ABSTRACT
Information is a valuable resource. Shortages and uneven distribution of information hinder the chances of individuals and societies to succeed. Scholars of the Polish postsocialist transition have observed, for example, that exclusion from information networks prevented many individuals from participating fully in the privatization of Polish state assets (Staniszkis 1991). Despite the promise of beneficial outcomes, however, every reorganization of information flows naturally generates discontent among those whose informational advantages it challenges. In Poland, the state and the newly independent National Chamber of Commerce clashed when the latter attempted to seize control of business registers in the 1990s (Życie Gospodarcze 1996, no. 4, p. 40; Benson 1997). Concurrently, the business community accused both institutions of trying to revive monopolistic control over information. New arrangements for organizing information flows can also fail because they are either too difficult or expensive to use, or because they lack cultural legitimacy. Particularistic interests, institutional inertia, shortages of resources, and cultural or cognitive dissonance, in sum, may delay or prevent innovation in the information domain.
