Information culture and information use: An exploratory study of three organizations

  • Authors:

  • Chun Wei Choo;Pierrette Bergeron;Brian Detlor;Lorna Heaton

  • Affiliations:

  • Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto, 140, St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 3G6;Ecole de bibliotheconomie et des sciences de l'information, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada H3C 3J7;DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4M4;Department of Communication, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada, H3C 3J7

  • Venue:
  • Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
  • Year:
  • 2008

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Abstract

This research explores the link between information culture and information use in three organizations. We ask if there is a way to systematically identify information behaviors and values that can characterize the information culture of an organization, and whether this culture has an effect on information use outcomes. The primary method of data collection was a questionnaire survey that was applied to a national law firm, a public health agency, and an engineering company. Over 650 persons in the three organizations answered the survey. Data analysis suggests that the questionnaire instrument was able to elicit information behaviors and values that denote an organization's information culture. Moreover, the information behaviors and values of each organization were able to explain 30–50% of the variance in information use outcomes. We conclude that it is possible to identify behaviors and values that describe an organization's information culture, and that the sets of identified behaviors and values can account for significant proportions of the variance in information use outcomes. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.