Title: Stages of e-democracy: towards an open-source political model

Authors: P. Berthon, C.B. Williams

Addresses: Bentley College, Waltham, MA 02452, USA. ' Bentley College, Waltham, MA 02452, USA

Abstract: Digital networks such as the internet are facilitating and accelerating a change in the relationship between producers and customers. The change embodies a profound shift in power and ideology whereby people become co-producers of value rather than passive consumers. This transition is increasingly mirrored in US politics. Rather than simply choosing between competing candidates, the internet and web-based tools enable voters to become co-producers. In this nascent era of e-Democracy, there is a dearth of conceptual frameworks with which to make sense of the phenomenon. To fill this need, this paper explores how an open-source model of business and politics emerges, its stages and characteristics, and prospects for changing entrenched political processes.

Keywords: marketing; consumption; co-production; open source model; digital democracy; e-democracy; electronic democracy; online democracy; business models; politics models.

DOI: 10.1504/IJITM.2007.014007

International Journal of Information Technology and Management, 2007 Vol.6 No.2/3/4, pp.329 - 342

Published online: 10 Jun 2007 *

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