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Volume 3 Issue 4 December 2005
Information- and Communication Technology (ICT) and Local Power Relationships: An Impact Assessment
Philipp Zimmermann1 and Matthias Finger2
1University of Applied Sciences Valais, Switzerland
2Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Odyssea, Switzerland
zip@hevs.ch
matthias.finger@epfl.ch
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This paper is grounded in the empirical reality of a growing use of information- and communication technologies (ICTs) in public administrations at all levels, even though we will focus here exclusively on the local level. Generally, such ICTs are being introduced in an organization in order to increase operational efficiency, quality, and transparency. Thus, most research focuses on such issues. However, besides these intended effects, the introduction of the ICTs also leads to substantial changes in the power relationships among all involved actors. Consequently, and as a result of ICT enhanced or modified operations, some of the actors will increase their power, while others will loose some of their power. So far, little research has been done on the impact of ICTs on the power relationship between the public sector and its stakeholders and the existing literature does not properly conceptualize these issues. This, however, has to be done if one does not want the public sector to loose some of its pow er when making use of ICTs.
This paper therefore studies the implications of ICTs on the changing power relationships in local administration settings. We work with a stakeholder approach and have identified, at the local level, the following relevant stakeholders of a public administration: citizens, businesses, other public administrations, politicians, parliament and justice, NGO’s / IO’s / associations, media, and, finally, employees. On the basis of our stakeholder model we will systematically analyze the change (increase/decrease) of power in the relationship between the local administration and the identified relevant stakeholders. We will finally try to assess who wins and who looses power as a result of the introduction of ICTs. As such, our paper is a contribution to further theorizing the way the public administration adapts thanks to the ICTs.
Keywords:
Information- and communication technology (ICT); local administration; power relationships; stakeholder theory; state transformation; electronic governance
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