The adoption of technological innovations by municipal governments

Abstract

Data on the adoption of 43 technological innovations in four service delivery fields (fire fighting, solid waste collection and disposal, traffic control, and air polution control) were obtained from nationally representative samples of municipal governments. Principal findings are that the adoption path for many technologies corresponds to traditional S-shaped diffusion curves, the rate and extent of adoption varies within and across functional fields, prevailing views of the “archaic” nature of the technologies in use in municipal agencies are overstated, and there has been a pronounced acceleration in the rate of adoption of technological innovations in all but the solid waste field. Alternative theoretical explanations for the observed patterns of adoption are considered. A number of variables are identified, each of which has some limited empirical support. It is proposed that future studies focus on the characteristics of innovations in relation to the performance needs and operating characterisitcs of municipal agencies rather than on purported generic differences in the receptivity to technological change of private sector and public sector organizations. © 1978, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.