The Electronic Records Management in E-government Strategy: Case Studies and the Implications

Electronic records management (ERM) is fundamental to good governance, business efficiency and effectiveness of e-government in networking and digital society. However, government authorities in China has faced many challenges in managing electronic records. A study of ERM in e-government strategy in other countries would be significant to support development of ERM in Chinese e-government strategy. As little is known from literature on the status of electronic records management in e-government strategy, this paper selects U.S, New Zealand and UK for case study by means of collecting and analyzing publications, laws, regulations and policies relevant to both electronic records management and e-government strategy. The author first analyzes status of ERM in e-government strategy and then discusses models and driving forces of their existences. The result of the study revealed that electronic records are managed as national assets, resources and trusted information in the e-government strategy. Driven by core business of e-government in different country, there are different approaches to ERM in e-government strategy. The implications of the study is that, to position ERM in e-government strategy, it is significant to provide a strategic approach to ERM for shared agenda by both government authorities and records management professionals. The findings intended to be of use to both the effective e-government strategy and good ERM for dynamic, interactive and proactive citizen-centered services across domains and time dimensions.