Identifying and prioritizing barriers to digital transformation in higher education: a case study in Indonesia

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to test a theoretical framework to identify and prioritize barriers in the implementation of digital transformation in higher education. Design/methodology/approach The framework was tested using the context of a particular nation: Indonesia. First, a survey questionnaire was conducted to identify the key barriers. Second, the contextual relationship between the key barriers was determined based on an expert’s input to find the importance level of barriers and the degree of difficulty to fix the barriers. Finally, a barrier priority matrix was developed to prioritize the barriers. Findings This study identified the key barriers in the implementation of digital transformation in higher education in Indonesia including eight contextual issues, one technical issue and two cultural issues with different levels of importance and difficulty. Based on the matrix constructed, this study also presented a list of the top 11 priorities of barriers. Research limitations/implications The results were based on a particular region context. Practical implications This study lays the foundation for the theoretical framework that is practically useful to perform the identification and prioritization of barriers. Besides, the result discussed in this study gives some direction for policymakers in designing sensible strategies to overcome the barriers. Originality/value The main contribution of this study is an empirical study that systematically identifies and prioritizes barriers to digital transformation in higher education.