Perception and Adoption of Change Management in Information Institutions: A Study from Croatia

Abstract

AbstractThis paper explores the way in which professional staff employed in information institutions perceive changes and different aspects of change management. The research focuses on Croatian libraries, museums and archives, as public and non-profit organizations. The influence of five background variables (institution, gender, age, level of education, and position) was examined in the analysis. The results show that professionals are only partially satisfied with the changes in their institutions. The type of institution they work in, and the position in the management structure proved to be strong predictors of differences in satisfaction ratings. Factor analysis has revealed three factors: change management mechanisms, impact of change on users and local community, and importance and necessity of change. These factors represent the underlying constructs of the professional staff’s perceptions of change and change management. With respect to the background variables, employees generally have similar attitudes toward the latent factors. They are aware that change is important and that well managed changes improve effectiveness and efficiency. However, from their responses, it is clear that change management is not performed properly. Based on the extracted factors, the survey subjects are classified into four clusters. The study highlights some critical areas of change management in information institutions. Since theory and practice of change management in such organizations have been largely disregarded, the paper contributes to a better understanding of these issues.