• Rural Digital Europe
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With the increased impact of digital disruption in all the industries, today, the concept of digital transformation has gone beyond a mere technological shift emerged and has become an important aspect of the business. Among many other different industries which are highly influenced by digital transformation and digital disruption, higher education has become one of the foremost sectors influenced by digitalization and currently has undergone rapid and diverse changes in the industry environment. Alongside, in order to achieve a successful digital transformation as well as to provide a better learning experience to the learner, this paper attempted to investigate the concept of digital transformation and provide a holistic view on digital transformation, as well as propose a framework in dimensions of digital transformation in higher education. It has followed a comprehensive literature review as the main research tool and the paper is framed as a concept paper with the discussion on empirical insights. Finally, it concludes the paper with some research directions and priorities for future studies.

Generation Z has emerged as one of the most mystifying consumers as they are tech-savvy, digitally connected and educated users of technologies in the marketplace. These digital natives are predicted to account for around 40% of all consumer shopping by 2020. Their cognitive power and social media networking have made them the market mavens who possess a wide range of information and consumer knowledge about many dimensions of the markets. To be the leader in the marketplace where so many options are available due to the free trade economy, marketers have to escalate their knowhow about their customers if they want to capture the attention of this segment of the market. The chief objective of the study is to find the purchasing habits of Generation Z, specifically from the angle of social influence and technology. A sample of 42 respondents was approached for a survey using a structured questionnaire. The results of this initial study indicate that Generation Z shoppers are coming up with unprecedented shopping habits and preferences. Using cross-tabulation analysis, results showed that some of the most classical influential factors such as product features, price consciousness and family recommendations have a significant effect on the purchasing habits of this generation. However, the results indicate the influence of computer literacy, peer and social influence and social media identity on the purchasing decision of Generation Z. The results of this study can be utilized to assist in predicting potential consumer adoption behavior and in designing favourable shopping environments that are compatible with these specific consumer traits.

The learning traditions of Sri Lanka demand the authoritative role of the teachers. As a result, the learners become comfortable in their passive role and depend heavily on their teachers as the sole provider of knowledge and resources. It has been observed that this dependency impedes the learning process and restricts the potential for self-improvement especially in language education. Thus, shifting from traditional teacher dependent learning to autonomous learning is a major challenge for any student gaining entrance to the university who has experienced frontal teaching for over twelve years in school in Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, transformation from the traditional teacher dependent learning to digital language education has resulted in successfully addressing many issues faced by the teachers and students alike in foreign language education at university level. This paper examines the contribution of authentic material available online to the vast improvement of student performance at the University of Kelaniya and how this digital transformation contributed to shifting from teacher dependent learning to learner autonomy through online resources.

Today, new technologies, digitisation and artificial intelligence create demand within organisations for different skill sets as well as new ways of working. On the world stage, the Asian region is expected to grow fastest in human resource (HR) analytics due to rapid digital transformation. HR analytics enables organisations to make evidence-based strategic business decisions that lead to achieving a sustained competitive advantage. Hence, HR analytics will be an innovative addition for the effective talent management of organisations. Although some organisations practice HR analytics, it is observed that the adoption and diffusion of HR analytics are still sluggish in emerging markets. In this chapter, we apply diffusion of the innovation theory to examine the factors that affect the adoption and diffusion of HR analytics in Sri Lanka as an empirical context. The objectives are to understand the current state of HR analytics, identify the challenges and barriers to implementing HR analytics and build a model for the successful implementation of HR analytics.

Inefficient and ineffective practices in the construction industry have hindered productivity even though it is considered as one of the largest sectors in any county. One best solution to overcome these inherent problems in the construction industry is to move forward with digital technologies. For that, organizational structure, technical aspects, and, most importantly, human factors need to be considered. The aim of this research is to find out human behaviors that affect the digital transformation of the construction industry based on the well-accepted model Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). An in-depth literature review was carried out using fifty-five journal papers to develop a conceptual model for the acceptance of digital transformation, and it was validated and further reviewed using ten expert interviews. The model consists of seven constraints: Personal Benefits, Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Risk, Facility Conditions, Attitudes, and Subjective Norms. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was carried out to rank these seven factors according to individual priorities in the construction industry. Further, the model was extended and modified using factors derived from literature review and expert feedback. It is proved that “Perceived Personal Benefits” is the major consideration of an individual who is willing to move towards digital transformation. This research fulfills the lack of knowledge in the digitalization of the construction industry as per a human perspective, and it provides a prerequisite to finding the solutions for the issues which emerged within the industry towards digitalization. Further, the framework developed in the research can be used to systematically adopt the human factor for the digital transformation of the construction industry. In addition, this enables the analysis of changing demands for humans in digitally transformed environments, such as Industry 4.0 environments, and contributes towards a successful digital transformation that avoids the pitfalls of innovation performed without attention to human factors. The paper concludes by highlighting future research directions on the human factor in digital transformation as well as managerial implications for successful application in practice.

Digital transformation enables development and the testing of available applications for customer use, done in a smart way. It is also clear that the vast amounts of available data related to business cannot be easily handled in a day without the use of these mobile resources. Yet, privacy and security factors affect the release of more data for publishing or for exchanging purposes. Open data is ruled out due to insufficient available data for research as related to mobile devices where, there is a need for real data sets for testing purposes. The Internet of Things demands stronger security mechanisms to keep attacks at bay over buildings and automobiles. However, it must not be ignored that rules and regulations require considerable time to come into effect whereas, self-control imposed by a user made aware of the risks, takes little or no time at all.