Abstract

In the last decade, governments and public sectors have dealt with new information and communication technologies and the so-called "information society" in two main ways. First, they have developed the e-government framework for the development and the delivering of electronic public services. Secondly, they have funded several projects related to information society development. Thus, over time, public institutions have become significant figures of the information society. At the same time, scholars from several social and political studies domains have debated whether and to what extent technologies induce change in political processes and public institutions. The aim of this article is to contribute to this debate by analysing the sociological and political contents of the so-called "institutional vision" of information society. The focus is on relevant pathways and the institutional behaviours that have shaped this vision in Southern Italian Regions. The method used combines the analysis of data related to regional public investments in information society actions during the 2000-2005 period and in-depth interviews with regional stakeholders.