Drivers of digital supply chain transformation in SMEs and large enterprises – a case of COVID-19 disruption risk

PurposeDigital transformation in supply chains (SCs) has emerged as one of the most effective ways to minimize SC disruption risks. Given the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global SCs, this study aims to identify and provide empirical evidence about the drivers of digital SC transformation, considering the interactivity between environmental dynamism, technology, and organizational capabilities during the pandemic era.Design/methodology/approachUsing partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), this study examines 923 firms in Vietnam to ascertain the drivers of digital SC transformation between small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises, based on the technology–organization–environment (TOE) as an overarching framework.FindingsThis study finds that greater digital SC transformation adoption could be achieved under the interactivity between the TOE components of firms' technological competencies, learning capabilities, and disruptions in socioeconomic environments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, a multigroup analysis shows that the drivers of digital SC transformation differ between SMEs and large enterprises. SMEs were found to be more motivated by the COVID-19 disruption risk when adopting digital SC models.Originality/valueThis study represents an original and novel contribution from Vietnam as an emerging market to the literature on the impact of COVID-19 on the global value chain. Apart from the unique dataset at the firm level, the analysis of interactions between external and internal drivers of digital SC transformation could provide crucial managerial implications for SMEs to survive major disruptions, such as those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Factors affecting the adoption and use of online assessment for learning at Polytechnics in Zimbabwe

The purpose of this study was to investigate the key factors affecting the adoption and use of online assessment in Polytechnics in Zimbabwe during the COVID-19 era using the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework and Technology Acceptance model (TAM). A qualitative research methodology was employed to discover and explain the adoption factors of online assessment for learning based on the participants' experiences. Data were collected from lecturers and students from Harare Polytechnic using semi-structured interviews. Total of 10 students and five lecturers were purposively selected from five Departments. The factors affecting the adoption and use of online assessment were coded using Template analysis and classified based on the theoretical lens of the integration of the TOE framework and TAM. The study reveals that the adoption and use of online assessment in Polytechnics depend on technological factors (internet access, computing devices, and ICT infrastructure), organisational factors (institutional support), environmental factors (academic integrity), and individual factors (digital skills and user perceptions). This study concludes that online assessment is no longer a choice for tertiary education institutions since COVID-19 has presented a mandatory environment for its adoption. As far as theoretical contributions of this study are concerned, the study extends the TOE framework by explaining how the individual factors, for instance, the digital skills and user perceptions influence the successful adoption of technology in mandatory environments such as online assessment during COVID-19. In terms of practical contributions, the extended TOE framework can be used as a valuable point of reference for scaling up the adoption and use of online assessment in Polytechnics. The study recommends that both lecturers and students should be trained on the usage of an online assessment. © 2023 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.

Investigating the determinants of performance of artificial intelligence adoption in hospitality industry during COVID-19

PurposeDrawing on the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, this study aims to investigate determinants of performance of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in hospitality industry during COVID-19 and identifies the relative importance of each determinant. Design/methodology/approachA two-stage approach that integrates partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with artificial neural network (ANN) is used to analyze survey data from 290 managers in the hospitality industry. FindingsThe empirical results reveal that perceived AI risk, management support, innovativeness, competitive pressure and regulatory support significantly influence the performance of AI adoption. Additionally, the ANN results show that competitive pressure and management support are two of the strongest determinants. Practical implicationsThis research offers guidelines for hospitality managers to enhance the performance of AI adoption and presents policy-making insights to promote and support organizations to benefit from the adoption of AI technology. Originality/valueThis study conceptualizes the performance of AI adoption from both process and firm levels and examines its determinants based on the TOE framework. By adopting an innovative approach combining PLS-SEM and ANN, the authors not only identify the essential performance determinants of AI adoption but also determine their relative importance.

Factors affecting the adoption of contactless technologies in supply chain and logistics

Background: Digital transformation has significantly reinvented the systems and operations in the supply chain and logistics industries, enabling organisations within the industry to be able to deliver higher value to customers at a lower cost. Some of the technologies that have taken up the industry by the storm include contactless technologies such as radio frequency identification, near-field communication, mobile wallets, smart cards, touchless check-in and robots. Adoption of these technologies has grown exponentially since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, as organisations were forced to transform business operations from physical to digital. Objective: The study objective was to explore factors affecting the adoption of contactless technologies in the supply chain and logistics industry. The study has adopted the technological, organisational and environmental (TOE) framework to explore the technological, organisational and environmental factors affecting the adoption of contactless technologies in the industry. Method: The study adopted the quantitative content analysis research design and systematic literature review method to explore factors affecting contactless technologies adoption in the supply chain and logistics industry. Furthermore, a literature matrix was developed and used as an instrument to explore the TOE factors affecting the adoption. After the collection of data, findings were presented and analysed. Conclusion: The results suggest that technical (cost, value and security), organisational (change and management) and environmental factors (customer demand) affect contactless technologies adoption in the supply chain and logistics industry. The study contributes to the body of knowledge of factors affecting the adoption of contactless technologies in the supply chain and logistics. © 2022. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS.

