Evaluation of how librarians impact the knowledge economy through relationship development

1. October 12, 2018
Shola Ajiboye
Alexis Rittenberger
Entrepreneurial Librarians
and the Knowledge Economy:
An Entrepreneurial Relationship
Development (ERD) Perspective
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2. Outline
 Knowledge economy defined
 Socio-cultural changes
 Transformational librarians
 Librarians and entrepreneurial capabilities
 ERD as a necessary capability for Librarians
 Implications for practice
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3. Agent of Change: The Knowledge Economy
Knowledge Economy
Information and Communications
Technology Infrastructure
OpenInnovation
Education
Knowledge
Management
Creativity
(White, Gunasekaran, & Ariguzo, 2013)
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4. Librarians: Traditional Roles
 Before the “Internet of Things” librarians
• Vetted information
• Provided physical access (Rowlands et al., 2008)
• Guided patrons to information
 Responsibilities consisted of the organization and
maintenance of information
 Substantiated through anecdotal information and
personal accounts (Wiegand, 2015)
 Supporters of local community needs / interests
(Montague, 2015)
 Agents of social justice (Wiegand, 1999)
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5. Librarians: Incremental Changes
 After the “Internet of Things” (Ashton, 2011)
• The rise of the information professional
(Shu & Mongeon, 2016)
 Development of the knowledge economy
through disruptive opportunities. (Shapiro,
2016)
• Maker movement
• Collaborations across institutional types
(for-profit and non-profit)
 Adoption of a culture of creativity
 Agents of global social justice
“what is relevant is the
imagination and skill of
whoever applies
[knowledge], rather than the
sophistication or newness of
the information”
(Drucker, 1969, p.269)
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6. Problem of Practice
 Knowledge economy (KE) drives growth and entrepreneurial
competitiveness throughout the world.
 Socio-cultural changes (SC) are taking placing at a faster pace
than ever before.
 Institutions, such as libraries that support the KE and
proactively move along and ahead of SC are highly valued.
 However, despite the fact that the field of library and
information science has traditionally embodied and
supported the KE and SC, librarians are yet to fully grasp
their entrepreneurial capacity to grow, evolve and lead as
drivers of the KE and SC.
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7. The Entrepreneurial Librarians
 Intrapreneurs/Entrebrarians (Entrepreneurs + Librarians)
• Pursuers of ‘opportunity beyond the resources’ they currently control –
(Gumpert and Stevenson, 1985; Stevenson, 2000)
• Develops entrepreneurial orientation (innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-
taking – autonomous, competitive aggressiveness)
 Strategic
• Opportunities
• Threats
 Entrepreneurship
• Partnerships
• Opportunities
• Resources
• Performance (growth, cutting costs, meeting goals, etc.)
• Navigating the environment
 ERD as a necessary capability for Librarians
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8. Entrepreneurial Relationship Development
(Ajiboye, Salipante & Lyytinen, 2018)
 One engine that drives entrepreneurial activities is a combination of
the strategy and process that entrepreneurs use to engage new
partners and resources or maintain existing partners or resources as
part of their growth strategy.
 This requires the capacity of entrepreneurs to engage in various
information behaviors and interactive practices.
 Entrepreneurial relationship development (ERD) is defined here as a
combination of strategy and process that entrepreneurs use to
perceive, organize, implement, engage and maintain relationships
with a variety of stakeholders for the purposes of increasing
entrepreneurial activity and enabling better outcomes.
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9. Research Motivation
No research has been done on the connection between the
entrepreneurial capabilities of librarians and, the knowledge
economy and socio-cultural changes in the community.
Therefore, this research attempts to:
1. Understand the entrepreneurial relational capability of
librarians
2. Provide concrete evidence on the value of ERD to
librarians
3. Look at the ways librarians’ ERD enhances knowledge
economy and socio-cultural changes.
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10. Research Question
What components of ERD do librarians use to support
and enhance the knowledge economy and socio-
cultural changes?
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11. Theoretical Framework
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12. Theoretical Framework
 Social Exchange Theory (Blau, 1964; Homans, 1974; Emerson, 1976)
 Interactive Approach (Håkansson and Waluszewski, 2013)
 Relational Capability (Nussbaum, 2011)
 Information Behaviors (Ajiboye, 2018)
 Interactive Practices (Ajiboye, 2018)
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13. Research Model
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14. Methods
 Sample & Data Collection
 Data examination
 Measures
• 5 latent constructs with their observed variables
• Q-Sort and Pre-test
• 52 items including five items for social desirability
• Self-administered survey on Qualtrics online
 Data analysis
• Dataset was submitted to an EFA using IBM’s SPSS version 25
• Evaluated the psychometric properties of five latent constructs in one CFA
using IBM’s AMOS version 25.
• To test the mediation effects, we performed a bootstrap, setting the
samples at 5,000 percentile, confidence intervals at 95 and bias
corrected confidence at 95.
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15. Sample – State Representation
Unrepresented States
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• North Dakota
• Nebraska
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Wyoming
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16. Library Type
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17. Years of Service
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18. Age
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19. Gender
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20. Level of Education
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21. Methods
 Sample & Data Collection
 Data examination
 Measures
• 5 latent constructs with their observed variables
• Q-Sort and Pre-test
• 52 items including five items for social desirability
• Self-administered survey on Qualtrics online
 Data analysis
• Dataset was submitted to an EFA using IBM’s SPSS version 25
• Evaluated the psychometric properties of five latent constructs in one CFA
using IBM’s AMOS version 25.
• To test the mediation effects, we performed a bootstrap, setting the
samples at 5,000 percentile, confidence intervals at 95 and bias corrected
confidence at 95.
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22. Preliminary Findings
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23. Result of Hypothesis
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Hypothese
s #
Variables
Relationships
Direct Effects Hypotheses
H1a IB -> RC 0.65*** Supported
H1b IB -> SC -0.15 Not Supported
H1c IB -> KE -0.12 Not Supported
H2a IP -> RC 0.55* Supported
H2b IP -> SC 0.14 Supported
H2c IP -> KE 0.41 Supported
H3a RC -> SC 0.52** Supported
H3b RC -> KE 0.57* Supported
Note: * p < .05. ** < .01. *** p < .001
Direct Effects of Variables

