Document Digitization and Service Excellence as Drivers of Crew Change Effectiveness and Customer Satisfaction: Evidence from Indonesian Maritime Husbandry Services

Indonesia's maritime sector, which processes hundreds of thousands of crew changes annually, faces a persistent dual challenge: incomplete digital integration and inconsistent service quality in ship husbandry operations. Despite the growing literature on maritime digitalisation and service management, no study has jointly examined document digitization and service excellence as antecedents of crew change effectiveness and customer satisfaction within the Indonesian context—a gap this study addresses. Employing a quantitative cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 120 crew members and shipping company clients at a ship husbandry firm and analysed using Structural Equation Modeling–Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) via SmartPLS 4. Document digitization and service excellence both directly and positively influenced crew change effectiveness (β = 0.508, p < 0.001; β = 0.313, p = 0.009) and customer satisfaction (β = 0.342, p < 0.001; β = 0.215, p = 0.039). Crew change effectiveness significantly mediated both relationships, with partial mediation confirmed (H6: β = 0.231, p = 0.005; H7: β = 0.142, p = 0.006). Crew change effectiveness was the strongest direct predictor of satisfaction (β = 0.454, p < 0.001). The model explained 70.6% of the variance in customer satisfaction (R² = 0.706). The novelty of this study lies in its simultaneous modelling of technological and human-service pathways through an operational mediator in a maritime husbandry context—a configuration not previously tested empirically. Findings recommend integrated digital documentation systems, competency-based staff training, and formal service-level agreements to improve crew change efficiency and client experience.