Readiness Analysis for IT Adoption in the Hotel Industry

The hospitality industry faced unexpected challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and is still struggling to recover. The social, political, and economic changes have created uncertainties and have accelerated the need for the adoption of new technologies in the hotel sector. The implementation of new technologies may lead to optimized business processes, improved customer services, and increased business performance. The aim of this article is to examine and contribute to the understanding of how IT readiness, business readiness, and stakeholder’s readiness affect business decisions regarding IT investment and transformation. To address these issues the article uses the TOE (Technological-Organizational-Environmental) framework, which examines the important aspects and factors influencing the decision-making process of new technologies’ adoption and use. The technological context refers to the existing IT infrastructure, employees’ IT skills, and their tendency to use new technological tools, all of which affect the technological readiness of a firm. The organizational context is associated with business characteristics, such as the firm’s size, culture, and human resources affecting the business readiness to accept technological changes. Finally, the environment refers to the industry’s characteristics, which influence stakeholders’ readiness and engagement in the use of new technologies.

Determinants of Teacher's Continuance Intention to Adopt Virtual Learning Environment in Malaysian Schools

The adoption of virtual learning environment (VLE) has started to gain serious attention worldwide including Malaysia, where its usage during the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in particular has become a necessity. Nevertheless, the extent to which teachers have adopted the VLE and which factors are most influencing the continued intention to adopt VLE post pandemic remain ambigious. The objective of this conceptual study is to provide a conceptual framework in investigating the factors that most influence the continued intention to adopt VLE among teacher in Malaysian school. This study overview several important variables that may influence the continued intention to adopt VLE from three contexts (technology, organization and environment) which include relative advantage, compatibility. observability, technological infrastructure, school support, technical support and government support. Finally, this study can improve the understanding about which factors that may encourage or hinder the continued intention to adopt VLE in Malaysian school to enhance education quality for societal change. © 2022. All Rights Reserved.

Digital responses of SMEs to the COVID-19 crisis

Purpose This paper aims at exploring the factors that are important for the digital development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis compared to large-sized enterprises. Design/methodology/approach Using data from a survey in Greek firms during the pandemic, econometric models are estimated to identify factors that are related to the expansion of digital marketing and e-commerce practices of SMEs and large-sized enterprises based on the technology-organization-environment framework. Findings The results suggest that while further investments in information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure are important for the digital development of SMEs during the COVID-19 crisis, it is the innovative activities that advance the digitalization of large-sized enterprises. Also, SMEs, which implement flexible human resource (HR) practices (such as remote work) and face delays in the supply chain due to the pandemic, appear to have increased probability of expanding their digital marketing and e-commerce. On the contrary, HR practices do not seem to matter for large firms, while new regulations appear to discourage their digital development during the COVID-19 crisis. Originality/value This is the first study which empirically explores the digital reactions of SMEs compared to those of large-sized enterprises in a pandemic crisis context. It advances the limited knowledge on the potentially different responses of SMEs and large-sized enterprises to major external shocks with respect to their digital marketing and e-commerce expansion.

Drivers of digital supply chain transformation in SMEs and large enterprises – a case of COVID-19 disruption risk

Purpose: Digital transformation in supply chains (SCs) has emerged as one of the most effective ways to minimize SC disruption risks. Given the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global SCs, this study aims to identify and provide empirical evidence about the drivers of digital SC transformation, considering the interactivity between environmental dynamism, technology, and organizational capabilities during the pandemic era. Design/methodology/approach: Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), this study examines 923 firms in Vietnam to ascertain the drivers of digital SC transformation between small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises, based on the technology–organization–environment (TOE) as an overarching framework. Findings: This study finds that greater digital SC transformation adoption could be achieved under the interactivity between the TOE components of firms' technological competencies, learning capabilities, and disruptions in socioeconomic environments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, a multigroup analysis shows that the drivers of digital SC transformation differ between SMEs and large enterprises. SMEs were found to be more motivated by the COVID-19 disruption risk when adopting digital SC models. Originality/value: This study represents an original and novel contribution from Vietnam as an emerging market to the literature on the impact of COVID-19 on the global value chain. Apart from the unique dataset at the firm level, the analysis of interactions between external and internal drivers of digital SC transformation could provide crucial managerial implications for SMEs to survive major disruptions, such as those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Towards an economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic: empirical study on electronic commerce adoption by small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam

The COVID-19 outbreak has created a severe crisis for the general economic situation. Despite the short duration of the pandemic, many innovations are implemented for organizational survival and recovery in the competitive market environment of digital age. This paper aims to find out significant factors and how they impact on E-commerce adoption by small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam, especially during the epidemic. The results reveal that technology perceived compatibility has the greatest effect on E-commerce adoption, followed by management support and external pressure. Moreover, external support only has minor impact on E-commerce adoption during the Covid-19. Meaningfully, this study makes a contribution to both innovation literature and practical management with new insight of current Vietnamese situation for small and medium-sized organizations.

