An Empirical Contingency Perspective on Cooperative Municipal Broadband Adoption

In this paper municipal broadband adoption is assessed with an empirical contingency theory research approach. Based on a survey among CEOs of municipal utility companies a multi-step analysis process is conducted to explore broadband adoption strategies. In a first part of the process 5 distinct municipal broadband adoption strategies are derived from factor and cluster analyses. Thereafter, strategy performance is assessed and related to external and internal variables. Results suggest that a municipality's attitude towards cooperation at different layers of the telecommunication value chain is essential for strategy characterization. Furthermore, the success of particular broadband adoption strategies can primarily be explained by the municipalities' appreciation for internal organizational goals such as access to marketing know-how or access to network planning know-how.