Trust in Electronic Records-keeping Systems among selected Botswana Parastatals

Abstract

Electronic records are essential for efficacy in organisational services. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that employees’ behaviour regarding trust in a records-keeping system is sustained. Trust in electronic records-keeping systems is essential to guarantee the utilisation of the system used by the organisation. This is because a lack of trust in the systems can be detrimental to organisational records-keeping practices. This study examined the extent of employees’ trust in electronic records-keeping systems used by selected parastatals in Botswana using the Information Culture Assessment Framework. The study adopted a mixed-method approach. The target population comprised 139 respondents and 106 employees from the three parastatals that participated. For sampling, the study adopted a list-based random sampling technique that was employed to select participants for the online questionnaire. A questionnaire link was sent to 133 randomly selected participants, of whom 101 responded to the survey, yielding a 76% response rate. Five interviews out of the six targeted respondents were conducted with records managers’ and chief executive officers’ representatives. The study findings elicited differing sentiments concerning trust in electronic records-keeping management systems. However, the study’s main finding was that there was generally a lack of trust in electronic records-keeping management systems. Furthermore, the findings revealed a lack of satisfaction with the records-keeping systems in the selected parastatals.