Annexes

Annex 1

Interview questions

How long have you been in your current position? How many years of top level leadership experience do you have?

  1. Identify a strategic change that you have brought into your library in past three years

  2. Describe your process for making this type of decisions and forming a plan of action.

  3. What kind of idea generating methods do you use?

  4. What is the most important thing when it comes to strategic decision making?

  5. Who or what out of these three is the most important influential factor in strategic decision making: stakeholder, client or environment?

  6. Do you use outside sources in order to make strategic decisions? If yes, what or who?

  7. Do you use evidence, facts or figures in strategic decision-making process? Explain.

  8. What sources have proved to be most effective when making strategic decisions?

  9. How much do you follow forerunner’s strategic decision-making process/style?

  10. Do you find you make better decisions alone or with a group, explain?

  11. How does the importance and intensity of the situation affect your decision-making process?

  12. What methods do you use to predict clients’ behaviour/feedback and environmental change that will influence strategic planning?

  13. Making strategic decisions can be unpopular, when pushing through strategic decisions who else influences the decision and how early in the process you include them?

  14. Can you recount an occasion where you had to choose between equally great options to accomplish a single goal? Explain your thought process.

  15. Have you ever been in a situation when you were forced to make a strategic decision? Explain.

  16. What is the least important thing in strategic decision-making?

Annex 2

Coding

Identify a strategic change that you have brought into your library in past three years.

Q1A Staff changes
Q1BService/operational changes
Q1CFacilities/building
Q1DMajor cuts

Describe your process for making this type of decisions and forming a plan of action.

Q2A Phase by phase
Q2B International input
Q2CUniversity
Q2D Library development plan
Q2E User needs
Q2FStaff needs
Q2G Operational/service developments
Q2HDevelop itself
Q2I Evaluation tools

What kind of idea generating methods do you use?

Q3A Ideas just come
Q3BOutside reference/conferences
Q3C One solution to many problems
Q3D Experience
Q3E Customer trends
Q3F Predictions
Q3G Brainstorming
Q3H Open discussions
Q3I Impact-value

What is the most important thing when it comes to strategic decision making?

Q4AClear vision/goal
Q4B Be great
Q4C Don’t know
Q4D Impact/benefit for the university
Q4E Writing things down

Who or what out of these three is the most important influential factor in strategic decision making: stakeholder, client or environment?

Q5A Stakeholder
Q5B Client

Do you use outside sources in order to make strategic decisions? If yes, what or who?

Q6A Yes
Q6B No

Do you use evidence, facts or figures in strategic decision-making process? Explain.

Q7A Data/statistics
Q7B Customer information
Q7C Economy/budgets
Q7D Electronic resources
Q7E Reports/predictions

What sources have proved to be most effective when making strategic decisions?

Q8A Stakeholder/client feedback
Q8B Outside statistics/markets
Q8C Colleagues
Q8D University/library analytics
Q8E No specific resource

How much do you follow forerunner’s strategic decision-making process/style?

Q9A Yes
Q9B No
Q9C Somewhat

Do you find you make better decisions alone or with a group, explain?

Q10A Group
Q10B Alone

How does the importance and intensity of the situation affect your decision-making process?

Q11A Decide faster
Q11B I don’t like this
Q11C Makes it easier
Q11D Try to get extra time

What methods do you use to predict clients’ behaviour/feedback and environmental change that will influence strategic planning?

Q12A International analogs
Q12B Other sectors
Q12C Customer feedback
Q12DEnvironment analysis
Q12E University
Q12F repared to change
Q12GQualitative/quantitative data

When pushing through strategic decisions who else influences the decision and how early in the process do you include them?

Q13A Early
Q13B All people to commit
Q13C Alone, take responsibility
Q13D Smaller influential group

Can you recount an occasion where you had to choose between equally great options to accomplish a single goal? Explain your thought process.

Q14AYes
Q14B No
Q14C Maybe

Have you ever been in a situation when you were forced to make a strategic decision? Explain.

Q15A Yes
Q15B No

What is the least important thing in strategic decision making?

Q16AEmotions
Q16B Everybody’s opinion
Q16C Tomorrow’s profit
Q16D Don’t think about it
Q16E Be neutral
Q16F Past tries/legacy