Introduction

Successful implementation of technology in the workplace depends on planning, implementation, sustainability and institutionalization. It has been argued that three overlapping areas subject to rapid technological change are hardware, software and staff, and all involve costs (Cunningham, 2010). The pressures to keep up with technological developments are often perceived by staff as relentless and overwhelming, with the expectation: ‘In today's western society, technology systems in education and industry require an employee to be continually up-skilling’ (Bhati et al., 2010, 13).

Understanding the factors that influence staff response to technology improves the likelihood of desired outcomes and significant empirical investigation has been conducted over the past four decades in an attempt to explain the relationship between user attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, and eventual system use (Agarwal and Prasad, 1997; Davis, 1989; Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975; Moore and Benbasat, 1991; Rogers, 2003; Venkatesh et al., 2003). These investigations have explored a range of attributes such as age, computer proficiency, experience and attitude as indicators enabling prediction of likely technology acceptance in the workplace. The role of professional position, the subject of the research discussed here, has been demonstrated to influence how staff will approach technology implementation (Kripanont, 2007; Schaper and Pervan, 2007).

The ability of working environments to manage change is affected by the level and suitability of professional development available to staff, including effective use of resources to ensure staff are confident and competent in a changing environment (Weir, 2000). Moreover, to meet the increasing demands for technology and evidence-based competencies (Abram, 2005; Partridge, Lee and Munro, 2010), library managers require awareness of staff skills. It is with this aim that the research reported here examined the impact of professional position on staff attitudes, required skills, and preferred training methods.

Research approach

The research sought to determine whether the attribute of position influenced the likelihood of Vocational Education and Training (VET) library staff accepting and using mobile technologies within their workplace. In particular, professional position was examined in relation to four areas crucial to effective engagement with these technologies: attitude towards technology usage, required competencies in the mobile environment, required training to deliver services to mobile devices and preferred methods of training.