Edinburgh Napier University

  Introduction. The use of information in the workplace is an established topic in information science research (Weiner, 2011). The focus has often fallen on the development of skills in the workplace. Specifically, the relationship between information literacy and the development of generic workplace competencies (Banek Zorica, Spiranec, & Biskupic, 2014) and the relationship between information behaviour and innovation (Hauschildt, 1996) have been explored. However, there has been little research on the behaviour and use of information in the development of innovative work behaviour through workplace learning.
Method. 33 interviews and 8 focus groups were carried out on employees at a Scottish University to explore the relationship between information behaviour and its use in how employees learn to innovate.
Analysis. Thematic analysis was used to highlight themes that emerged from analysis of the interview and focus group data. Results were directed solely by participants’ responses.
Results. Three main findings emerged from the analysis of the data: (1) information literacy is a key contributing factor to the initiation of workplace learning; (2) information sources are important in workplace learning. The most commonly used sources are external information internal databases and people; (3) the ease of information access and information sharing are enablers of workplace learning.
Conclusion. The use of information in workplace learning contexts depends highly on the type of learning taking place and knowledge needed for specific tasks. These results are important to help academics and practitioners understand the complexity of the relationship between information behaviour and learning to innovate.