The Impact of Digital Technologies on the Efficiency and Sustainability of Maritime Transportation in Nigeria
Chapter One
PREAMBLE OF THE STUDY
This study focuses on modern system integration and information communication technology between main stakeholders in port operations to reap efficiency gains in the supply chain. Information communication technology is a process potentially enabled by digitalisation, which implies an increased use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Digitalisation – the increase or adoption in use of ICTs by an organisation or industry – can be implemented in varying degrees, as it depends on the organisation’s digital strategy and the breadth and quality of implementation. Digital strategies are associated with the purposes and ways of adopting digital technologies. In the context of broader system integration and interoperability, information communication technology can be part of organisational digital strategies to simplify, speed up or automate processes related to facilitating a shipment from A to B. This also, includes the use of interfaces between businesses, individual customers and public entities. A parallel trend is the datafication of port operations. Digital technologies allow for capturing data on a range of processes where previously data had not been collected, or only collected intermittently.
Businesses in the port operations sector have realised that sustainable competitive advantage increasingly depends on the effective use of existing information and the acquisition of consistent data along the entire supply chain. Digitalisation is seen by many as a panacea or necessary step in order to stay competitive. Some have recognised that “getting smarter” is more important than growing in size. The kind of vertical collaboration that improves co-ordination at the intersection of different transport modes is increasingly seen as the new efficiency frontier in port operations. New ICTs such as sensors, communications or software can play a major role in improving this co-ordination.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERARURE REVIEW
Conceptual Framework
Digital Integration and Organizational Outcomes
Everyday across the globe scientists are working day and night developing different technologies that will help man in the production of goods and services in the most efficient and effective way. This view was also verified in Lai (2016) wherein he stated that there have been a number of researchers addressing the consumers’ adoption of new technologies. This is why in the current business order; technology adoption is considered a smart response to the alarming wave of globalization and business environmental changes. Therefore, technology adoption has been defined as the acceptance, integration, and use of new technology in society (Lovelock, 2001). Similarly, Al Moustapha (2019) refers it a sociological model that explains the acceptance of a new product or innovation, according to the demographic and psychological characteristics of defined adopter groups. Incidentally most these technologies come in the form of information communication technology. Hence, Chairoe, Widyarto and Pujani (2015) allude that nowadays, the adoption of ICT by industries cannot be denied. Information and communications technologies (ICTs) cut across a variety of technologies including: computer, microelectronics and related technologies including microchip and microprocessor-based technologies; multimedia and other information processing technologies and systems; telecommunications technologies and infrastructure (fixed line, wireless, satellite based and mobile infrastructure); and communication network technologies and infrastructure (including local and wide area communications and computer networks for voice, data and video), (Dzidonu, 2010).
Other technologies that form part of modern technology include: broadcasting networks and technologies including radio and TV networks; production-based technologies including those used in computer-integrated sea ports and production systems and operations, robotics technologies, biotechnology-related equipment and systems; and the Internet as a globally- based delivery platform incorporating elements of computers, telecommunications, communications technologies and networks and other multimedia development and delivery technologies to form an integrated multimedia transmission and communication delivery infrastructure and platform with a global reach (Dzidomu, 2010). According to Unwin (2009) in Figure 2.1, ICT is a broad term that covers a wide range of technologies; these technologies are associated with three main sets of interconnected processes: capturing of information, its storage, and ways in which people access and share it. Underlying all these, there has to be a physical infrastructure in place that enables them to operate and be connected, and a regulatory mechanism to ensure that there are common standards in place for communication to be possible between devices.
Digital integration involves the configuration and improvement of digital technology to reinforce business systems. It equally encompasses the use of digital tools in business operations strategy in order to bring a positive impact to the organisational outcomes like service quality delivery, customer satisfaction, higher productivity, operational and management efficiency, and among others (Jovic et al., 2022; Mwithiga et al., 2017). However, digital integration recognises infrastructure adaptabilities, structure flexibility, digital administration abilities, manpower training, and sufficient communication (Kim et al., 2011; Levallet & Chan, 2018). It is necessary for all these to be integrated with the modern technology for easy adaptation to the fast changes in business environment so as to ensure sustainability.
The focus of digitalization is majorly on the enterprise process automation, operations automation, and information processing. It is an essential trend that has penetrated various industrial and societal domains and purviews (Gray & Rumpe, 2017) to enable improvement of organisations by improving customer experience, restructuring processes, and innovating business models (Tijan et al., 2021). However, only a limited number of players in the maritime sector considers digital integration as a change agent that can significantly change their operations (Acciaro & Sys, 2020; Tijan et al., 2021). One of the arguments of this paper is about how the management of the Nigerian maritime establishments like NIMASA can take decisions around integrating digital technologies pertinent to operational improvement for enhanced organisational outcomes.
Digital Communication and Organizational Outcomes
Digital communication could be referred to as any communication made via electronic or digital devices such as e-mail, social media channels enabled via tablets, smartphones, and prompt messaging services which have become essential part of working life (Entschew, 2019; Hassan, 2016). Quite often, digital devices are deployed at all hours for work-related purposes (Ciolfi & Lockley, 2018; Watson et al., 2021a). Digital communication tends to offer an innovative autonomy such as working with lesser restrictions and constraints from time and space, particularly for knowledge personnel (Bolisani et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2021). The implication of this is that, it is hypothetically thinkable to work independently for 24 hours per-day from anywhere, by deciding on the location and timing of the work (Daniel et al., 2018; Entschew, 2019).