24. Result of Hypothesis
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Mediation: Direct, Indirect and Total Effects of Variables
Hypothe
ses #
Variables Relationships Direct
Effects
Indirect
Effects
Total
Effects
Hypotheses
H4a IB -> SC through RC -0.15 0.34 0.19 Supported
H4b IB -> KE through RC -0.12 0.37 0.25 Supported
H5a IP -> SC through RC 0.14 0.02 0.16 Supported
H5b IP -> KE through RC 0.41 0.03 0.44** Supported
Note: * p < .05. ** < .01. *** p < .001

25.  Small sample size
 Biases that may be caused by social desirability
Limitations
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26. Discussion
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27.  Managerial:
o Opportunities for continuing education programs
o Greater applicability of performance assessment
o New measurements for community contributions
 Practitioner:
o Provide insight into the ways librarians can be
embedded in global and local communities
o Encourage librarians to “take a chance”
Practical Applications
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28. We want to hear from you
The measurement tool is still open. We welcome you to participate.
https://cwru.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5nIwt3sWL8ZXfnL
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29. Select References
Ajiboye, S., Lyytinen, K. & Salipante, P. (2018). Designing entrepreneurial relationship development for
passion and action: The roles of information behavior and interactive practices (Quantitative
Research Report). Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. London: John Wiley.
Drucker, P. F. (1969). The age of discontinuity: guidelines to our changing society. New York: Harper & Row.
Emerson, R. M. (August 01, 1976). Social Exchange Theory. Annual Review of Sociology, 2, 1, 335-362.
Håkansson, H., & Waluszewski, A. (April 01, 2013). A never ending story — Interaction patterns and
economic development. Industrial Marketing Management, 42, 3, 443-454.
Homans, G. C., & Merton, R. K. (1974). Social behavior: Its elementary forms. New York: Harcourt.
Nussbaum, M. C. (2011). Creating capabilities: The human development approach. Cambridge, Mass:
Belknap.
White, D. S., Gunasekaran, A., & Ariguzo, G. C. (2013). The structural components of a knowledge-
based economy. International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 7(4), 504–518.
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