From street-level to screen-level bureaucracy: Front-line public servants’ recordkeeping behaviours in ICT-enabled agencies

<p>Recordkeeping is a ubiquitous task within the public sector: public agencies rely on evidence of activities, in the form of public records, to coordinate activities, track resources, establish precedents, monitor performance as well as maintain consistency and continuity. Many public servants are responsible for recordkeeping; however, to date, little is known about the recordkeeping behaviours of these individuals, particularly about the recordkeeping behaviours of public servants who interact with members of the public on a daily basis.  The purpose of this study is to explore the recordkeeping behaviours of New Zealand front-line public servants within ICT-enabled state sector agencies to understand these behaviours and their associated governance implications. This inductive study began with multiple case studies that sought to explore the recordkeeping behaviours of front-line public servants. The second data collection phase involved a series of qualitative focus group interviews that explored the wider implications of the case studies, with the specific focus on understanding the governance implications. The empirical data was reviewed, drawing on the three theoretical concepts that established the analytical lens for this study: recordkeeping informatics, personal information management strategies, and the influencing factors on front-line public servants’ decision-making behaviours.  Findings from this study suggest that front-line public servants have varying degrees of discretion to perform recordkeeping behaviours. A key outcome of this research is the identification of factors that influence the recordkeeping behaviours of front-line public servants: personal characteristics, organisational characteristics and the broader community.</p>