An Evaluation of Project Managers' Readiness for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Tanzania
Keywords:
Fourth Industrial Revolution, 4IR, Project managers, Readiness Assessment, Strategy and governance structure, Technology awareness, Human capital digital skills development, Social-economic ImpactAbstract
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is changing how we work, study, and interact with one another and how we live. However, project managers and the general Tanzanian population are still not sufficiently aware of the 4IR, which results in a lack of readiness to conceptualize, carry out, and manage 4IR-related initiatives. This study aimed to evaluate Tanzanian project managers' readiness for 4IR. The evaluation has four dimensions: social-economic effect, technological awareness, human capital development, and strategy and governance structure. The diffusion of innovations theory was the lens through which the research's quantitative methodology was used. Data were gathered using an online survey to determine whether project managers were prepared and ready for the 4IR. Project managers completed the 50 valid samples from various industries, including manufacturing, consulting, construction, education & training, government, healthcare, and information technology. SPSS was used to analyze the data. The findings showed that despite a general lack of knowledge about 4IR, several project managers in Tanzania have varying knowledge about 4IR technologies like chatbots, drones, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics, blockchain, robotics, and cryptocurrency. The findings also showed that Tanzania's project managers were not sufficiently prepared to begin, develop, and deploy 4IR goods and services due to inadequate 4IR-related governance structure, strategy, and human capital development skills. As a result, several suggestions for improvement are provided within the context of the four assessed readiness dimensions. The primary contribution of this research is to project managers' level of 4IR preparedness and the recommendations that follow for policymakers, practitioners, academics, donors, the business sector, and young people interested in digital innovation. Additionally, the study advances our understanding of 4IR, project management, and digital transformation.
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