Garcia-Murillo et al Understanding Innovation in the Telecommunications Sector of Rural Argentina Understanding Innovation in the telecommunications sector of rural Argentina Martha Garcia-Murillo Syracuse University mgarciam@syr.edu Fatima K. Espinoza-Vasquez Syracuse University fkespino@syr.edu BIOGRAPHIES Martha Garcia-Murillo: Dr. Martha García-Murillo is an Associate Professor and Director of the Telecommunications and Network Management Master’s program at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University. She has an M.S. in Economics and a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Public Policy. She has been involved in research projects for the UN, US State Department and other regional and international organizations. Her areas of research include institutional and evolutionary economics in the ICT sector, the impact of regulation on business behavior, the impact of technology on regulation factors that affect infrastructure deployment and ICT in Latin America. Fatima K. Espinoza-Vasquez is a PhD student at the School of Information Studies in Syracuse University. She has a M.S. Information Management from Syracuse University and a BA in Communication from Universidad Tecnologica Centroamericana UNITEC in Honduras. Fatima is a research fellow at the Center for Research in Collaboratories and Technology Enhanced Learning Communities (Cotelco) in Syracuse University. Her research interest includes: Virtual Organizations, Transnational Networks, International Development, Social Media, Geographically Distributed Collaboration. ABSTRACT This paper explores the role of cooperatives as innovators and promoters of the information and communications industries in Argentina. We use the open business model literature to help us understand the motivations and modus operandi of these organizations within the context of innovation in a less developed country. We relied on five case studies with from various communities in Argentina. In depth interviews were conducted with directors of these organizations. We find that cooperatives operate in a similar manner as open businesses and this has allowed them to respond effectively to their circumstances and engage in innovation inspired by the difficulties they face.We found that cooperatives operate in a similar manner as open businesses and this has allowed them to respond effectively to their circumstances, and engage in innovation inspired by the difficulties they face. Their innovation is driven by: their interest in fulfilling the needs of their communities; and the regulatory environment which sometimes has protected them sometimes challenged them. We recommend cooperatives to be given similar rights to resources as those in the private sectors; to provide them access to the universal services fund, and to address the concerns of their “anticompetitive behavior” using the Argentinean anticompetitive law. We think cooperatives should be given credit and support for driving innovation, and for having a decisive socio-economic impact in their communities. KEYWORDS Open innovation, cooperatives, information and communications industry, Argentina, Latin America, telecommunications regulation. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of cooperatives as innovators and promoters of the information and communications industries in Argentina. We believe that they can be considered a special type of an open