Developing a Model for Digital Readiness in Public Organizations (Case Study: Imam Khomeini International University)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Master's degree, Department of Industrial Management, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Industrial Management, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering, Zanjan University, Zanjan, Iran.

Abstract

Purpose: Digital readiness is a tool for evaluating an organization’s up-to-date status based on its goals. It serves as a structural tool for business management and acts as a reference framework for digital transformation objectives. The first step to determining the model and measuring an organization’s digital readiness is to identify the criteria specific to the structure and culture governing that organization.
Method: This research employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches. In the qualitative part, a background review identified the primary criteria influencing digital readiness, which were then screened by experts using the fuzzy Delphi method. In the quantitative part, a survey of expert opinions and fuzzy hierarchical methods, fuzzy DIMATEL, and maturity level revealed existing relationships between the criteria and influential factors. The criteria’s weight, the degree of effectiveness of the criteria in presenting the model, and the digital readiness level of the university were assessed. The research population consisted of 12 managers and senior experts with experience and knowledge in the information technology department of Imam Khomeini International University in Qazvin.
Findings: The results revealed that 15 criteria, grouped into five main factors, impact the organization’s digital readiness at Imam Khomeini International University. These criteria were ranked using the fuzzy hierarchical analysis method, resulting in a digital readiness model for the university. The level of digital readiness was then determined.
Conclusion: The criterion of top-management support for digitization projects carries the most significant weight. A comprehensive cause-and-effect model was drawn using Fuzzy DIMATEL. The managerial readiness standard at Imam Khomeini International University in Qazvin is in good condition; however, the technical infrastructure readiness is not satisfactory.
 

Keywords

Main Subjects


Aboelmaged, M.G. (2014). Predicting e-readiness at firm-level: An analysis of technological, organizational and environmental (TOE) effects on e-maintenance readiness in manufacturing firms. International Journal of Information Management, 34(5): 639-651.          
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2014.05.002.
Al Yahya, M.A.H., Skitmore, M., Bridge, A., Nepal, M. & Cattell, D. (2018). e-Tendering readiness in construction: the posterior model. Construction Innovation, 18(2): 183-205.  
https://doi.org/10.1108/CI-06-2017-0051.
Andreasen, P.H. & Gammelgaard, B. (2018). Change within purchasing and supply management organisations–Assessing the claims from maturity models. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 24(2): 151-163.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pursup.2017.11.005
Ashrafi, S. & Abollahi, B. (2017). Exploring the Relationship between Components of Digital Divide and Students' Academic Achievement. Higher Education Letter, 10(39): 115-135.
[in persian]
Asogwa, B.E. (2013). The readiness of universities in managing electronic records: A study of three federal universities in Nigeria. The electronic library, 31(6): 792-807.               
https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-04-2012-0037
Azimi, K. (2017). Investigating the effect of electronic readiness on organizational performance using structural equation modeling. In: Tehran: Fourth International Conference on Applied Research in Management and Accounting. [in persian]
Bagherinejad, J. & Satari, H. (2013). A Model for Electronic Readiness of Organizations to use Information Technology and Communication Services, Using Analytical Hierarchy Process Technique. BI Management Studies, 1(2): 1-23. [in persian]
Bharadwaj, A., El Sawy, O.A., Pavlou, P.A. & Venkatraman, N.V. (2013). Digital business strategy: toward a next generation of insights. MIS quarterly, 37(2): 471-482.      
https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2013/37.2.3
Bilgiç, D. & Camgöz Akdağ, H. (2021). Digital Transformation Readiness Factors in Healthcare. Hospital Topics, 15: 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/00185868.2021.2002745
Billsten, J., Fridell, M., Holmberg, R. & Ivarsson, A. (2018). Organizational Readiness for Change (ORC) test used in the implementation of assessment instruments and treatment methods in a Swedish National study. Journal of substance abuse treatment, 84: 9-16.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2017.10.004
Brooks, P., El-Gayar, O. & Sarnikar, S. (2015). A framework for developing a domain specific business intelligence maturity model: Application to healthcare. International Journal of Information Management, 35(3): 337-345.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2015.01.011
Bui, T.X., Sankaran, S. & Sebastian, I.M. (2003). A framework for measuring national e-readiness. International Journal of Electronic Business, 1(1): 3-22.    
