Academics worldwide are the main creators of digital resources for various purposes in educational settings. These digital resources can be created, stored, shared, and accessed across multiple digital platforms. Generally, these resources fall into categories such as online resources, electronic resources, research publications, open educational resources, and open-source materials, among others. While all academics are encouraged to contribute to the production and distribution of these digital resources, challenges remain. It is unclear whether all academics are able or willing to contribute. Currently, there is a lack of a clear conversion process framework to guide academics to convince others to adopt digital resources. This study aims to explore how those who do contribute can persuade others to participate or take the initiative. To address this issue, the study proposed the conversion process as its conceptual framework. An interpretivist approach was adopted, employing qualitative methods as the primary research strategy, which included 54 semi-structured interviews conducted at the University of South Africa. The findings indicate that both academics and institutional social capital play crucial roles in the conversion process, as they influence others to utilize digital resources. Additionally, this study contributes by proposing a conceptual framework for the conversion process and recommends further testing of this framework within the technology development contexts.