Managing Discretion at the Street Level of Information Systems Use

Information systems (IS) research has demonstrated how government IS intended for identity classification for entitlement to benefits etc. may shape and be shaped by discretion at the street level of policy implementation. However, little is known about how changes to identity categories – recategorization – inscribed into IS are shaped by discretion at street level. Such discretion may have deleterious consequences for citizens. This paper contributes to themes of social challenges and social justice by improving our understanding of how identity recategorization in government IS shapes policy implementation. Ethnographic fieldwork and interviews in India during a period of gender identity recategorization are analyzed using Street Level Bureaucracy theory. We contribute novel understanding of stereotyping and sensitization work through fieldwork analysis and a framework to conceptualize and mitigate negative effects of stereotyping citizens in recategorized identities. The paper offers practical contributions to managers, policymakers, etc., related to managing the challenges of IS recategorization.