The impact of ICTs on local power relationships

This paper is grounded in the empirical reality of a growing use of the ICTs in public administrations. Generally, informationand communication technologies (ICTs) are being introduced in an organization in order to increase operational efficiency, quality, and transparency. But, besides these intended effects, the introduction of the ICTs also leads to substantial changes in the power relationships among all involved actors. This paper therefore studies the implications of ICTs on the changing power relations in local public administration settings.