Abstract
Understanding strategic decisions aimed at addressing regional economic issues is of increasing interest among scholars and policy makers today. However, studies that proffer effective strategies to address digital futures concerns from social and policy perspectives are timely. In light of this, this research uses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis tool to frame a regional strategy for digital futures to enhance place-specific digital connectivity and socio-economic progress. Focus group discussions and a structured questionnaire were conducted to examine a SWOT for a digital economy strategy in the Southern Downs Region in Queensland, Australia. The findings show that while the proposed regional strategies for digital futures are susceptible to internal and external forces, strategic planning makes them manageable. The study's findings also reveal that adaptive strategic planning can help regulate the effects of internal and external factors that shape individual and organizational responses to digital transformation, and that these factors promote regional competitiveness.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 60-69 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of Rural Studies |
| Volume | 60 |
| Early online date | 24 Mar 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 2018 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors would like to thank the Editor and anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive comments that greatly contributed to improving the final version of the paper. This research received partial financial support from the Southern Downs Regional Council , which is gratefully acknowledged by the first author of the paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd
Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.