To identify factors which affect the acceptance of innovation in school organizations, a career development product entitled Operation Guidance (OG) was the object of a case study. Five basic organizational characteristics were used to roughly quantify attributes of the organization of the six schools studied. The characteristics were: centralization of decision-making, standardization of practices and procedures, personnel supervision, complexity of organizational structure, and staff heterogeneity. The school community was considered on three levels: attendance area, district, and State. Eight situational descriptors were chosen to characterize each school's setting: district pupil expenditure, community per capita income, community population, geographic location, eligibility for ESEA Title 1 funds, work structure of students' families, and the location of the student population. Other, less tangible, aspects were also considered. Data collection instruments were surveys, profiles, indexes, charts, and collections of selected facts. (One hundred-fifty pages describe in detail what took place in adopting OG at each of the sites and relate the procedures to the characteristics of the sites. Forty-six hypothesized generalizations are presented concerning how and what influences facilitate the adoption of system-type innovations. Appended materials include comments on instrument development, sample data collection devices, and data tables.) (AG)