[Thesis (Ed. D.)--Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1997] / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-192).

[Thesis (Ed. D.)--Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1997] / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-192).

This study explored and described decision factors related to technology adoption. The research used diffusion of innovations and communities of practice (CoP) theoretical frameworks and a case study of Web services technology in the digital library (DL) environment to develop an understanding of the decision-making process. A qualitative case study approach was used to investigate the research problems and data were collected through semi-structured interviews, documentary evidence (e.g., meeting minutes), and a comprehensive member check. The research conducted face-to-face and phone interviews with seven respondents with different job titles (administraive vs. technical) from five different DL programs selected based on distinctive characteristics such as size of the DL program. Findings of the research suggested that the decision-making process is a complex process in which a number of factors are considered when making technology adoption decisions. These factors are categorized as organizational, individual, and technology specific factors. Further, data showed that DL CoPs played an important role in enabling staff members of a DL program to access up-to-date and experienced-based knowledge, provided a distributed problem solving and learning environment, facilitating informal communication and collaborative activities, and informing the decision-making process.

Text in Afrikaans / Summaries in English and Afrikaans / In die vinnig veranderende omgewing waarin universiteitbiblioteke funksioneer is daar besorgdheid oor die vermoe van universiteitbiblioteke om tred te hou met die verandering ten einde suksesvol te kan bly voortbestaan. Kreatiwiteit en innovasie speel 'n rol in die veranderingsproses. Organisasiekultuur het 'n invloed op die mate waarin kreatiwiteit en innovasie in 'n organisasie gestimuleer word. 'n Voorlopige model wat op die literatuur gebaseer is, het getoon dat strategie, organisasiestruktuur, ondersteuningsmeganismes, innovasiegedrag en kommunikasie die organisasiekultuurdeterminante is wat kreatiwiteit en innovasie in organisasies beinvloed. In die onderhawige empiriese studie is bestaande data, wat ingesamel is om die organisasiekultuurvan 'n universiteitbiblioteek te beskryf, gebruik om die voorlopige model te toets. 'n Faktorontleding het getoon dat strategie, doelgerigtheid, vertrouensverhouding, innovasiegedrag, werkomgewing, klientgeorienteerdheid en bestuursondersteuning 'n invloed het op die mate waarin kreatiwiteit en innovasie in die universiteitbiblioteek gestimuleer en bevorder sal word. / In the rapidly changing environment in which university libraries function there is concern about the ability of such libraries to keep pace with change in order to be able to survive. Creativity and innovation have a role to play in the change process. Organisational culture has an influence on the degree to which creativity and innovation are stimulated in an organisation. A preliminary model which is based on the literature, has shown that strategy, organisational structure, support mechanisms, innovation behaviour and communication are the organisational culture determinants that influence creativity and innovation in organisations. In the empirical study, existing data which were collected to describe the organisational culture of a university library, were used to test the preliminary model. A factor analysis showed that strategy, purposefulness, trust relationship, innovation behaviour, work environment, customer orientation and management support influence the degree to which creativity and innovation are stimulated and promoted in the university library. / Information Science / M.Inf.

Text in Afrikaans / Summaries in English and Afrikaans / In die vinnig veranderende omgewing waarin universiteitbiblioteke funksioneer is daar besorgdheid oor die vermoe van universiteitbiblioteke om tred te hou met die verandering ten einde suksesvol te kan bly voortbestaan. Kreatiwiteit en innovasie speel 'n rol in die veranderingsproses. Organisasiekultuur het 'n invloed op die mate waarin kreatiwiteit en innovasie in 'n organisasie gestimuleer word. 'n Voorlopige model wat op die literatuur gebaseer is, het getoon dat strategie, organisasiestruktuur, ondersteuningsmeganismes, innovasiegedrag en kommunikasie die organisasiekultuurdeterminante is wat kreatiwiteit en innovasie in organisasies beinvloed. In die onderhawige empiriese studie is bestaande data, wat ingesamel is om die organisasiekultuurvan 'n universiteitbiblioteek te beskryf, gebruik om die voorlopige model te toets. 'n Faktorontleding het getoon dat strategie, doelgerigtheid, vertrouensverhouding, innovasiegedrag, werkomgewing, klientgeorienteerdheid en bestuursondersteuning 'n invloed het op die mate waarin kreatiwiteit en innovasie in die universiteitbiblioteek gestimuleer en bevorder sal word. / In the rapidly changing environment in which university libraries function there is concern about the ability of such libraries to keep pace with change in order to be able to survive. Creativity and innovation have a role to play in the change process. Organisational culture has an influence on the degree to which creativity and innovation are stimulated in an organisation. A preliminary model which is based on the literature, has shown that strategy, organisational structure, support mechanisms, innovation behaviour and communication are the organisational culture determinants that influence creativity and innovation in organisations. In the empirical study, existing data which were collected to describe the organisational culture of a university library, were used to test the preliminary model. A factor analysis showed that strategy, purposefulness, trust relationship, innovation behaviour, work environment, customer orientation and management support influence the degree to which creativity and innovation are stimulated and promoted in the university library. / Information Science / M.Inf.