Barriers to the Adoption of Online Journal Management Systems in Nigerian Universities

Abstract

This study investigates barriers to adopting Online Journal Management Systems (OJMS) in federal universities of Northwestern Nigeria, where digitization promises efficiency but adoption remains partial and hybrid, blending OJMS with email workflows. Employing a descriptive survey of 175 journal editors across 10 institutions, it assesses OJMS use across submission, peer review, decisions, communication, and dissemination via Likert scales, alongside dichotomous barriers (funding, infrastructure, capacity). Moderate adoption prevails (means 2.82–3.15), but email dominates submissions (M=4.10) and reviews (M=3.97), linked to high barriers: funding (72.0%), internet (61.1%), skills (58.3%), computers (50.9%), and power (50.3%). Resistance factors like features (18.9%) or security (28.6%) are low. Findings reveal constraint-conditioned adoption per Diffusion of Innovations theory, with structural limits mediating implementation despite receptivity. Policy must target funding, ICT infrastructure, and training to enable full transitions, boosting Nigerian journals' visibility and global impact