Digitalization Of Paper-Based Enterprise Content And Workflow In A Public Sector Institution: A Developing Country Case Study

Abstract

In an attempt to go paperless, public sector institutions (PSIs) in developing countries are beginning to position themselves in a manner that drives them to implement the necessary digital technologies to achieve this aim. Enterprise Content Management (ECM) systems are one of the technologies that enhances digital transformation by managing a wide range of contents and business processes or workflows of institutions. This research sets out to understand ECM implementation and use in a developing country’s PSI. The study extends the existing knowledge on ECM systems by drawing on the interpretive case study approach and a qualitative research methodology to explore the phenomenon. In order to gain a more detailed insight on the phenomenon, this empirical strategy and the affordance theory was used as a theoretical lens to understand the subjective meanings that various stakeholders in a PSI associate to why and how a PSI in a developing country implements an ECM system and the consequences encountered. The findings revealed that the PSI implemented the ECM system to meet government directive for digital transformation, mitigate problems associated the paper-based system, and make the institution a digital workplace. The ECM system was therefore implemented to fulfil regulatory requirement and meet institutional demands and expectations. These demands and expectations originate from management, the in-house technical team and staff of the institution. In view of this, the study revealed that when there is interest especially from government and management of a PSI, cost is not seen as a hindrance in the selection of an IS so far as the system is capable of meeting stakeholders’ expectations and demands. Though the idea to select the specific ECM system originated from the in-house technical team, management had to be interested and own the idea before the system was implemented. From the findings, the ECM system went through a seven stage process. During the planning stage of the implementation, factors such as compatibility with existing systems, robustness, usefulness, user-friendliness and readily availability of support in terms of maintenance and customization were considered. Also, the system was implemented in a manner that conforms to institutional policies. As such, an on-premise data centre was opted for at the expense of the system’s cloud services. The institution is keen in making sure that its sensitive contents are protected and prevented from unauthorized access in the system. As such, the findings revealed that the institution activated authentication and authorization mechanisms by assigning access control rights to specific users of the ECM system to ensure accountability, auditability and non-repudiation of activities. Further, the findings also revealed that the usefulness and ease of use of the ECM system, vendor’s timely systems support and staff interests and readiness for digital transformation influenced the effective interaction between the users and the ECM system. Though the ECM system helped the PSI to meet government directives and mitigate majority of the paper-based system problems, it did not make the institution a complete digital workplace as some contents were still managed manually. This is due to difficulty in the admissibility of electronic contents as evidence in the country’s legal system. Also, network connectivity problem due to server failures is a constraint of the ECM system. The institution did not subscribe to the system’s online and web-based cloud services due to data protection policy so when its data centre server is down, it leads to business discontinuity unless it relies on the manual approach. These findings contribute to the body of knowledge on the implementation and use of an ECM system in a PSI. The study is unique as it delved into the full implementation of the ECM system in a developing country’s public sector perspective. This study provides an in-depth insight on ECM systems implementation in the viewpoint of a public sector institution. The study also looks at the concept of ECM systems in a digital transformation perspective. compatibility with existing systems, robustness, usefulness, user-friendliness and readily availability of support in terms of maintenance and customization were considered. Also, the system was implemented in a manner that conforms to institutional policies. As such, an on-premise data centre was opted for at the expense of the system’s cloud services. The institution is keen in making sure that its sensitive contents are protected and prevented from unauthorized access in the system. As such, the findings revealed that the institution activated authentication and authorization mechanisms by assigning access control rights to specific users of the ECM system to ensure accountability, auditability and non-repudiation of activities. Further, the findings also revealed that the usefulness and ease of use of the ECM system, vendor’s timely systems support and staff interests and readiness for digital transformation influenced the effective interaction between the users and the ECM system. Though the ECM system helped the PSI to meet government directives and mitigate majority of the paper-based system problems, it did not make the institution a complete digital workplace as some contents were still managed manually. This is due to difficulty in the admissibility of electronic contents as evidence in the country’s legal system. Also, network connectivity problem due to server failures is a constraint of the ECM system. The institution did not subscribe to the system’s online and web-based cloud services due to data protection policy so when its data centre server is down, it leads to business discontinuity unless it relies on the manual approach. These findings contribute to the body of knowledge on the implementation and use of an ECM system in a PSI. The study is unique as it delved into the full implementation of the ECM system in a developing country’s public sector perspective. This study provides an in-depth insight on ECM systems implementation in the viewpoint of a public sector institution. The study also looks at the concept of ECM systems in a digital transformation perspective.