Assessing the impact of organisational culture on digital transformation in the Sri Lankan facilities management industry

Abstract

Amid rapid global technological advancements, the Facilities Management (FM) profession has undergone a significant transformation. Digitisation has emerged as a key driver in improving the efficiency, organization, and sustainability of physical infrastructure. Practitioners often perceive digital transformation beyond mere technological adoption, emphasizing the need for organizational change and strategic alignment to fully realize its benefits. This paper aims to analyse the impact of organisational culture on the digitalisation of FM functions in the Sri Lankan FM industry. To achieve the objective, this study employed a quantitative methodology using a survey approach. Data were collected through a questionnaire administered to a sample of 51 respondents3 from the FM industry. Eight hypotheses were tested using a t-test to examine the impact of cultural dimensions on the digitalisation in FM functions. The findings indicate that organisational culture has a significant impact on the digitalisation of the FM functions. Specifically, factors such as, hierarchical structure, leadership support and advocacy, risk acceptance, cross-department collaboration, employee empowerment, learning and skill development, flexibility and the influence of subcultures were found to positively affect the digitalisation. Conversely, change management practices were not found to have a significant impact. This study makes a novel contribution by addressing an important gap in the existing literature, specifically, underexplored intersection of organizational culture and digitalization within the FM sector, an area that has received limited scholarly attention despite its growing relevance in the digital era