Creative Education, 2015, 6, 186-203 Published Online February 2015 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/ce http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ce.2015.62017 How to cite this paper: Hariri, A., & Roberts, P. (2015). Adoption of Innovation within Universities: Proposing and Testing an Initial Model. Creative Education, 6, 186-203. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ce.2015.62017 Adoption of Innovation within Universities: Proposing and Testing an Initial Model Abdulrahman Hariri 1 , Paul Roberts 2 1 Quality Management, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 2 Warwick Manufacturing Group, The University of Warwick, Coventry, UK Email: aaahariri@kau.edu.sa , Paul.Roberts@warwick.ac.uk Received 17 January 2015; accepted 5 February 2015; published 10 February 2015 Copyright © 2015 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Abstract This study discusses the need for improvement and innovation in universities so they can effec- tively serve students and stay ahead in competition. Many technologies and innovations are al- ready being used in universities. However, in order to diffuse or spread technologies or innova- tions effectively, it is important to understand the reasons leading to the adoption of technologies and innovations in universities. Based on a number of established theories and models on innova- tion and technology adoption and acceptance, this study proposes a theoretical model that helps explain the factors responsible for innovation adoption within universities. Measures for the study were adopted from previous studies, and an online questionnaire was used. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to test and better understand the underlying structure of the proposed model. Reliability and validity of the proposed model were also examined. The in- itially proposed model seems to help in explaining the adoption of innovations within universities and is of value to researchers when investigating adoption within universities. Keywords Innovation Adoption, Innovation, Higher Education, Technology Adoption 1. Introduction 1.1. Innovation in Higher Education Universities within the United Kingdom are facing many issues and challenges including the demands for ac- countability, conflicting demands of teaching and research, budget cuts, rapidly changing environment, advance- ments in technology, and many more. These issues and challenges have impacted the staff members’ ability to develop, improve and innovate and have thus restricted innovation within universities (Hariri & Roberts, 2014).