A survey of the factors influencing the resistance of the employees of university libraries to technological changes. Study of libraries of Tehran University
| Published date | 14 November 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-02-2017-0025 |
| Date | 14 November 2017 |
| Pages | 528-546 |
| Author | Maryam Nakhoda,Samaneh Tajik |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries,Library strategy,Library promotion |
A survey of the factors
influencing the resistance of the
employees of university libraries
to technological changes
Study of libraries of Tehran University
Maryam Nakhoda and Samaneh Tajik
Faculty of Information Sciences and Knowledge Studies,
University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to study the factors influencing the resistance of the employees of
Tehran University libraries to technological changes. Through achieving this aim, it attempts to provide a
suitable understanding of these factors for the managers so that they would be able to reduce the resistance to
change among the employees of university libraries.
Design/methodology/approach –This studyis a descriptive survey in its data collectionmethod. Based on
the review of the literature, a questionnaire on resistance to technological changes was devised (Cronbach’s
αcoefficientbeing 93 percent).The questionnaire was distributedamong 128 of the employeesin the technology
section of Tehran University libraries,and the achieved data were analyzed usingan SPSS and PLS.
Findings –The findings achieved through a confirmatory factor analysis showed 11 elements of ambiguity,
threat of the current situation, habit, lack of interest, the need for relearning, unsuitable understanding,
inefficient rewarding system, emotional reactions, lack of interest understanding, inflexibility of the beliefs
and feeling of being a veteran in the organization, which influence the resistance of the employees of the
university libraries, among them the inefficient rewarding system ranks first and the unsuitable
understanding ranks last.
Originality/value –In this research, an attempt is made to identify the resistance to technological changes
shown by the employees of Tehran University libraries, which can be a guide for library managers to improve
the changing process in their libraries. Influencing factors of resistance to change which had been identified
by other research works were examined here regarding the circumstances of Tehran University Libraries.
Keywords University libraries, Technological changes, Change management, Resistance to change,
Tehran University
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Library as an organization is associated with organizational and environmental changes all
the time. A considerable body of research is conducted on organizational changes and
specifically on change management in various organizations. However, change
management in libraries is not specifically studied. In this research, a library is
considered an organization that needs a lot of changes to improve its conditions and
efficiency, similar to any other organization. Implementing such changes needs efficient and
successful management. Changes cannot always be claimed to be easily and successfully
implemented. The reason for such a difficulty is reluctance, unpreparedness, lack of
understanding and finally resistance that the employees, people and the consumers show
when encountering changes (Mirkamali, 2000). The reason that organizations resist changes
is the question inspiring people to study the reasons behind this resistance.
The success or failure of an organization depends on the success or failure of its
members in producing the goods or offering services. Thus, much attention is to be paid to
the employees of the organization. Therefore, we cannot overcome the resistance of
Library Management
Vol. 38 No. 8/9, 2017
pp. 528-546
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-02-2017-0025
Received 21 February 2017
Revised 6 June 2017
Accepted 15 June 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
528
LM
38,8/9
employees of libraries unless we consider and discuss the personal reasons and factors in
length (Quinn and Sonenshein, 2008). In this study, we specifically examine the personal
factors influencing library employees’resistance to the technological changes. Therefore,
research questions are as follows:
RQ1. What are the personal factors influencing the resistance of university libraries’
employees to technological changes?
RQ2. What are the levels of resistance to technological changes among the university
library employees?
RQ3. How are the identified personal factors influencing resistance to change rated
regarding the employees’viewpoints?
1.1 Literature review
An organization with a culture that focuses on innovation cannot afford hiring people
with a rigid mentality and who do not like changes, as the result would be devastating.
Their resistance to any change would be very high and they cannot face the continuous
challenges. In conclusion, depending on company’s culture, the management should
adjust its personnel policy and hire only employees who share the same value s. Additional
to the employees and stakeholders, the change agent, organizational culture,
organizational structure, management style, personnel policy and information system,
the economic environment also play an important role (Bradutanu, 2015). At the heart of
change management lie the change problems, that is, some future states to be realized,
some current states to be left behind, and some structured, organized process for getting
from one to the other. The change problem might be large or small in scope and scale,
and it might focus on individuals or groups, on one or more divisions or departments,
the entire organization, or one or on more aspects of the organization’s environment
(Nickols, 2016).
Resistance is an undeniable reaction towards important changes. People naturally attack
changes to defend the present situation, especially when they feel that their security and
condition are endangered. The organizational changes can muster the feeling of uncertainty
and resistance, a fact that makes improvement difficult or even impossible (Folger and
Skarlicki, 1999). Culturally, resistance is equivalent to “persistence, opposition, standing,
objection […].”However, resistance could be defined in different ways.
Zender (1950) as a pioneering researcher in this field defined resistance to change as a
behavior that aims to protect the people against the actual and fictive effects. Zaltman (1977)
defined resistance as every movement that aims to support the existing situation against the
pressures that try to change it. “Unlike pain that identifies the problem, resistance only
identifies the existence of a problem, so where resistance appears, we should search
carefully for the problem”(Abbaszadegan, 2001, p. 52).
Resistance to change is the action taken by an individual or group that perceives a
change as a threat. Employees tend to have a high inclination to change when
environmental factors present no other choice except change (Franklin and Aguenza, 2016).
Resistance is a behavioral phenomenon that appears as a rejection of or a negative reaction
towards a change or adaptation to new methods. The main reasons for this resistance
include being accustomed to the existing situation, the changes that occur in social relations
and psychological, monetary and economic reasons (Mo’ini, 1991). Mirkamali (2000) defined
resistance as the existence of any kind of standing against or reluctance towards
implementing a proposed change.
Apart from all these definitions, a general definition of resistance to change can be
proposed as “any kind of behavior or reaction that a person shows when facing the changes;
a behavior or reaction that leads to termination or slowing down of the process of changing.”
529
Study of
libraries of
Tehran
University
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