Information Searching in Governmental Bureaucracies: An Integrated Model

Individual information searching has become increasingly a critical aspect of bureaucratic behavior. In this study I attempt to empirically investigate the causality among the factors involved in the bureaucratic information searching process. I test an integrated model of information searching that contains four sets of primary variables: decision makers' environment (i.e., nature of policy issues), organization, individual characteristics, and characteristics of information. Based on the conceptual model, a path model is built and tested against data about knowledge utilization and policy change in two areas of mental health policy—i.e., service provision and financing. The model provides a good fit for the data and demonstrates that decision makers' selection of information sources (e.g., internal or external sources) is directly and indirectly affected by a variety of factors and their linkages, not dominated by one set of factors (e.g., trustworthiness of sources or research methods) defined by a single perspective (e.g., organizational interest or rational actions of decision makers). The most important paths in the model are those between factors associated with information (i.e., types of information and the amount of information obtained) and information searching. These factors also play a role of intermediating mechanisms for linking other variables (e.g., content of information or demographics) to information searching. More importantly, the general pattern of the findings indicates that policy areas make a difference in bureaucratic information searching.