Affecting the Organization’s Ability to be Ready to Transform into a Digital Organization: A Case Study of Shipyard Industry in Laem Chabang Industrial Estate, Chonburi

Abstract

            This quantitative research explores the personal and organizational factors influencing the readiness of employees in the shipbuilding industry in Laem Chabang Industrial Estate, Chonburi Province, to transition into a digital organization. Data was collected from 345 employees using a questionnaire designed to cover demographic information, perception of internal organizational factors related to change, and their level of digital transformation readiness. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, inferential statistics such as T-tests and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA or F-tests) for group comparisons, and Multiple Regression analysis to determine the influence of various factors. The findings indicate that the majority of the sample consisted of male employees, aged 41-50, working at the operational level with over 5 years of experience. Employees reported a high perception of internal organizational factors influencing digital transformation, particularly in leadership and internal communication. However, perception regarding organizational culture, past change experiences, and employee participation remained at a moderate level, indicating areas for potential improvement. Overall, employees demonstrated a high level of readiness for digital transformation, especially concerning cooperation with others and willingness to adapt. Confidence in change, clarity of goals, and resource adequacy were also perceived as high. T-tests and F-tests on individual factors revealed no significant difference in overall readiness based on gender, except for resource adequacy, where females perceived it more significantly than males. Age had no significant impact on readiness. However, job position showed a clear correlation, with general employees exhibiting higher readiness across all dimensions compared to supervisors. Interestingly, employees with less than three years of experience showed higher overall readiness than those with longer tenures. Multiple Regression analysis indicated that all studied internal organizational factors collectively explained a high variance in digital transformation readiness. However, only "past change experience" demonstrated a significant positive influence, while leadership, internal communication, organizational culture, and employee participation did not show a statistically significant influence in this study.