Digital communication is expected to facilitate independence of employees in terms of time and location so that they can conveniently execute their tasks towards achieving better performance, and increasing independence from time and space (Redjeki & Affandi, 2021). The meaning of this is that the barrier of distance and location is no longer any issue to exchange of information in the organisational setting. This indicates that employees are now enjoying new forms of independence as a result of the freedom and opportunity of working from home or at any time (Anwar & Graham, 2021; Boswell & Olson-Buchanan, 2016). The various digital technologies have increased freedom of action by allowing organizational staff to work beyond physical boundaries of firms so as to improve organizational outcomes (Khan & Agha, 2013; Ravichandran, 2018; Von Bergen & Bressler, 2019).
CHAPTER THREE
METHODS AND MEASURES
To obtain information relating to the characteristics of a large sample of the participants of interest and the sensitivity of the required data, the study applied survey method by administering questionnaire to the staff of NIMASA in Apapa, Lagos State. The justification for the survey approach in this study is that it gives the researchers opportunity to get primary and dependable data from the relevant respondents by distributing questionnaire. A cross-sectional approach was deployed to administer 283 copies of questionnaire to 962 staff population of NIMASA in Lagos State as at the time this study was carried out using Yamane (1967) sampling technique. Out of 283 copies of questionnaire administered to the participants, 257 copies were appropriately filled and returned representing 90.81% response rate that was finally utilized for testing of the hypotheses. In addition, inferential statistics was employed via simple regression and Hayes Process Macro.
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS
Table 1: Correlation matrix among the study variables
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary
The study investigated the association between technology and the performance of sea-ports in Nigeria. The study postulated and tested six hypotheses. The result of hypothesis one indicated a strong positive relationship between the use of communication devices and service quality of the sea ports in Nigeria. The correlation is statistically significant; hence, we reject the null hypothesis which infers that there is no significant relationship between use of communication devices and service quality of the Nigerian sea-ports and accept the alternative which state that there is a significant relationship between use of communication devices practices and service quality of the sea ports in Nigeria . The result of hypothesis two indicated a strong positive relationship between use of communication devices and throughput of the sea-port in Nigeria. The correlation is statistically significant. Hence, we reject the null hypothesis which infers that there is no significant relationship between use of communication devices and throughput of Nigeria sea-ports and accept the alternative. Hypothesis three equally indicated that there is a
moderately positive relationship between port computerization and service quality of the sea ports in Nigeria, and it is statistically significant. Hence, we reject the null hypothesis which infer that there is no significant relationship between port computerization and service quality of the sea-ports in Nigeria and accept the alternative which infer that there is significant relationship between port computerization and service quality of the sea-ports in Nigeria. The result of the tested hypothesis four indicated a moderately positive relationship between the two variables; hence, we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative which infers that there is a significant positive relationship between port computerization and throughput of the sea ports in Nigeria. Hypothesis five indicated a moderately positive relationship between work automation and service quality and it is statistically significant. This infer that the null hypothesis should be rejected which infers that there is no significant relationship between work automation and service quality of Nigeria sea-ports and accept the alternative. Finally, the result of hypothesis six indicated a moderately positive relationship between work automation and throughput level of the Nigeria sea-port. The coefficient is statistically significant hence we reject the null hypothesis which infers that there is no significance relationship between work automation and throughput level of the sea-ports in Nigeria and accept the alternative. By these findings the study indicated moderately positive relationship between technology and the performance of the sea-ports in Nigeria.
Conclusion
Port authorities around the world increasingly embark on digital strategies that evolve from renters or asset managers to active digital communities. With the need for more efficiency- enhancing coordination in supply chains, port authorities increasingly grow into hubs of physical and information flows among different stakeholders. In the light of growing worldwide competition, ports see the necessity to become more dynamic actors in order to avoid the risk of decreasing significance. As public authorities, some see their natural role as a neutral platform that facilitates coordination among different stakeholders. In the light of the above the study evaluates the relationship between the technology of port operation and performance of Nigerian ports. The study finds reasonable evidences and concludes that there exists a moderately positive relation between technology and the performances of sea-ports in Nigeria.
Recommendations.
Deriving from the findings of the research work, the research recommends as follows;
- Port managers should improve on the service quality of their ports by encouraging the use of more communication devices in order to improve performance of the port. These communication devices should be in compliance with state-of-the-art facilities as obtainable in other highly rated ports
- Port managers should improve on the service quality of their port by recommending improve computerization of the port activities in such a manner that it will aid the performances of the port operators. The computerization should assist the efforts of all the agencies/parastatals that their activities anchored around the port operations.
- Port managers should recommend modern technology that will improve throughput level of the various seaports so as to improve the income generation activities of port thereby improving the nation’s
- Port managers should recommend the computerization, work automation and system administration in such a manner that is in compliance with best practices all over the world so as to improve the throughput of the various sea-ports.
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