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| Format: | Recurso educativo Open Access |
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
2011
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED536769 |
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Table of Contents:
- A Structural Contingency Theory Model of Library and Technology Partnerships within an Academic Library Information Commons Tuai, Cameron K. Academic Libraries Library Administration Administrative Organization Organizational Theories Models Information Services Librarians Technology Coordination Congruence (Psychology) Expectation Correlation The integration of librarians and technologists to deliver information services represents a new and potentially costly organizational challenge for many library administrators. To understand better how to control the costs of integration, the research presented here will use structural contingency theory to study the coordination of librarians and technologists within the information commons (IC), a unit of the academic library. Contingency theory seeks to optimize the organizational structures necessary for coordinating partner workflows; it suggests that coordinative structures should be congruent with workflow interdependence. In other words, as workflow interdependence increases, the complexity of coordination necessary to integrate the workflows should also increase. To examine this theory, the work presented here will: (a) test for a positive relationship between coordination and interdependence; (b) test for correlation between perceptions of IC performance and interdependence and coordination congruency; and (c) explore the contingency theory expectation that behavioral differentiation positively affects coordination. To examine contingency theory expectation within an academic IC, the researcher first collected a sample of ICs, developed the measures necessary to test contingency theory expectations, and conducted the analysis to confirm or deny the expectations. The findings confirmed contingency theory's expectations of a positive relationship between interdependence and coordination, and that greater levels of congruency between interdependence and coordination will lead to higher levels of unit performance. The predicted positive relationship between behavioral differentiation and coordination was not found. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]