Exploring the Cultural Impacts of Electronic Work Environments in Organizations

Increasingly, implementations of information systems (IS) are providing electronic substitutions for physical structures. The evolution of the digital information age has important implications for changes in organizational culture, a concept often linked to organizational performance. While organizational culture has been researched within an IS context, the majority of studies have investigated organizational culture's impact on IS outcomes. Few studies have centered on IS's influence on organizational culture. This study aims to address this gap through investigating a library that transitioned to an electronic library environment that exclusively offers digital library resources. Using Orlikowski's structurational model of technology as a sensitizing lens and Hatch's model of cultural dynamism, the researcher will conduct a longitudinal, interpretive case study of an electronic library to build upon theory that relates IS to organizational culture transformations. The findings may serve as a sensitizing lens for practitioners whose organizations undergo similar contextual changes.