Linda Wilkins

Achieved and tangible benefits: lessons learned from a landmark EDRMS implementation

Purpose – Entering the twenty‐first century, burgeoning information management needs in both the private and public sectors are pushing adoption of automated records management systems. Electronic Document and Records Management Systems (EDRMS) are evolving as the most likely solution. Despite this trend, relatively few published accounts of e‐records implementations exist that present achieved and measurable benefits. This paper seeks to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach – The authors highlight a set of workflow driven strategies that required considerable managerial and financial investment. Findings – The case study shows just how crucial it is for any organisation to bring with it the people and the processes involved in the creation, management and maintenance of records and information, if a centralised approach is to work over the longer term.Practical implications – The detailed nature of the investigation also serves to highlight a set of well‐documented IT strategies for records m...

Mustering Consent: Government-Sponsored Virtual Communities and the Incentives for Buy-in

The global trend to electronic service delivery (ESD) by governments can include the sponsorship of virtual communities that create value and become places where people, content, and communication come together around a need {4}, enabling government agencies to extend their traditional service-provision role. Implementation is sometimes problematic, however, and understanding the implementation process is crucial to the success of such virtual communities. This paper reports a case study of a virtual community (an on-line export-documentation system) that links government and business. The study employs Bijkers framework to conceptualize the process of defining the technical standard and implementing the documentation system {2}. Diffusion effects shaped the implementation and influenced participant responses, illustrating Bijkers argument that an artifact or product demonstrates interpretive flexibility before it stabilizes {2}.

Organizational Factors in the Diffusion of an Industry Standard: Implementing an Online Documentation System for Australian Exporters

At present, governments in many countries are actively engaged in the development of electronic trading and certification standards to enable the smooth operation of export markets. Standards and their usability underpin confidence in the operations of markets and their effective functioning. In institutional markets, an important role for government agencies lies in developing the initial specifications for standards for interoperable systems. Once these specifications are accepted, governments can then facilitate the eventual diffusion of a standard to the B2B marketplace. Acceptance of an industry standard can determine demand, which defines the viability of that market. In this paper, we describe an initiative by a government agency, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS), in developing EXDOC, a standard for export documentation and the role that AQIS played in its implementation and diffusion. Our case study illustrates a successfully facilitated B2G implementation. It demonstrates how a standard can be supported and promulgated for the effective functioning of markets in the transition from manual to online export documentation. Once the overarching specifications for related industries have been established and diffused by government, opportunities arise for private sector markets to develop across these industries. Government agencies can promote the effective operation of standards for electronic markets. The EXDOC implementation and its iterations provide an exemplar of active engagement in the development of electronic trading and certification standards for an institutional market. Its successful diffusion provides a model of the implementation process for other export sectors and agencies.