the pandemic Covid-19 reshape the

meeting and training pattern. Crew can train when

they operate on vessels and the quality of training is

higher than traditional training. “Our attitude

changed after we started training online for a while,

we felt that it was not bad. Now, at the same time, we

feel that it's easier to keep eye contact or look at the

body language of the participants. I feel that it's not

bad, it's good.”

Case B and C focused on noon report and crews

can create purchase requisitions and then receive

goods once the vessels arrived at the destination port

without any delay.

Top Management Support and Commitment

Case A and B mentioned that top management plays

a crucial role in innovation by establishing the

necessary atmosphere and making decisions that

facilitate the successful generation and use of

knowledge (Al Shaar et al. 2015). “Just like the top

management himself, he had already gone to new

Main Engine technology training section. The dealer

gave him a free seat and he try to go to training. After

going to training, the top management told me to

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change to new Main Engine technology. I mean, it's

up to the top management.”

Case B and C also mentioned about the important

of top management support “Top management

policies must be clear. Then there is clear

communication with the employees. We will measure

the digital technology usage by KPI and monitor what

changes and what the result will be. They can assist

in obtaining the necessary resources and reaping the

benefits of digitalization adoption.”

Plan Maintenance Monitoring & Unplanned

Situation

Plan maintenance system (PMS) for maritime refers

to the process of regularly scheduled and systematic

inspections, repairs, and upgrades to the equipment

and systems used in the maritime industry. Case A

and C reported that the automatic PMS can help to

reduce the risk of equipment failure and prevent

safety incidents. “As for the PMS, I was able to draw

out which ones were overdue, which ones were due,

which had to be done. It can be retrieved using very

little time. Then come to consider choosing which

system or equipment to do PMS and then order to the

ship that this one is close to having to do PMS or this

is immediate to be done. It was able to plan and it

wasn't as hard as before.”

Case B and C supported the theme that technology

can play an important role in supporting unplanned

situations in various industries, including the

maritime industry. By providing real-time data and

analytics, digital technologies can help organizations

quickly assess the situation and make informed

decisions to respond to unplanned events, such as

unexpected weather conditions, equipment failures,

or security incidents.

“…because navigation has to look at the

geography as well for example it might encounter a

typhoon now that is strong, so we need a technology

tool to detect conditions such as wind conditions, sea

waves conditions.”

Respondents from Case A and C were more

expected to decrease an unexpected accident.

Unforeseen accidents can continue to occur and affect

shipowners in terms of both crew and hull costs.

“Today we have sensors on the bridge. Most of the

accidents will happen when the boatman may fall

asleep. This system will have a camera mounted on

the bridge and track the movement of the people in

the bridge and let the AI teach it that if the person

stays still for more than the specified seconds. This is

one thing that uses technology to help reduce

accidents.”

Documentation

The adoption of technology is closely related to the

concept of a paperless environment. Paperless refers

to the use of digital technologies to replace traditional

paper-based processed, which can increase

efficiency.

Three case shipowners reported that in the

maritime industry, many of the tasks that were

previously performed on paper such as payroll,

purchase requisition, and classification certificates

and now digital technology makes paperless. “I think

it's a policy from the company in order to find a

system that will support all of the paperwork. In the

past, we would have paper in the payroll section, in

the provision section, in the weekly report section,

and in the PMS section, it's all spread out, it's all

paper.”

Case C refers that “The main factor that we can

touch on is the cost of operating in various sections.

When we use technology, many costs are reduced.

For example, when we try to go paperless, of course,

the cost of using paper in our work is reduced.”

The evidence from the cases suggests the

following proposition:

P2: Organizational-related factors are the main

drivers of digital technology adoption in Thai

shipowners.

P3: The organizational-related criteria are

improved organizational efficacy, reduced

operational expenses, better internal and

external communication and top management

support and commitment, and documentation.

5.3 Environmental-Related Criteria

There are two factors were identified under the

environment theme. Legal, regulatory, & policy

requirements, and social pressure influence.