Factors influencing the adoption of ICT for remote work among Zimbabwean SMEs: A case study of Bulawayo Metropolitan province

The study's purpose was to evaluate factors that influence Information and Communication Technology adoption to support remote working by SMEs in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean economy is excessively informal and has the largest informal economy globally, contributing 60.6 percent of the country's national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Small and medium-sized enterprises are vital economic drivers in the developing world. Today's knowledge society demands firms to intensively apply ICTs for competitive advantage and market share. SMEs face many challenges during the current COVID-19 lockdown, and their survival depends on how they can adopt ICT for remote work. COVID-19 disruptions are being counteracted by e-commerce applications across all other sectors of the global economy. The study adopted a quantitative approach, where a questionnaire was used to gather views from 145 SMEs randomly selected in Bulawayo metropolitan province. From the samples, 113 questionnaires were completed. The study found that ICTs play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of remote working programs. Results indicated that ICT support services positively correlate with remote working and that most SMEs lack appropriate ICT tools to support remote working. Furthermore, SMEs face poor and expensive Internet and erratic electricity supply challenges. The study deduced that firms owned or run by young people promoted ICT adoption for telework. The study recommends improved government support by lowering Internet tariffs and supporting SMEs' ICT acquisition through import duty exemptions. Future work can evaluate the impact of ICT on the financial performance of SMEs after adopting various teleworking schemes. (C) 2022 The Authors. Published by IASE.

Remote work as a new normal? The technology-organization-environment (TOE) context.

The COVID-19 pandemic has established remote work as the new normal. However, the factors that influence the effectiveness of remote work are unexplored. Moreover, the relationships between remote work and job performance and emotional exhaustion are under-investigated. This study addresses these gaps by investigating the factors that influence the effectiveness and outcomes of remote work. The technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) are used as a theoretical lens to examine the internal and external factors that affect remote work and work-life balance. An online cross-sectional survey of knowledge workers engaged in remote work in Hong Kong indicates that both external (technological competence, government support) and internal (work flexibility, attitude, perceived behavioural control) factors are significant predictors of successful remote work. Furthermore, remote work is positively associated with job performance but has no association with emotional exhaustion. These findings suggest that to ensure a successful transition to the new normal, governments and organisations should provide technical support to employees engaged in remote work. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Adoption of contactless technologies for remote work in Ghana post-Covid-19: Insights from technology-organisation-environment framework

The Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020 has changed people's way of life, work and access to information. This has led to the growth of contactless digital technologies for customers' and organisations' benefit. In this context, one specific area of interest is the remote work environment, especially the introduction of remote work systems (RWS) in organisations. Notwithstanding its growing importance, RWS implementation in developing countries has experienced several challenges. Thus, the purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the antecedents of RWS adoption in organisations among different industries in a developing country context. Using the technology, organisation and environment (TOE) framework, the study unearths the RWS antecedents through a quantitative method design (353 participants) in Ghana. Relative advantage, complexity, organisational readiness and competitive advantage had a significant impact on contactless digital technologies adoption while compatibility, top management support, competence and regulatory support were insignificant antecedents in a developing country context. Our study highlights the important role of RWS adoption factors in propelling users' interest in future innovations and new technologies. A successful convergence of the validated TOE factors would advance organisation's services, change traditional business models and transform business operations and social lives.

Disaster management digitally transformed: Exploring the impact and key determinants from the UK national disaster management experience.

With the increasing social and economic devastation caused by disasters around the world, the international community and country-level National Disaster Management (NDM) authorities have placed improving their ways to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters as a top priority. Technological advancements and the 4th Industrial Revolution are critical tools to help achieve this. However, they also present many challenges to traditional NDM systems by altering the fundamental operational, organizational, and social dynamics of conventional disaster management. Currently, there is a lack of research that studies these aspects beyond technology and examines the impact of digital transformation on the full life cycle of disaster management on the national level. Therefore, this research fills this gap by integrating interdisciplinary concepts from different research fields including Disaster Management, Information Systems, and Business Management to understand the impact and determinants of digital transformation in NDM systems. To achieve this, the research uses the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework and conducts semi-structured interviews with UK NDM experts. The results show that the impact of digital transformation on NDM is profound, paradoxical, multi-directional, and driven by a multitude of driving forces. This research makes many significant contributions to research and practice. Theoretically, this research expands the TOE framework beyond its original underpinnings by uncovering a new set of disaster-context determinants. It also presents an innovative Layered Cake FAST (Foundations-Approach-Strategy-Technology) Model that offers a unique roadmap for NDM on how to handle its digital transformation journey. Practically, the research presents several sets of useful expert-recommended actions.