https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEB.2003.002162
Butel, J.A., Banna, J.C., Novotny, R., Franck, K.L., Parker, S.P. & Stephenson, L. (2018). Validation of a collaboration readiness assessment tool for Use by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–Education (SNAP-Ed) agencies and partners. Journal of nutrition education and behavior, 50(5): 501-505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2017.11.002
Canetta, L., Barni, A. & Montini, E. (2018, June). Development of a digitalization maturity model for the manufacturing sector. In: 2018 IEEE International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation (ICE/ITMC) (pp. 1-7). IEEE.              
https://doi.org/10.1109/ICE.2018.8436292
Chanias, S. & Hess, T. (2016). How digital are we? Maturity models for the assessment of a company’s status in the digital transformation. Management Report/Institut für Wirtschaftsinformatik und Neue Medien, 2: 1-14.‏
Chanias, S., Myers, M.D. & Hess, T. (2019). Digital transformation strategy making in pre-digital organizations: The case of a financial services provider. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 28(1): 17-33.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsis.2018.11.003
Chipembele, M. & Bwalya, K.J. (2016). Assessing E-Readiness of the Copperbelt University, Zambia: Case Study. International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, 33(5): 315-332. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJILT-12-2015-0036
Das, D. & Ngacho, C. (2017). Critical success factors influencing the performance of development projects: An empirical study of Constituency Development Fund projects in Kenya. IIMB management review, 29(4): 276-293.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iimb.2017.11.005
Deja, M., Rak, D. & Bell, B. (2021). Digital transformation readiness: perspectives on academia and library outcomes in information literacy. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 47(5): 102403.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2021.102403
Dyerson, R., Spinelli, R. & Harindranath, G. (2016). Revisiting IT readiness: an approach for small firms. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 116(3): 546-563.              
https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-05-2015-0204
Fitzgerald, M., Kruschwitz, N., Bonnet, D. & Welch, M. (2014). Embracing digital technology: A new strategic imperative. MIT Sloan management review, 55(2): 1.‏
Froger, M., Benaben, F., Truptil, S. & Boissel-Dallier, N. (2019). A non-linear business process management maturity framework to apprehend future challenges. International Journal of Information Management, 49: 290-300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.05.013
Giacobbe, M., Xibilia, M.G. & Puliafito, A. (2019, January). Building a Digital Business Technology Platform in the Industry 4.0 Era. In: International Conference on Smart Innovation, Ergonomics and Applied Human Factors (pp. 369-375). Springer, Cham.    
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22964-1_41
Görög, M. (2016). A broader approach to organisational project management maturity assessment. International Journal of Project Management, 34(8): 1658-1669.‏      
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2016.08.011
Gurumurthy, A., Mazumdar, P. & Muthusubramanian, S. (2013). Graph theoretic approach for analysing the readiness of an organisation for adapting lean thinking: A case study. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 21(3): 396-427.‏
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-04-2013-0652
Hamidi, N., Golsefid-Alavi, M., Soleimani-Nezhad, N. & Hajimirza, M. (2012). Determining the Priority of Scenarios Relating to Improving Life Quality of Iran Retirees. Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research, 2(9): 9132-9138.‏
Hanafizadeh, P. & Noorafrooz, A. (2018). Designing a Model to Evaluate the E-Readiness of Academic Libraries. Knowledge Retrieval and Semantic Systems, 4(13): 107-140.            
