Electronic records management – a state of the art review

Abstract

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the state of the art in electronic records management (ERM) with the goal of identifying the prevailing research topics, gaps and issues in the field. Design/methodology/approach: First, a wide search was performed on academic research databases, limited to the period between 2008–2018. Second, the search results were reviewed for relevance and duplicates. Finally, the study sources were checked against the list of journals and conferences ranked by computing research and education and JourQual. The final sample of 55 selected studies was analyzed in depth. Findings: ERM has lost some research momentum due to being deeply embedded in affiliate information systems areas and the changing records management landscape. Additionally, the requirement models specified by Governmental/National Archives might have constrained technology innovation in ERM. A lack of application was identified for the social media research area. Research limitations/implications: Limitations were encountered in available search tool functionality and keyword confusion leading to inflated search results. While effort has been made to obtain optimal search results, some relevant articles may have been omitted. Originality/value: The last ERM state-of-the-art review was in 1997. A lot has changed since then. This paper will help researchers understand the current state of ERM research, its understudied areas and identify gaps for future studies.