Information culture: a perspective from Mainland China
| Pages | 109-125 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-05-2019-0093 |
| Published date | 08 October 2019 |
| Date | 08 October 2019 |
| Author | Zhiying Lian,Gillian Oliver |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Records management & preservation,Document management,Classification & cataloguing,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Scholarly communications/publishing,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
Information culture: a perspective
from Mainland China
Zhiying Lian
School of Library, Information and Archival Studies,
Shanghai University, Shanghai, China, and
Gillian Oliver
Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of informationculture in Mainland China and
apply the information culture framework to an organizational setting.
Design/methodology/approach –The foundation for the research is provided by a review of Chinese
and English language literature and a case study of a university library was conducted, involving semi-
structured interviews.
Findings –The information culture framework facilitated identification of factors not recognized in previous
information culture research, including uniquely Chinese factors of egocentrism, guanxi (relationships),
mianzi (face), hexie (harmony) and renqing (mutual benefit). A further finding highlighted the profound
differences between archives and library institutions in China.
Originality/value –The paper provides the first step toward further exploring features of Chinese
organizational culture which will not only influence information management practices but also highlight the
issues relating to collaboration between libraries and archives in China.
Keywords China, Libraries, Archives, Information management, Information control, Information culture
Paper type Research paper
In 2006, interpretivist research on information culture led to the development of a three-
level framework for assessment. The empirical data used to develop the framework were
initially drawn from three case studies of universities in different parts of the world,
including Hong Kong. In the intervening time period research interest among information
management scholars in Chinese culture has continued unabated. The objective of the
research reported in this paper was to investigate the utility of the three-level information
culture framework in Mainland China. Accordingly we reviewed the literature relevant to
information culture in China and Chinese organizations, using both English language and
Chinese sources and then used the framework to conduct a case study of a department in a
Chinese university. The paper begins by explaining the concept of information culture,
and describes the multi-level framework for its assessment. This is followed by a review of
the literature, and findings from the case study. The discussion and conclusion consider
findings in the context of the literature, with a particular focus on insight into Chinese
cultural characteristics. Xiaotong Fei’s opinions on traditional culture of Chinese society
were used to illustrate some of our findings. Fei is one of the founders of Chinese sociology
and anthropology, and his classic work –From the Soil: the foundations of Chinese Society
–is regarded as one of the most important works on the traditional culture and social
structure of Chinese society.
Information culture
Research into organizational information culture can be divided into two broad categories:
one taking the perspective of identifying or promoting a culture of or for information (e.g.
Ginman, 1993; Grimshaw, 1995; Curry and Moore, 2003), and the other using the lens of
information behaviors as a perspective on organizational culture. This body of research
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 76 No. 1, 2020
pp. 109-125
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/JD-05-2019-0093
Received 21 May 2019
Revised 30 July 2019
Accepted 19 August 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0022-0418.htm
109
Information
culture
includes the writings of Chun Wei Choo (2016) and also the perspective taken in this paper
(see Oliver, 2011; Oliver and Foscarini, 2014).
Taking this orientation means that it is critical to identify the values, attitudes and
behaviors that people, the employees or members of an organization or a community, bring
to bear in their interactions with information. Furthermore, this perspective makes it clear
that every organization has at least one information culture, but the more complex the entity
is, the more information cultures are likely to exist, reflecting different business units and
workgroups. As an additional complication, where there are multiple information cultures,
diverse values, attitudes and behaviors may be contradictory and conflicting.
The information culture framework used to identify relevant cultural characteristics of
organizations or their sub-units consists of a number of levels, which vary in their
receptiveness to change. The framework consists of three levels, and is shown in Figure 1.
Level 1 is the base of the pyramid, and this represents the most fundamental level. Here are
the factors which are often the target of change initiatives which aim to fix “cultural”
problems (“people don’t understand why managing information is important!”) but these
initiatives will be ineffective if the underlying values are not identified and taken into
account. Factors at this level include the following:
•the respect or value accorded to information and data, regardless of the purpose for
which it is being managed (e.g. as knowledge, or as evidence for accountability
purposes); and
•information preferences, including tendencies to share or hoard information, the
context required in communication (high vs low context communication, as initially
described by Hall and Hall, 1990), and the use of different formats in different settings
(e.g. oral or textual).
Also includedat this level is a different typeof factor which constrains orenables information
interactions, but which can only be circumvented by individuals or organizations with great
difficulty, andpossibly illegally. This factor relates to the capacity and capability of regional
technologicalinfrastructure, including legal and politicalgovernance issues. So, in the case of
Mainland China, a characteristic of the regional technological infrastructure will be access
controls restricting access to, for example, certain social media sites and search engines.
III
II
I
Systems
Governance
Information management skills
which can be acquired or extended
in the workplace
Value accorded to information of different types
Information preferences
Regional technological infrastructure
Figure 1.
Information culture
framework
110
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