Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the Social and Solidarity Economy

Raymond Saner, Lichia Saner Yiu, and Samuel Bruelisauer, (2022) “Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the Social and Solidarity Economy”

Encyclopedia of the Social and Solidarity Economy (forthcoming 2023) published by Edward Elgar Publishing Limited in partnership with United Nations InterAgency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE).

Principles and values associated with the SSE played an important role in the early production and use of information and communication technology (ICT). What began with the ‘free software movement’ which promoted the development of operating systems and applications for computers, servers and smart phones based on collaboration, openness, and control by users, has grown into a variety of organizations that offer products and services. At the same time, a few large ICT companies of the commercial private sector lead and dominate. This entry explains the emergence of ICT and its impact on the economy and describes the role of SSE organisations and enterprises (SSEOEs) in developing and producing ICT. It further discusses how SSEOEs respond to trends associated with ICT by using and operating technologies in line with their principles and values. The entry closes with an examination of the challenges and opportunities of SSEOEs in the face of recent ICT-related trends.