2893	 Computers as an Innovation in American Local Governments	 Computers and electronic data processing are a major technological innovation in the operations of American local government. This paper establishes that there is substantial variation among the larger local governments in the rate at which they adopt computer technology in the level of financial support they provide for EDP and in the extensiveness and sophistication of their automated applications. The central question addressed is What might explain the differences between governments in the extent to which they adopt and use computers Hypotheses are tested for several streams of explanatory factors using data from more than city and county governments. The findings identify certain local government milieus which are particularly conducive to higher levels of computer innovation. Somewhat unexpected findings reveal the significant impact of the distribution of control over EDP decisions and the dominant political values within the government. Other important factors include the measured need for computer applications and the presence of external funding support for computing. Finally the paper suggests a framework for identifying the key determinants of other technological innovations. innovation technological innovation computer utilization computer adoption American local government city government computers county government computers.
