Rethinking Theoretical Assumptions of the Discourses of the Institutional Repository Innovation Discipline

Abstract

In this paper we evaluate the theoretical assumptions of the discourses of the institutional repository (IR) innovation discipline. We argue that current theoretical assumptions of the discipline are limiting. We then propose that a new theoretical assumption that sees IR stakeholders as rational social actors is likely to aid the emergence of new insights in the IR discipline. To achieve our aim, we adopted insights in the institutional theory, social shaping of technology theory and stakeholders theory. We used insights in these three theories to propose a new theoretical assumption for the IR innovation discipline. The proposed theoretical assumption is vital because it explicates the importance of identifying IR stakeholders and how their everyday life realities lead to the construction of institutions which inform their concepts of IR and assumptions about how it should be innovated. We conclude that the theoretical assumption that evolved in this study is helpful to the IR community in two ways. First it provides the community with new constructs and concepts that are useful for empirical studies on IR innovation. Second, it facilitates the development of a model that explains how to overcome practical IR innovation barriers. From a wider perspective, our study supports socio-technical oriented approaches to investigating and implementing IR innovation.