Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the adoption and use of electronic document and records management system (EDRMS) in the public service in Namibia and Zimbabwe with the aim of establishing barriers and enablers, and best practices which each country could adopt from the other. Design/methodology/approach This multi-case study was informed by an interpretivist paradigm. Qualitative in nature, the study applied face-to-face interviews as the data collection method, supplemented by documents analysis. The study population was Namibia and Zimbabwe’s public sectors with units of analysis, being the governments’ ministries, offices and agencies which have implemented EDRMS. Findings The paper provides the state of EDRMS implementation in Namibia and Zimbabwe. It establishes how the two countries have implemented EDRMS and factors that have contributed to the success/failure of the implementation in both countries. Originality/value The paper is a response to the need for further research studies on the implementation of EDRMS in various countries.

In recent years, there has been a surge of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the conduct of business. Public sector institutions in Zimbabwe have also embraced ICTs with an objective of promoting accountability, transparency and service delivery. This has increased the generation of digital records which are key in day-to-day business activities. However, the management of such records has been a challenge for most public sector institutions in most countries including Zimbabwe. Despite embracing ICTs, there have not been many changes to create a favourable environment for managing the resultant digital records. The findings reported in this research article were part of a broader study on the management of digital records in selected financial services parastatals in Zimbabwe. The study utilised the digital curation centre (DCC) curation lifecycle model as the theoretical framework of the study. This multiple case study research adopted a qualitative research approach to collect data from four purposively selected financial services parastatals in Zimbabwe using interviews, document analysis and observation as data collection tools. The study established that the financial services parastatals under investigation still lack requisite tools such as policies, guidelines and standards, adequate infrastructure and skilled manpower for effective and efficient management of digital records. In addition, the National Archives of Zimbabwe (NAZ), which has the legal mandate of regulating records management, has not been sufficiently involved in the management of digital records due to the lack of a legal and professional framework. Therefore, the study recommends the crafting of in-house policies and guidelines for managing digital records, procurement of adequate infrastructure and the recruitment of skilled and experienced manpower, if an enabling environment for the effective and efficient management of digital records is to be created.