Identifying Higher Education Employee Experiences Using a Diffusion of Innovations Checklist Planning for Knowledge Management Implementation: A Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenology study was to understand the experiences of higher education employees planning to implement knowledge management through utilizing a diffusion of innovations checklist. Knowledge management is generally defined as the process of creating, sharing, using, and managing the knowledge and information of an organization. The theory guiding this study was the diffusion of innovations by Everett M. Rogers, as it provided a clear and comprehensive model of the stages of change and knowledge management implementation. The research questions sought to understand the experiences of ten higher education employees utilizing the diffusion of innovations checklist within the context of knowledge management in addition to how utilizing the checklist compared to previous change management efforts. The primary data collection strategies employed document collection, journaling, interviewing, and a focus group. Consistent with Saldaña’s methods, a pattern-matching analysis was undertaken, including familiarizing the data, open coding followed by axial coding, generating initial themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and completing the write-up. The main theme findings were experiences related to the effectiveness of the checklist, institutional compatibility of the innovation, stakeholder buy-in, innovation training, resistance to an innovation, and the use of knowledge management.