Technology and Institutional Change:
This important study brings institutional theory and the adoption of
Internet technologies by the modern state into sharper focus than any
previous work. The "Virtual State" is one in which networked,
computerized information systems and interorganizational networks
rather than bureaucratic agencies increasingly become the locus of
government. The book integrates a vast amount of theoretical work
from several disciplines to formulate an analytic framework and
provides three very interesting case studies in the development of
"virtual agencies." The seven propositions that constitute a
summation of the theoretical material are clear, intelligent, and
thought-provoking. The prose is spare but not simple, and the
endnotes are rich and detailed. This pathbreaking study clears away
much nonsense about information technology in government
organizations and gives future researchers in a number of fields an
intellectual framework with which to begin to understand significant
future events. One can only hope that practitioners and policy
analysts read this book as the war on terrorism proceeds and agencies
are increasingly forced to deal with Internet technologies.
Fountain has been at the forefront of development of the new field of
global technology and governance. The National Center for Digital
Government, founded and led by Fountain, is the pre-eminent research center
in the world to focus on global information and communications technology,
institutions, and governance. The Center's mission is to build global
research capacity, to advance practice, and to strengthen the network of
researchers engaged in the analysis, development, use, and implications of
information and communication technology and government.
