The ambiguity of innovation drivers: The adoption of information and communication technologies by public water utilities

Based on literature review and empirical data drawn from the three case studies (a municipality in Greece, an airport in Italy and a water utility in the Netherlands) developed under the EU-funded Waternomics project the paper highlights how environmental, organizational and individual factors explain technology adoption. The paper pays particular attention to the idiosyncrasies of the water services sector, which influence this process. These include include the social and conomic importance of water supply, the monopolistic nature of the sector and increased commercialization of public water utilities. Our cases suggest that drivers of technology adoption appear to be somewhat ambiguous in the water services sector, in that they impact adoption in diverse locations differently. Our cases also suggest is that the prioritization of the factors that determine adoption are dynamic and change over time.