https://doi.org/10.22054/jks.2018.29828.1161[in persian]
Haque, M.D., TitiAmayah, A. & Liu, L. (2016). The role of vision in organizational readiness for change and growth. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 37(7): 983-999. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-01-2015-0003
Hezardastan, B. & Ganji, F. (2019). Assessing e-readiness for e-government acceptance in public organizations (Case study). In: Tehran: Fifth International Conference on Applied Research in Accounting and Management. [in persian]
Hoa, N.T.X. & Tuyen, N.T. (2021). A model for assessing the digital transformation readiness for Vietnamese SMEs. Journal of Eastern European and Central Asian Research (JEECAR), 8(4): 541-555.‏ https://doi.org/10.15549/jeecar.v8i4.848
Hussain, M. & Papastathopoulos, A. (2022). Organizational readiness for digital financial innovation and financial resilience. International Journal of Production Economics, 243: 108326.            
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2021.108326
Ika, L.A. & Donnelly, J. (2017). Success conditions for international development capacity building projects. International Journal of Project Management, 35(1): 44-63.  
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2016.10.005
Jukić, T., Pluchinotta, I. & Vrbek, S. (2022). Organizational maturity for co-creation: Towards a multi-attribute decision support model for public organizations. Government Information Quarterly, 39(1): 101623.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2021.101623
Kaba, B. (2019). Identifying an analytical tool to assess the readiness of aid information and communication technology projects. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 85(3): e12072. https://doi.org/10.1002/isd2.12072
Kalantari, T., & Khoshalhan, F. (2018). Readiness assessment of leagility supply chain based on fuzzy cognitive maps and interpretive structural modeling: a case study. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 33(4): 442-456.‏ https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-01-2017-0008
Kelly, P., Hegarty, J., Barry, J., Dyer, K.R. & Horgan, A. (2017). A systematic review of the relationship between staff perceptions of organizational readiness to change and the process of innovation adoption in substance misuse treatment programs. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 80: 6-25.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2017.06.001
Kruszyńska-Fischbach, A., Sysko-Romańczuk, S., Rafalik, M., Walczak, R. & Kludacz-Alessandri, M. (2022). Organizational E-Readiness for the Digital Transformation of Primary Healthcare Providers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 11(1): 133. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11010133
Loonam, J. & O'Regan, N. (2022). Global value chains and digital platforms: Implications for strategy. Strategic Change, 31(1): 161-177.‏ https://doi.org/10.1002/jsc.2485
Lusch, R.F. & Nambisan, S. (2015). Service Innovation: A Service-Dominant Logic Perspective. MIS quarterly, 39(1): 155-175.‏ https://doi.org/10.25300/MISQ/2015/39.1.07
Lynch, D., Smith, R., Yeigh, T. & Provost, S. (2019). A study into" organisational readiness" and its impacts on school improvement. International Journal of Education Management, 33(2): 393-408.‏ https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-07-2017-0181
Ma, L. & Ye, M. (2015). The role of electronic human resource management in contemporary human resource management. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 3(04): 71-78.‏
https://doi.org/
10.4236/jss.2015.34009
Mahdizadeh, H., Jahanpoor, T. & Motamedi Nia, Z. (2017). Electronic Readiness Assessment of Rural and Agricultural Cooperatives' Managers and Specialists in the Province of Ilam. Co-Operation and Agriculture, 6(23): 53-74. [in persian]
Mahroof, K. (2019). A human-centric perspective exploring the readiness towards smart warehousing: The case of a large retail distribution warehouse. International Journal of Information Management, 45: 176-190.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.11.008
Masouleh, Z.D., Allahyari, M.S. & Atani, R.E. (2014). Operational indicators for measuring organizational e-readiness based on fuzzy logic: A challenge in the Agricultural Organization of Guilan Province, Iran. Information Processing in Agriculture, 1(2): 115-123.          
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inpa.2014.11.002
Matt, C., Hess, T. & Benlian, A. (2015). Digital transformation strategies. Business & information systems engineering, 57(5): 339-343.‏ https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-015-0401-5
Motahari-Nezhad, H., Shekofteh, M. & Kazerani, M. (2018). E-readiness assessment of academic libraries: a case study in Iran. The Electronic Library, 36(2): 193-207.   
https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-11-2016-0254
Mullaly, M. (2014). If maturity is the answer, then exactly what was the question? International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 7(2): 169-185.  
