Awareness, adoption readiness and challenges of railway 4.0 technologies in a developing economy
The railway industry has witnessed increasing adoption of digital technologies, known as Railway 4.0, that is revolutionizing operations, infrastructure, and transportation systems. However, developing countries face challenges in keeping pace with these technological advancements. With limited rese...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024019650 |
| _version_ | 1797267719929724928 |
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| author | Imoleayo A. Awodele Modupe C. Mewomo Angel M. Gento Municio Albert P.C. Chan Amos Darko Ridwan Taiwo Nathaniel A. Olatunde Emmanuel C. Eze Oluwaseyi A. Awodele |
| author_facet | Imoleayo A. Awodele Modupe C. Mewomo Angel M. Gento Municio Albert P.C. Chan Amos Darko Ridwan Taiwo Nathaniel A. Olatunde Emmanuel C. Eze Oluwaseyi A. Awodele |
| author_sort | Imoleayo A. Awodele |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The railway industry has witnessed increasing adoption of digital technologies, known as Railway 4.0, that is revolutionizing operations, infrastructure, and transportation systems. However, developing countries face challenges in keeping pace with these technological advancements. With limited research on Railway 4.0 adoption in developing countries, this study was motivated to investigate the awareness, readiness, and challenges faced by railway professionals towards implementing Railway 4.0 technologies. The aim was to assess the level of awareness and preparedness and identify the key challenges influencing Railway 4.0 adoption in Nigeria's railway construction industry. A questionnaire survey (was distributed to professionals in the railway construction sector to gather their perspectives on awareness of, preparation for, and challenges associated with the use of Railway 4.0 technologies. The results revealed that awareness of Railway 4.0 technologies was moderate, while readiness was low among the professionals. Using exploratory factor analysis, 10 underlying challenge constructs were identified including lack of technical know-how, resistance to change, infrastructure limitations, and uncertainty about benefits, amongst others. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) confirmed these constructs, with reliability and availability, lack of technical know-how, lack of training and resources, and uncertainties in benefit and gains having significant influence on awareness and readiness. The study concludes that focused efforts in training, infrastructure improvement, supportive policies, and communicating the advantages of Railway 4.0 are critical to drive adoption in Nigeria and other developing economies. The findings provide insights into tailoring Railway 4.0 implementation strategies for developing contexts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:22:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1d69112be11c46caade77b51bfab724f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-25T01:21:04Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-1d69112be11c46caade77b51bfab724f2024-03-09T09:26:37ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402024-02-01104e25934Awareness, adoption readiness and challenges of railway 4.0 technologies in a developing economyImoleayo A. Awodele0Modupe C. Mewomo1Angel M. Gento Municio2Albert P.C. Chan3Amos Darko4Ridwan Taiwo5Nathaniel A. Olatunde6Emmanuel C. Eze7Oluwaseyi A. Awodele8Construction Management and Quantity Surveying Department, Durban University of Technology, Durban, 4001, South Africa; Corresponding author.Construction Management and Quantity Surveying Department, Durban University of Technology, Durban, 4001, South AfricaOrganizacion de Empresas y CIM, University of Valladolid, SpainDepartment of Building and Real Estate, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaDepartment of Construction Management, University of Washington Seattle, WA, USADepartment of Building and Real Estate, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaDepartment of Quantity Surveying, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, NigeriaArchitecture and Built Environment, Northumbria University Newcastle, United KingdomDepartment of Quantity Surveying, Federal University of Technology Akure, 340110, NigeriaThe railway industry has witnessed increasing adoption of digital technologies, known as Railway 4.0, that is revolutionizing operations, infrastructure, and transportation systems. However, developing countries face challenges in keeping pace with these technological advancements. With limited research on Railway 4.0 adoption in developing countries, this study was motivated to investigate the awareness, readiness, and challenges faced by railway professionals towards implementing Railway 4.0 technologies. The aim was to assess the level of awareness and preparedness and identify the key challenges influencing Railway 4.0 adoption in Nigeria's railway construction industry. A questionnaire survey (was distributed to professionals in the railway construction sector to gather their perspectives on awareness of, preparation for, and challenges associated with the use of Railway 4.0 technologies. The results revealed that awareness of Railway 4.0 technologies was moderate, while readiness was low among the professionals. Using exploratory factor analysis, 10 underlying challenge constructs were identified including lack of technical know-how, resistance to change, infrastructure limitations, and uncertainty about benefits, amongst others. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) confirmed these constructs, with reliability and availability, lack of technical know-how, lack of training and resources, and uncertainties in benefit and gains having significant influence on awareness and readiness. The study concludes that focused efforts in training, infrastructure improvement, supportive policies, and communicating the advantages of Railway 4.0 are critical to drive adoption in Nigeria and other developing economies. The findings provide insights into tailoring Railway 4.0 implementation strategies for developing contexts.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024019650Railway 4.0AwarenessReadinessChallengesTechnologies |
| spellingShingle | Imoleayo A. Awodele Modupe C. Mewomo Angel M. Gento Municio Albert P.C. Chan Amos Darko Ridwan Taiwo Nathaniel A. Olatunde Emmanuel C. Eze Oluwaseyi A. Awodele Awareness, adoption readiness and challenges of railway 4.0 technologies in a developing economy Heliyon Railway 4.0 Awareness Readiness Challenges Technologies |
| title | Awareness, adoption readiness and challenges of railway 4.0 technologies in a developing economy |
| title_full | Awareness, adoption readiness and challenges of railway 4.0 technologies in a developing economy |
| title_fullStr | Awareness, adoption readiness and challenges of railway 4.0 technologies in a developing economy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Awareness, adoption readiness and challenges of railway 4.0 technologies in a developing economy |
| title_short | Awareness, adoption readiness and challenges of railway 4.0 technologies in a developing economy |
| title_sort | awareness adoption readiness and challenges of railway 4 0 technologies in a developing economy |
| topic | Railway 4.0 Awareness Readiness Challenges Technologies |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024019650 |
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