Investigating Readiness for Acceptance of Change for the Adoption of Blackboard LMS at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study applies the theory of Readiness for Organizational Change (Holt et al., 2007) with respect to the Learning Management System (LMS) such as Blackboard. Widely adopted in organizational environments, this theory discusses four types of antecedents: content, process, context and individual differences in order to determine behavioral patterns in change recipients. Based on prior studies, and modifying Holt et al’s model, this paper created a Model for Readiness for Acceptance of Change (MRAC) to meet the requirements of implementing the Blackboard LMS at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University (PSAU), Saudi Arabia. This paper studied three variables: readiness for acceptance for change, change beliefs and resistance to change. 340 respondents, male and female, comprising Faculty and students PSAU from all schools and levels, participated in this study. A questionnaire was prepared to collect data. SPSS software was used to analyze the data. The results suggested that readiness or acceptance for change is a multidimensional variable influenced by factors such as context, change beliefs, individual differences and resistance to change. The results also suggested that respondents were aware of the usefulness of a change, their beliefs were stronger but they lacked readiness for that change.