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-09-2013-0047
Naderi Darshoori, V. & Soheili, H.R. (2017). The Supporting Role of Senior Managers and the Organization's Perspective in Assessing the Readiness of Government Organizations to Establish Comprehensive and Integrated Information Technology-Based Systems. In: Qom: International Conference on Economics, Management and Psychology. [in persian]
Najjari, R. & Aahangari, J. (2016). Designing and Clarification a Model for Assessing Electronic Preparation in State Tax Organization (STO). Journal of Tax Research, 24(30): 107-136.
[in persian]
Nasrollahi, M., Fathi, M.R., Sobhani, S.M., Khosravi, A. & Noorbakhsh, A. (2021). Modeling resilient supplier selection criteria in desalination supply chain based on fuzzy DEMATEL and ISM. International Journal of Management Science and Engineering Management, 16(4):
264-278. https://doi.org/10.1080/17509653.2021.1965502
Noori, R. & Emamverdi, M. (2015). Designing e-readiness assessment Model for service organizations, using the Grounded theory. Journal of Decision Engineering, 1(3): 61-86. [in persian]
Patel, D. (2016). 5 Tips for Reimagining Yourself in an Era of Digital Darwinism. Retrieved from: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/281219 Januray 2021.
Petrova, L.A., Niyazbekova, S.U., Kuznetsova, T.E., Sarbassova, S.B. & Baymukhametova, K.I. (2022). Digital Transformation as a Strategic Direction Business Development in Modern Conditions. In: Сooperation and Sustainable Development (pp. 183-192). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77000-6_22
Pinho, J.C.M., Martins, L. & Soares, A.M. (2018). Small businesses’ internationalization: International readiness in the context of Asian countries. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration 10(1): 50-63.‏ https://doi.org/10.1108/APJBA-05-2017-0043
Poushneh, A. & Vasquez-Parraga, A.Z. (2018). The role of customer readiness and participation
in non-technology-based service delivery. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 35(6): 588-600. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-11-2016-2006
Radmanesh, S., Tavakoli, A. & Shajari, M. (2012). Diagnosing information technology processes using COBIT reference model (Case study: South Pars Gas Company). In: Tehran: 9th International Management Conference. [in persian]
Sánchez, M.A. (2017). A framework to assess organizational readiness for the digital transformation. Dimensión Empresarial, 15(2): 27-40.‏ https://doi.org/10.15665/rde.v15i2.976
Sepehri, F. & Shaykh al-Islami Kandelusi, N. (2018). Evaluation of electronic readiness and digital divide with a systemic approach in Sistan and Baluchestan University. In: Tehran: 10th Conference on New Research in Science and Technology. [in persian]
Shaheer, N.A. & Li, S. (2020). The CAGE around cyberspace? How digital innovations internationalize in a virtual world. Journal of Business Venturing, 35(1): 105892.  
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2018.08.002
Sousa, M.J. & Rocha, Á. (2019). Strategic knowledge management in the digital age: JBR special issue editorial. Journal of Business Research, 94: 223-226.   
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.10.016
Tabarsa, G.A., Haghighi, M.A. & Al-Masoori, K. (2017). Assessing the e-readiness of public organizations for the successful establishment of an electronic human resource management system in Yemen. Public Administration Perspective, 7(2): 77-104. [in persian]
Van Dyk, L. (2014). A review of telehealth service implementation frameworks. International journal of environmental research and public health, 11(2): 1279-1298.  
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110201279
Van Veldhoven, Z. & Vanthienen, J. (2021). Digital transformation as an interaction-driven perspective between business, society, and technology. Electronic Markets, 32(2): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-021-00464-5
Yoo, Y., Boland Jr, R.J., Lyytinen, K. & Majchrzak, A. (2012). Organizing for innovation in the digitized world. Organization science, 23(5): 1398-1408.          
https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1120.0771
CAPTCHA Image