A content analysis of change management strategies used in technological transitions in higher education institutions from the lens of a strategic alignment framework

Authors

  • Ingrid Guerra-López Wayne State University
  • Siba EL Dallal University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v25i3.2395

Keywords:

Strategic Alignment, Change Management, Higher Education, Institutional Effectiveness, Learning Management System (LMS) Selection, LMS implementation, LMS transition/migration

Abstract

Technology innovations have the potential to significantly strengthen the ability of higher education institutions to deliver on their core educational mission with greater quality, efficiency, and effectiveness.  Not surprisingly, managing technological changes is among the chief concerns for institutional leaders, and yet there is a dearth of research that provides concrete frameworks for managing this type of change in a higher education context.  Using Guerra-López and Hicks’s Learning and Development Strategic Alignment (LDSA) framework, this qualitative study used a directed content analysis approach to develop a contextualized framework for planning and managing technology change in higher education institutions.  The findings suggest that there is a meaningful fit between specific change management strategies found in the learning management systems (LMS) transition research literature and the LDSA framework.  The various strategies were synthesized and grouped around LDSA dimensions and core functions, resulting in a technological change management framework contextualized for higher education.

Author Biographies

Ingrid Guerra-López, Wayne State University

Interim Dean of the Graduate School & Professor of Learning Design & Technology

Dr. Ingrid Guerra-López joined Wayne State University’s Graduate School in 2019 as the Interim Dean.

She is a professor of learning design and technology in the College of Education and director of the institute for learning and performance improvement. Her research focuses on improving learning and performance effectiveness through a systems approach to analysis, design, alignment, and evaluation of training and development. Her work also incorporates the design of strategic monitoring systems and mapping of performance indicators to support decision-making and continuous improvement. She has held key leadership positions in prominent professional organizations in the field, including the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) Board of Directors, editor-in-chief of its research journal,Performance Improvement Quarterly, chair of the ISPI Research Committee, and various other key committees and task forces.

Dr. Guerra-López has written eight books, including the award-winning Partner for Performance: Strategically Aligning Learning and Development and Needs Assessment for Organizational Success, and over 100 other publications in needs assessment, performance evaluation and improvement, and strategic alignment. Throughout her career, she has advised many international development agencies globally such as the World Bank and the U.S. Agency for International Development, and worked with students, leadership, and organizations in over 35 countries disseminating evidenced-based capacity development and performance improvement practices.

She earned her Ph.D. and master's in instructional and performance systems and her undergraduate in psychology with honors from the Florida State University. She has been recognized by the Florida State University's Instructional Systems Design program for her contributions to the field, and received the distinguished Gagne/Briggs Outstanding Alumnus award in 2014.

Siba EL Dallal, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Siba El Dallal is currently a Learning and Teaching Technology consultant at the College of Literature, Science and the Arts (LSA)- University of Michigan- Ann Arbor, where she partners with LSA faculty utilizing technology to enhance teaching and learning processes.

She is a Ph.D. graduate in Learning Design and Technology program from Wayne State University. She earned two Master’s degrees in Learning Design and Technology from Wayne State University and Interdisciplinary Studies and leadership from Buffalo State University- SUNY-NY.

Prior to U-M, she was a graduate research assistant and an adjunct faculty at Wayne State University. She is extremely interested in emerging technologies in Education.

Her research work is focused on technological change management, LMS and the effective implementation of emerging technologies in education.

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Published

2021-09-01

Issue

Vol. 25 No. 3 (2021)

Section

Section II

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