Abstract

This research examines the switch to teleworking due to social distancing measures during the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy. It focuses on a sample of Italian regulatory agencies that are autonomous from central government. Findings highlight that autonomy matters, meaning that teleworking in regulatory agencies has followed patterns that differ from those in place in central government. Drawing on the historical institutionalist approach, the empirical analysis shows that teleworking was already practiced in these organizations before the Covid-19 emergency. It also reveals a picture of variation in the impact of the pandemic on patterns of teleworking across regulatory agencies due to the legacy of actions undertaken in the past