Unsubstantiated Conclusions: A Scoping Review on Generational Differences of Leadership in Academic Libraries

Abstract

The academic library profession is experiencing a large turnover in leadership. To date, information on differences in the generational expectations about how to lead is scarce and the research is contradictory. This article presents a scoping review of the literature on generational expectations of academic library leaders. Based on predefined eligibility criteria, the authors searched twelve bibliographic databases and performed a broad web search. 5,435 articles were located and considered for inclusion, however, only four eligible articles were identified and included for analysis. There is little empirical evidence that generational differences are evident in the academic library setting or in individual leadership expectations. There is a lack of original research on generational differences in leadership in libraries, however, anecdotal and opinion literature is drawing attention to this topic in ways that cannot be validated.

Generations and Generational Differences: Debunking Myths in Organizational Science and Practice and Paving New Paths Forward

“…Despite their ubiquity, a consensus is coalescing across multiple literatures that suggests that all the attention garnered by generations and generational differences (e.g., Lyons & Kuron, 2014 ; Twenge, 2010 ) has been “much ado about nothing” (see Rudolph, Rauvola, & Zacher, 2018 ; Rudolph & Zacher, 2017 ). That is to say, the theoretical assumptions upon which generational research is based have been questioned and there is little empirical evidence that generations exist, that people can be reliably classified into generational groups, and, importantly, that there are demonstrable differences between such groups that manifest and affect various work-related processes (Heyns, Eldermire, & Howard, 2019 ; Jauregui, Watsjold, Welsh, Ilgen, & Robins, 2020 ; Okros, 2020 ; Rudolph & Zacher, 2018 ; Stassen, Anseel, & Levecque, 2016 ). Indeed, a recent consensus study published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) concluded that “Categorizing workers with generational labels like ‘baby boomer’ or ‘millennial’ to define their needs and behaviors is not supported by research, and cannot adequately inform workforce management decisions…” (NASEM, 2020a ; see also NASEM, 2020b ).…”

Differences Between Senior Human Resources Managers and Young Millennials Leaders on the Perceived Required Leadership Competencies for the 21st Century

“…Surprisingly, the research shows that young millennial leaders and senior HR managers have much more in common than expected when it comes to their perception of the required leadership competencies for the 21st century [27]. The study also contradicts the idea that millennials want and expect different things from their professional lives than previous generations [34].…”

“…Up to now, the main stream of literature on generational difference in leadership tends to argue that there are significant differences between millennials and older generations on the expectation and approach to leadership [27]. Differences are due to a divergence on work values, work attitude, and psychological traits [28] shaped by differences in life experience.…”

Twenty Years of Business Information Literacy Research: A Scoping Review

“…Thus far, this method is not common in the LIS discipline, aside from the health and medical librarianship subfield. It has, however, been used to explore mentoring programs for academic librarians (Lorenzetti & Powelson, 2015), implementation of Web 2.0 services (Gardois, Colombi, Grillo, & Villanacci, 2012), individualized research consultations (Fournier & Sikora, 2015), researchers' use of social network sites (Kjellberg, Haider, & Sundin, 2016), and generational differences in library leadership (Heyns, Eldermire, & Howard, 2019).…”