INTERNET DIFFUSION AMONG ITALIAN FIRMS: THE DIGITAL DIVIDE EXISTS

Maurizio Martinelli, Irma Serrecchia, Michela Serrecchia

2005

Abstract

The digital divide can occur either as a “local” (within a given country) or “global” (between developing and industrialized countries) phenomenon. Our study intends to offer an important contribution by analyzing the digital divide in Italy and the factors contributing to this situation at the territorial level (i.e., macroareas: North, Center, South and at the regional level). To do this, we used the registration of Internet domains under the “.it” ccTLD as proxy. In particular, we analyzed domain names registered by firms. The analysis produced interesting results: the distribution of domains registered by firms in Italian regions is more concentrated than the distribution according to income and population, suggesting a diffusive effect. Furthermore, when analyzing the factors that contribute to the presence of a digital divide at the regional level, regression analysis was performed using social, economic and infrastructure indicators. Results show that Italian provinces that have good productive efficiency, a high cultural level, and greater spending for investment in telephony and telematics are the best candidates for utilization of the Internet.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Martinelli M., Serrecchia I. and Serrecchia M. (2005). INTERNET DIFFUSION AMONG ITALIAN FIRMS: THE DIGITAL DIVIDE EXISTS . In Proceedings of the First International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Volume 1: WEBIST, ISBN 972-8865-20-1, pages 431-435. DOI: 10.5220/0001232504310435

in Bibtex Style

@conference{webist05,
author={Maurizio Martinelli and Irma Serrecchia and Michela Serrecchia},
title={INTERNET DIFFUSION AMONG ITALIAN FIRMS: THE DIGITAL DIVIDE EXISTS},
booktitle={Proceedings of the First International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Volume 1: WEBIST,},
year={2005},
pages={431-435},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0001232504310435},
isbn={972-8865-20-1},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the First International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Volume 1: WEBIST,
TI - INTERNET DIFFUSION AMONG ITALIAN FIRMS: THE DIGITAL DIVIDE EXISTS
SN - 972-8865-20-1
AU - Martinelli M.
AU - Serrecchia I.
AU - Serrecchia M.
PY - 2005
SP - 431
EP - 435
DO - 10.5220/0001232504310435