An assesment of e-customs service within the scope of Eastern Mediterranean shipping agencies with tecnology acceptance model

The concept of electronic customs, which has emerged with the advances in information technology and the increase of internet applications in customs administrations, plays an essential role in providing customs services, reducing transaction steps, providing transparency to trade, and making it more accessible. It has been determined that the adaptations of electronic customs systems used by stakeholders at the port entries and exits in the maritime sector have not been investigated in the relevant literature. To the best of our knowledge, there is a gap in this area, it is essential to explain the acceptance of e-customs services to facilitate trade and eliminate complexity. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has been widely used to explain and predict the adoption and acceptance behavior of information technologies used in many different fields. Based on this, the study aims to explain the adaptations of ship agency employees towards the e-customs system within the framework of the Technology Acceptance Model. To reach the purpose of the research, the survey method, which is one of the quantitative research methods, was used, and 84 ships operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Region were evaluated within agency employees' scope. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between variables involved in TAM. According to the study results, the perceived usefulness, ease of use, attitude, and behavioral intention variables were determined as the variables that affect the adaptation of the ship agency employees to the e-customs service and its importance in explaining the adjustments of these variables was decided. However, in the adoption of e-customs, the behavioral intention variable has concluded that the actual use is explained at a low rate.