Factors that affect acceptance and use of information systems within the Maritime industry in developing countries. The case of Ghana
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JSIT-06-2018-0091 |
| Date | 09 December 2019 |
| Published date | 09 December 2019 |
| Pages | 21-45 |
| Author | Isaac Wiafe,Felix Nti Koranteng,Thomasina Tettey,Ferdinand A. Kastriku,Jamal-Deen Abdulai |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information systems,Information & communications technology |
Factors that affect acceptance and
use of information systems within
the Maritime industry in
developing countries
The case of Ghana
Isaac Wiafe
Department of Computer Science, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
Felix Nti Koranteng
Department of Information Systems and Innovation,
Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Achimota, Ghana
Thomasina Tettey
NileDutch Ghana, c/o Comexas Ghana Ltd, Tema, Ghana, and
Ferdinand A. Kastriku and Jamal-Deen Abdulai
Department of Computer Science, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
Abstract
Purpose –Although information and communication technology has become a significant driver for
organizational efficiency and effectiveness, there is inadequate empirical researchon technology acceptance
in the maritimeindustry especially in developing countries. Literatureon how behavior and attitude influence
technologyacceptance is non-existent. This study thereforeaims to augment existing literature on technology
acceptancein developing countries with particularemphasis on the maritime industry.
Design/methodology/approach –Thestudyextendedtheunified theory of acceptance and use of
technology (UTAUT) model to investigate the factors that affect the acceptance and use of INTTRA: a multi-
carrier booking and shipping system designed to facilitate ocean trade worldwide. Responses from 198 subjects,
collected through a questionnaire, were analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling.
Findings –The research model confirmed significant influences of performance expectancy, facilitating
conditions, anxietyand attitude towards use on users’intention to use INTTRA. In contrast, social influence,
effort expectancy and self-efficacy did not significantly influence intention to use. Although these findings
confirm some proposed relationshipsin the UTAUT model, it contradicted the cultural dimension argument
that developing countries with higher degrees of femininity pay less attention to performance and high
attentionto social influence.
Research limitations/implications –The study contributes to knowledge in the area of information
systems and technology acceptance in developing countries. Particularly, it seeks to expand literature on adoption
within the maritime industry. The study is limited to the sample used for the study, as it used participants from
only one country. However, the findings are not generalized for the entire maritime industry but rather Ghana.
Originality/value –The originality of the study is derived from the provisionof literature on adoption within
the maritime industry in developing countries. It also provided evidence that challenges existing knowledge on
characteristics of countries that exhibits high level of femininity culture as proposed by Hofstede.
Keywords Technology acceptance, Attitude towards use, Maritime information systems,
Culture difference, UTAUT
Paper type Research paper
Acceptance
and use of
information
systems
21
Received29 June 2018
Revised19 November 2018
Accepted20 May 2019
Journalof Systems and
InformationTechnology
Vol.22 No. 1, 2020
pp. 21-45
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1328-7265
DOI 10.1108/JSIT-06-2018-0091
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/1328-7265.htm
Introduction
The quest for organizations to be more effective and efficient is relevant in all sectors.
Although the maritime industry has always been using technology, recent advances in
information and communication technology (ICT) has further enhanced how they apply
technology in their operations. Nowadays, shipping companies perform transactions and
operations easier than ever before. It has been demonstrated that information systems (IS)
provide a means that makescommunication between interrelated actors within the maritime
industry more effective (Chryssolouris et al., 2003;Chryssolouris et al.,2004). In addition,
maritime monitoring authoritiesare more capable of administering taxes and other financial
activities with ease (Mazzarol, 2015;Ozgen and Turan, 2007). This has presented
opportunities for developing countries to increase economic benefits in the shipping
industry (Heeks, 2010;Kotelnikovand Kim, 2007).
Consequently, a number of countrieswithin the African sub-regions have invested huge
sums of funds for ICT developmentin various sectors (Kozma and Vota, 2014) including the
shipping industry. For instance,in Ghana, the government has executed programs that seek
to equip the maritime sector with relevant ICT infrastructure to facilitate revenue
mobilization and also optimize other port activities. However, research demonstrates that
the adoption of such technologies continueto be one of the greatest challenges in developing
countries (Rahayu and Day, 2015). Although, this challenge may partly be associated with
the lack of related infrastructure such as, internet and electricity (Ghebregiorgis and
Mihreteab, 2018;Gyamfiet al., 2015), attitude related issues are expected to play key roles
with regard to adoption. Most research work that has studied technology adoption and
acceptance in industrialized countrieshas demonstrated that attitude and behavioral issues
play key roles in technology acceptance. Yet, fewer studies have attempted to unravel the
role of these constructs in African countries (Williams et al.,2009). They mostly draw
samples from industrialized countries that demonstrate different cultures compared to
Africa.
It is however imperative to contextualize technology acceptance and use in other to
develop frameworks that suit specific cultural settings or design limitations (Rahayu and
Day, 2015). Again, research into technology acceptance has also focused predominantly on
ICT usage within the educational sector (Kolog et al.,2015), mobile banking and financial
technologies (Boateng et al., 2016), e-government and e-governance (Mensah and Mi, 2018)
with less attention on shipping activities. Thus, there is less empirical evidence and
literature on factors that impacts technology acceptance within the shipping industry, and
the situation is unacceptably scary when considering shipping industries in developing
countries.
This study therefore aims to augment existing literature on technology acceptance and
use with particular emphasis on shipping industry in developing countries. Specifically, it
considered the use and adoption of INTTRA (a Web-based IS for managing cargo export
and import) in Ghana using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology
(UTAUT) (Venkatesh et al., 2003). The next section discusses relevant literature on
technology acceptance followed by the research analysis and discussion. Finally,
conclusions are drawnbased on the findings.
Information systems acceptance in shipping activities in Africa
In recent years, researchershave scrutinized the adoption and use of information systemsby
enterprises (Ifinedo, 2008). Modern technologies such as e-mail, websites and e-commerce
have been pervasively adopted because it is relevant in improving business operations as
well as reducing cost (Ifinedo, 2009). However, technology diffusion is uneven among
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