The corporate digital divide: Determinants of internet adoption

Arbeitspapier

This paper shows how organizational, technical, and environmental factors affected firm decisions to adopt Internet technologies during the early years of the commercialization of the Internet. Organizations that had made prior investments in client/server networks had a higher likelihood of Internet adoption, however investments in proprietary or platform-specific client/server technologies raised the cost of switching from legacy systems. Small firms and those that were geographically concentrated were less likely to adopt. The study shows that organizations commonly adopted access and intranet technologies together, and suggests that low adaptation costs characterized the rapid diffusion of these early Internet technologies.

Object Details

• ISBN: 9291903035
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: WIDER Discussion Paper ; No. 2002/89

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights: General ; Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives ; Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
• Subject: technological change ; diffusion ; Internet ; adoption ; Technischer Fortschritt ; Internet ; Intranet ; Innovationsmanagement ; Digital Divide

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Forman, Christopher
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)
• (where): Helsinki
• (when): 2002

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/52859
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET