| This research project looked at a managerial issue facing many organizations today: how organizations change their organizational structures in response to a major technological innovation in their industry—in this case, the growing use of electronic records in place of traditional print media. Of particular interest for this research was how this change in information technology may change the formal and informal organizational structures and relationships of archival and records management organizations—those groups who are in business to maintain, store, provide access to, and dispose of institutional records. The research asked, “What's distinctive about the management structure for handling electronic records and overseeing their management and disposition as opposed to those structures required for more traditional, print-based records?” The research involved an inductive approach using a cross-case study analysis. It compared research findings with what has been written in the relevant literature. The research applied three theoretical models-Institutional, Contingency, and Social Interaction Theories-to two real agencies.; Empirical research showed that the introduction of electronic records precipitated changes in formal structures regarding vertical complexity and horizontal differentiation. Perhaps the most significant change, however, involved informal structures. This was indicated by decentralization of authority, alliance building, and boundary spanning management techniques. The theoretical concept of “loose coupling” was found to be common and supports the decentralization of authority.; Finally, the research found that archival agencies facing environmental changes are better protected from uncertainty by being placed lower in the formal structural hierarchy, by having more alliances across the organization, and by being more proximate spatially to their constituents. Structuration theory, with its emphasis on the unique social relations within each organization, was found to have the most explanatory power for this study. |