Legal, Regulatory, and Policy Requirements

Normally, International Maritime Organization

(IMO) specifies which types of ships must be

equipped with what kind of digital technology. The

legal, regulatory and policy requirement is very

important for the maritime industry which is

completely agreed upon in the three cases. Case C is

the local trade shipowner and installed only the digital

equipment which required by the marine department,

but the technical manager of Case C plan to trade

international voyage so the vessel has to be inspected

and install more digital equipment such as ECDIS to

comply with the international maritime regulation.

“We must strictly follow the IMO's regulations. Is

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there any additional equipment to be installed? What

equipment do we have to invest in? We must make it

comply with international maritime regulations.”

Case A and B are listed companies, and both are

international trade. They have been the requirement

of the regulation since building a new vessel at the

shipyard. “When building a new vessel, you will have

to look at all the regulations put in. Not that the

current regulations put in all. You have to look in the

next 2-5 years to see what regulations will come in.

We have to install them in from now on. Otherwise, it

will be a waste of time to call the vessel in the dock to

install new regulations.”

Social Pressure Influence

According to the research evaluation, firms become

more similar due to isomorphic pressures and

legitimacy pressures caused by perceived social

pressure and influence (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983).

As a result of competition and customer pressures,

organizations within the same industry tend to grow

increasingly similar over time. “In the past 10 years,

there are many companies that do not focus on

developing technology, either shut down or have few

jobs. Perhaps the shipowner had ordered the vessel

to go to an anchor point that had a lot of petroleum

ships. It's parked there. There is no work for a week

or only runs one way. Or run only 2 times a month, it

has been greatly affected in the present.”

Case B also mentioned that the company cannot

grow and get a competitive advantage without

technology. “We also have to be ready in terms of

finance and continue to progress by using technology

to help us because if we want to grow without

technology to help me, in this era all over the world

has used digital technology systems.”

The evidence from the cases suggests the

following proposition:

P4: Concerning external environment, legal,

regulatory, & policy requirements is a key

factor to digital technology adoption in Thai

shipowners.

P5: In Thai marine time industry, digital

technologies are adopted with the aim to

reduce the company’s social pressure impact

and demonstrate its commitment to

sustainability, which result in improved

reputation and competitiveness.

6 CONCLUSIONS

This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the

digital technology adoption process from the

organizational level's perspective and to explain these

findings using existing innovation adoption theories.

The investigation and integration of the technology,

organization, and environment framework and

institution theory indicated that perspectives on the

innovation adoption process are susceptible to

change. This is a preliminary study in which the

researcher especially plans to collect more data from

more cases and a follow-up large-scale survey to

confirm the identified adoption factors. Case

evidence highlights that the main drivers of digital

technology adoption in the maritime industry are

improved organizational efficacy, reduced operation-

al expenses, better internal and external communica-

tions, top management support and commitment, plan

maintenance monitoring & unplanned situation,

documentation, legal, regulatory, & policy

requirements, and social pressure influence. We also

found that technological drivers/barriers are less

important comparing to the other two context, namely

organizational and environmental.

The result suggests that policymakers and

industry associations should promote digital

technology adoption in the Thai maritime industry by

educating shipowners on the benefits. Shipowners

should invest in training their employees on digital

technologies and involve their top management in the

adoption process to drive digital transformation.

Integrating digital technology into existing

organizational structure can improve organizational

efficacy and reduce expenses. Additionally, ship-

owners should collaborate with other stakeholders to

create a supportive ecosystem and address social

pressure to facilitate digital technology adoption.

A limitation arises from conducting exploratory

research in this emerging field. It is essential to clarify

that we are aware that only evidence form three cases

may not be able to provide a robust conclusion.

However, this is just a preliminary study. We plan to

collect more data which could result in a different

result. Moreover, the researcher is aware that it is not

possible to holistically develop a model that applies

to every Thai shipowners and their respective needs.

Since the research scope is focused on a unit of

analysis in Thai shipowners, future research is

necessary to investigate the use cases for more

vertical areas in the maritime industry. These may

include, amongst many categorizations, shipyard,

port, ship management, and other transportation

industries.

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676

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An Exploratory of Factors Inﬂuencing of Digital Technology Adoption in Thai Maritime Industry: Perspective of Thai Shipowners

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