This thesis investigates the process of integrating information technology (IT) within the ship safety management system for enhancing compliance with the International Safety Management (ISM) Code. The importance of this integration is based on the need of ship management companies for properly managing safety information within real time scope and across boundaries of geographical space - namely, between the head office ashore and the ships at sea. The way ISM Code implementers and users perceive and feel about network and computer-mediated communication of safety information has never been researched previously, and this is the research gap that the current study tries to address. Two case studies of Syrian ship management companies have been selected to analyze the process of IT integration, its environment and its impact on ship safety procedures. The study has adopted an interpretive approach, and a research conceptual framework that combines between the 'institutional theory' and the 'structural technology adoption model' for the analysis and interpretation of the qualitative data collected. Thematically, the empirics of the study has focused. on exploring the role of the regulator in institutionalizing the IT integration process, and the role of resourcing in enhancing this process in the maritime transport industry. In this regard, this study is the first to utilize institutional theory and legitimization strategies to explain the IT integration process in shipping companies exclusively. The findings of the study show that external institutions such as governments, regulators and international organizations have played a pivotal role in institutionalizing organizational practices, such as compliance with safety codes. With the absence of sufficient coercive or regulative pressures, IT practices could not be fully operationalized or optimized although its usefulness has been recognised by both the individual user and the organization. On the other hand, IT integration was perceived as enhancing to compliance with ship safety codes, but the full integration process was impeded by lack of supportive techno logical environment and pricy telecommunication costs. This research contributes to the theory and practice of e-management and IT adoption research by providing empirical evidence from practice, by highlighting how an e-system for maritime ship management can be accepted and institutionalized, particularly in the area of ship safety management. On the other hand, this research has addressed the need for a conceptual model that is capable of explaining the mechanisms that ship management organizations adopt for introducing a new technological innovation in their work functions. This is a real contribution to the existing research in the areas of information systems, maritime logistics, and ship safety, as well as the areas of organizational management and organizational behaviour.