ICT and environmental sustainability : a case study of a grassroots initiative

Increasingly, local communities develop projects and grassroots initiatives that address climate change and other environmental sustainability issues. These projects often commence informally and adopt web-based free information and communication technologies (ICT) applications to support their functioning. ICT applications are used to promote the goals of the project, to recruit more supporters and to facilitate debate among citizens sympathetic to the cause of environmental stewardship. However, as some of these projects evolve they become more complex. Struggling with lack of funding, the solution is to imaginatively combine free web-based ICT applications, to adapt existing open source applications, and even to develop customized solutions to address the project’s needs. We present the results of an exploratory case study of a grassroots initiative with environmental sustainability goals. The study shows some evidence of innovative practices in the appropriation of ICTs and in the communication campaign. Implications of this research for online communities and society are also discussed.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

A literature review of virtual communities: the relevance of understanding the influence of institutions on online collectives

Reviewing the literature on the domain of virtual communities, this research finds that there is still an important gap in the scholarly understanding of how institutions influence online spaces of interaction. The theme of institutions has been marginal to most of the academic research in the domain of virtual communities, with few exceptions. This paper proposes that an institutional perspective would permit a better understanding on the whys of online behaviours and explores the potential contributions of such an approach

A study on how public policies affect legitimacy in virtual communities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how public policies may influence the way members of virtual communities linked with social movements perceive the legitimacy of their leaders and governance structures. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on qualitative research (in-depth interviews) with three Brazilian environmental education virtual communities. It adopts an interpretive approach, grounding the analysis in institutional theory. Findings – The paper shows that a public policy of funding the studied communities has reinforced the legitimacy of some leaders and legitimated more centralised decision-making structures. The influence of the funding has endured even after the end of the respective contracts. Research limitations/implications – Although the paper is limited to three virtual communities in a very specific context, its conclusions may inform other studies on the institutional instruments (sanctions mechanisms) governments may appropriate to influence the virtual interactions among members of social movements and civil society organisations and which impact their offline interactions as well. Practical implications – The paper calls attention to the need to discuss public policies with stakeholders, especially to permit social movements and civil society organisations to have a say in policies that may affect their social structures. Originality/value – The paper contributes to understanding how public policies impact interactions in virtual environments and in a broader sense, and the relevance of considering the influence of institutions in online interactions

Governmental policies for ICT diffusion and leadership legitimacy in grassroots movements

This empirical investigation focuses on environmental-education virtual communities and points out how the Brazilian government, through specific legislation, has increased the legitimacy of some of their members in relation to others in decision-making processes in the studied collectives. In demanding that some anchor organisations assume the formal responsibility for funded projects that aimed to diffuse Internet communication channels among environmental educators, the Brazilian government affected how community members perceived the power distribution in online collectives. Although other forces were behind the construction of legitimacy of community leaders, members broadly recognized that the law was an important factor in the construction of a common understanding on who had power in decision making. Drawing upon institutional theory, this chapter analyses how the specific legislation influenced the way community members perceived the legitimacy of their leaders. The chapter claims that policies for spreading the use of ICTs among grassroots movements and civil society organisations have direct effects in relation to their governance structures, and thus these policies should be under broader scrutiny