Institutional Logics and Records Management Practice in Nigerian Religious Organisations: An Ethnographic Inquiry

This study conducts an ethnographic inquiry into how institutional logics shape records management practices in major Nigerian religious organisations, producing an original account of how religious authority structures, belief systems, and community accountability norms interact with professional records management principles. Nigerian religious organisations, including mega churches, Islamic educational institutions, and traditional religious bodies, manage enormous administrative, financial, and membership records, yet the information management practices within these institutions have received no scholarly attention. The research employs an institutional ethnography methodology, with the researcher conducting twenty-two months of field observation, participation, and documentary collection in four religiously diverse organisations across Lagos (Pentecostal church), Kano (Islamic University), Enugu (Catholic archdiocese), and Abuja (mixed interfaith charity). The Institutional Logics Theory, the Ethnographic Records Management Research Framework, and the Religious Organisation Theory provide the analytical architecture. The study identifies four dominant institutional logic configurations and demonstrates how each produces distinctive records management cultures, including varying attitudes toward transparency, archival preservation, and external accountability. An original Institutional Logic-Records Management Alignment Model is developed from the ethnographic findings. Recommendations target the Corporate Affairs Commission and the National Pension Commission (which regulate religious organisations). Keywords: institutional logics, records management, religious organisations, ethnography, Nigeria