This study addressed technological change in the core processes of teaching and learning in U. S. state universities in the decade from 2003-2012. Institutions of higher education in the U. S. have faced dramatically complex and rapidly changing operating environments. In response to these conditions, institutions of higher education have recognized, adapted to, and adopted new technologies in their core organizational processes. Technological advances have created the possibility that those core processes of teaching and learning in higher education may occur as e-learning, rather than exclusively based in interactions in face-to-face classroom settings. Recent developments in stakeholder theory focus on identifying and understanding the nature, range, and intricacy of organizational relationships. The study showed that stakeholder theory, although created to explain behavior in the private sector, can also be effective in explain behavior in the public sector. Stakeholder theory was used to explain how public institutions of higher education interact with their environments, providing an effective structure for organizing information about systems of complex relationships. The research used an evidence-based research process, analyzing published works that considered instance of institutional adoption of e-learning. Three primary findings were generated. First, in addition to relationships in the generally accepted primary and secondary stakeholder categories, hybrid market relationships were found. Second, in the absence of the profit motive, legitimacy takes prominence over power and urgency in defining stakeholder salience. Third, interactive stakeholder processes are best described in terms both of stakeholder engagement and path dependence, not solely in terms of stakeholder engagement. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]