Analysing documentary responses towards digitisation strategies in the higher education sector

Abstract

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are facing mounting pressure to digitise pedagogical, administrative, and operational tasks. Given the digital age we have been living in, this is expected. However, the problem is that many people are unable to keep up with the pace of technological advancement. This leads to 70% failure rates of digital adoption. Furthermore, Martec's Law suggests that while technological capabilities progress exponentially, organisational changes lag considerably. In addition, existing literature focuses more on digital transformation initiatives within manufacturing industries, which often prioritise the technological aspects of this disruption over human and organisationalimpacts. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to conduct a documentary analysis to explore the digitalisation strategies employed by HEIs from a change management perspective during their digital transformation initiatives. The findings highlight that digital transformation in HEIs involves not a one size fit all approach, which requires a move beyond the technological implementation by adopting a socio-technical framework for change. This will improve institutional resilience, global competitiveness, and service provision in an equitable manner in the 21st century.