The impact of information culture on information/records management. A case study of a municipality in Belgium
| Published date | 11 March 2014 |
| Pages | 5-21 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/RMJ-04-2013-0007 |
| Date | 11 March 2014 |
| Author | Proscovia Svärd |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance |
The impact of information culture
on information/records
management
A case study of a municipality in Belgium
Proscovia Sva
¨rd
Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine the information culture of a medium-sized
municipality in Belgium. Public information/records is/are one of the most important instruments of
citizens’ control of public authorities. The principle of Public Access gives citizens a right to access
public records, while the Privacy Act protects the integrity of the citizens. Municipalities are
institutions that intensely interact with the citizens. Therefore, the way they handle the information
that is generated during this interaction is of crucial importance to the efficient service delivery,
safeguarding the rights of the citizens that they serve and for sustaining the open governance
structure that promotes the principles of accountability and transparency.
Design/methodology/approach – The author employed a case study approach in order to
establish the attitudes and norms the organizational employees had towards the management of
information/records. She also applied the information culture assessment framework developed by
Oliver during the design of the research questions.
Findings – Information culture affects the way public information/records are managed. Though
investments are being made in information systems to facilitate the capture and management of
information/records, the people issues are equally as crucial. E-Government development will require
an information culture that promotes effective creation, use and management of information, if its goal
of efficient and transparent public administrations is to be achieved.
Originality/value – The originality of this study lies in the application of the information culture
assessment framework that was developed by Oliver. The framework facilitates the formulation of
questions using its three layers to tease out the information required by a researcher in an attempt to
draw conclusions regarding the attitudes, norms and the value the interviewees attach to
information/records.
Keywords Organizationalculture, Culture, e-Government,Information culture,
Information/records management, Record
Paper type Case study
1. Introduction
This paper examines the information culture in a medium-sized municipality in
Belgium. The way information is managed has consequences for service delivery.
Information is viewed as the currency or fuel that drives today’s organizations
(Feldman and Villars, 2006). It is dynamic, creates great value and is seen as the “glue”
that holds organizations together (Bantin, 2008). Information plays a major role for
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0956-5698.htm
The author would like to acknowledge the support of the Archivist of the Municipality where the
author carried out this research and all the participants who were willing to share their
knowledge.
Impact of
information
culture
5
Received 9 April 2013
Revised 5 November 2013
Accepted 5 November 2013
Records Management Journal
Vol. 24 No. 1, 2014
pp. 5-21
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0956-5698
DOI 10.1108/RMJ-04-2013-0007
both business purposes and democratic developments. In democratic countries it
enhances the accountability of public authorities. Municipalities are institutions that
intensely interact with the citizens. This interaction generates a lot of public
information. Therefore, the way the municipalities handle the information generated
during this interaction, is of crucial importance to the efficient delivery of services, safe
guarding the rights of the citizens that they serve, and for sustaining t heir open
governance structure. Municipalities are therefore required to create, organize,
manage, use and preserve their records according to the laws governing public
information. In Belgium, access to municipal records is guaranteed by
constitution. Article 32 of the Constitution was amended in 1993 to include a right of
access to records held by the government:
Everyone has the right to consult any administrative document and to have a copy made,
except in the cases and conditions stipulated by the laws, decrees, or rulings referred to in
Article 134[1].
There are also Public Access and Privacy Acts which promote access to public
information/records and also, protect the integrity of the individuals.
The increased demand by citizens for efficient service delivery from public sector
organizations has implications for the information that underpins those servi ces
(Torres et al., 2005). Robust and effective information management is required. To
address the need for more services and for more efficient service delivery, most
governments are promoting e-Government initiatives which have the use of
information technology at their core. The increase in the channels through which
citizens interact with the municipalities requires information and records
management strategies that will capture the information generated as well as the
records that are created through these various interactions. Information management
systems have been deployed to help with the capture, management, organization and
use of the records. “People issues” are often left out of the equation, but are proving to
be a substantial obstacle to the successful implementation of these systems (McLeod
et al., 2011). There is an assumption in some organizations that since we are all
document creators, we are equally good records managers. This assumption is not
promoting effective information management. It is argued by information culture
researchers that the attitudes, norms and the value employees of an organization put
on information all have an impact on business efficiency. This is what is referred to
as “information culture” (Ginman, 1993; Choo et al., 2008; Oliver, 2008; Douglas, 2010).
An organization is said to have a mature information culture when information
access and use is integrated into its daily activities (Curry and Moore, 2003; Douglas,
2010). Information culture is also said to be intertwined with organizational culture
(Oliver, 2011; Douglas, 2010; Choo et al., 2008). Alvesson was of the view that there is
enormous variation in the definition of the term organizational culture, and he used it
as an umbrella concept for a way of thinking which takes a serious interest in
cultural and symbolic phenomena (Alvesson, 2002). Organizational culture could
therefore mean the importance that people attach to symbolism the interpretation of
events, ideas and experiences that are influenced and shaped by the groups within
which they live. Information culture is formed and practiced in the organizations and
therefore influences the approaches organizations employ to manage their
information/records.
Davenport (1997) has argued that organizations should pay less attention to
information systems but focus more on the “people issues”. Based on my own work
RMJ
24,1
6
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