ABSTRACT
The Fourth Industrial Revolution created many opportunities in many industrial sectors to cope with the digital transformation emergence. The financial industry quickly developed mobile cashless payment transaction systems (e-wallets) that went viral and have been widely used. Compared with traditional payment services, cashless payments offer other advantages encouraging users to utilize the technology more often. In addition, Covid-19 accelerated the adoption of e-wallets as social distancing, and contactless transactions have been advised in response to limit the transition of the virus between people. Accordingly, this research is aimed to identify the main factors that encourage users to adopt e-wallet systems and the main concerns of the cashless technology before and during Covid-19. This research used the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach to answer the research questions that rolled around identifying these factors. The papers were selected between 2018 and 2022 as a representation of before and during Covid-19. The analysis of the chosen literature highlighted 31 total factors, 21 factors about e-wallet usage and 10 factors about technology concerns. Based on the identified factors, this paper can be useful for e-wallet technology practitioners in the field to provide better cashless payment services. © 2023 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to discover the factors related to human resource (HR) digital transformation (DT) in Bahrain during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to analyze the impact of e-human resource management (e-HRM) on organizational performance. These factors are funding, information technology (IT) infrastructure, technical support, digital skills or talents, organizational culture, employee resistance and top management support. These factors were tested to determine whether they affected HR DT in Bahrain during COVID-19. There are no findings in the researched literature regarding the proposed factors that affect HR DT in Bahrain during COVID-19 in this study. Design/methodology/approach: For data collection, a quantitative method was applied by conducting an online survey and distributing it to HR executives and employees from multiple organizations in Bahrain, both in the private and public sectors. Findings: This study proposes a DT adoption model based on seven factors extracted from the literature review. A questionnaire was deployed, and accurate data were collected, processed and then analyzed. The logit model shows determinants factor to the DT adoption where all variables have a positive effect. Originality/value: Using technology in an organization's HR practices, known as e-HRM or HR DT, is becoming more crucial since the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike European countries, the HR sector in Bahrain is not prepared to adopt the e-HRM process. This paper proposes a model that enables the HR sector to adopt digital technologies. This model is based on the key factors that enable an effective transition to the sector's digitalization (e-HRM). Future research is sought to provide additional insights into the same factors and measure their effect on HR DT during COVID-19 in other countries. © 2022, Adel Ismail Al-Alawi, Mourad Messaadia, Arpita Mehrotra, Sohayla Khidir Sanosi, Hala Elias and Aysha Hisham Althawadi.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to examine the difficulties encountered by Bahraini entrepreneurs in converting innovative ideas in the biotechnology field to a profitable trade. Methodology - The study applies a qualitative approach. Semistructured, one-to-one interviews with four managers have been done to identify the obstacles they faced. Findings - Initial results prove that some factors, including funding, workforce skills, government regulations, and the Bahraini market environment, significantly affect success in the biotechnology industry. Further analysis suggests that the Bahraini market environment is the more fundamental obstacle compared to the others. Two additional factors, namely time management and infrastructure, have an insignificant effect on Bahrain’s progress in the biotech industry. Practical implications - This study is targeted at regulatory bodies in Bahrain and entrepreneurs to assist them in pinpointing the obstacles faced in the biotech industry and address them subsequently. Originality– This research contributes to innovative entrepreneurship literature relating to the biotech industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, primarily in Bahrain. As the 2030 vision for Bahrain depends on diversification of income sources, it is interesting to examine the difficulties that challenge entrepreneurs once they try to convert innovative ideas in the field of biotechnology into a successful trade story. Recommendation - improving the workforce skills to be competitive in the market with current impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and validating these results quantitively are recommended. © 2020, Arabian Gulf University. All rights reserved.