The Invisible Hand: Governmental Influences on the Field of Play During the Production and Diffusion of Mobile TV

摘要

The purpose of this paper is to examine how government agencies alter the context around the production and diffusion of technologies, and how this strengthens or weakens particular 1CT trajectories. An embedded case is conducted to address this question in Taiwan, as governmental actions affected the early production and diffusion of DVB-H technology and WiMAX technology, both of which enable mobile TV services. The context around and across these two technologies are analyzed from an institutional perspective, including the framework proposed by King et al (1994). The key lesson of this paper is that government agencies are capable of influencing the diffusion of nomadic technologies through their legitimating powers, specific national policies, the allocation of radio frequency spectrum, the implementation ofregulations, and the allocation of financial resources. However, the ultimate effects are determined by mixed institutional factors and sometimes contradictory governmental interventions, stemmingfrom historical differences and conflicts across the various government agencies involved. The implications for ICT diffusion research and governmental policy makers are discussed.