Digital Transformation Adoption in Saudi Arabian Universities: Development and Empirical Validation of the DTA-SAU Multi-Stakeholder Framework with Differentiated and Shared Adoption Determinants

Abstract

Background Digital transformation (DT) has become a strategic priority for higher education institutions, particularly in Saudi Arabia under the national reform agenda of Vision 2030. Although technology adoption research frequently applies the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Technology–Organisation–Environment (TOE) framework, many studies implicitly assume organisational homogeneity and employ aggregated analytical models. Such an approach overlooks the structural complexity of universities, where authority, technical responsibility, and system use are distributed across distinct stakeholder groups occupying different hierarchical levels. Aims and Objectives This thesis aims to investigate the determinants of digital transformation adoption in Saudi universities through a stakeholder-sensitive perspective. It develops the DTA-SAU framework (Digital Transformation Adoption in Saudi Universities), a conceptual extension of the integrated TAM–TOE model, which differentiates adoption drivers according to organisational role and hierarchical position. The study seeks to identify both shared and stakeholder- specific determinants of adoption across top management, technical, and end-user levels. Methods A mixed-methods research design was employed. Quantitative data were collected from 2,317 participants across Saudi universities: 408 top managers, 420 IT staff, 665 academic staff and 824 students through stakeholder-specific survey instruments tailored to each group. The conceptual framework was operationalised into three stakeholder-specific analytical models reflecting management-level, technical-level, and end-user-level perspectives. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to test hypothesised relationships within three stakeholder-specific models. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with top management to provide contextual validation and interpretive depth. Results The results reveal that determinants of Digital Transformation (DT) adoption vary across stakeholder groups, while certain shared factors were identified. Top management support, cost-effectiveness, compatibility, technology readiness and top managers' digital skills were significant for both top managers and IT staff, while leaders’ creativity was insignificant for either group. IT staff technical skills were valued by top managers but not by IT staff themselves, while maintenance was uniquely important for IT staff. For students and academic staff, ease of use, usefulness and trust were significant drivers of DT adoption, while resistance to change was insignificant for either group. Awareness influenced top managers and students’ adoption but was insignificant among IT staff and academic staff. Notably, security and quality of services operate as foundational cross-tier enablers while other determinants exhibit stakeholder-specific effects. These results empirically confirm that adoption dynamics vary according to stakeholder role and hierarchical position within the university structure. Qualitative findings further revealed that top management creativity though statistically insignificant, was viewed as strategically important and that trust at the managerial level was institutionally embedded rather than explicitly evaluated. Conclusion This thesis contributes theoretically by introducing the DTA-SAU framework, a stakeholder sensitive extension of the integrated TAM- TOE model that challenges the assumption of organisational homogeneity in technology adoption research. By structurally differentiating adoption determinants according to stakeholder roles and hierarchical position. The study enhances the explanatory precision of DT models in complex higher education settings. Methodologically, it advances adoption research through the development of stakeholder specific instruments and mixed- methods. The study therefore also offers a transferable approach can be easily adapted to studies with multiple and diverse stakeholder groups in broader business, financial and organisational contexts. (e.g., larger multi- departmental organisations, transnational businesses with diverse employees, customers and partners groups). This study emphasizes the need for differentiated strategies aligned with each stakeholder group’s role and priorities.