Revealing reasons behind non-compliant behavior on paperless office: causes and recommended solutions

Abstract

Motivation: We are living in a digital world. Digitization not only influences many aspects of people’s lives but also changes the way businesses function. There has been an increasing trend where organizations attempt to remove paper out of business processes to enhance efficiency and productivity. As a result, paperless office was born. During this revolutionary transformation, companies often face non-compliant behavior: people tend to resist the change and stick with paper-based processes.

Research objectives: Ultimately, the thesis aims to explore and categorize underlying reasons of non-compliant (maverick) behavior concerning the paperless office context. Furthermore, based on the categorization of maverick behaviors, the researcher proposes recommended solutions to handle these issues.

Methodology: The research has been conducted as a single case study in a Finnish beverage exporting company. Previous literature (inertia, maverick behaviors, habit, paperless office, change management) has been extensively reviewed to establish a strong theoretical foundation. Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was the primary research method. The process of data collection and data analysis have been completed accordingly to guidelines for a high-quality, reliable and ethical research.

Research outcome: The thesis has successfully accomplished intended objectives. The research findings have validated six main forms of maverick behavior from previous literature into a new setting: the paperless office. These forms and causes include: unintentional (lacking awareness and understanding), forced reasons (governmental regulations, lacking the ability to use new systems), casual reasons (working habits, personal preferences), well-intended (misperception of benefits of existing systems, intention to benefit companies), ill-intended (deliberate resistance, intention to benefit itself), as well as socially-influenced (an individual’s behavior in the paperless office is influenced by other co-workers). Finally, various realistic solutions have been suggested, for instance: effective communication plans, mutual agreement among team members, collaborations between different departments, tracking amount of paper usage, small competition and incentives.