Recipes for cookies: how institutions shape communication technologies

The ability of communication technologies to favor certain societal concerns, such as privacy, is widely recognized. This article argues that an institutional analysis is central to understanding how a technology affects a societal concern. This is demonstrated with a case study of cookie technology, which has been shaped in differing ways by universities, firms and consortia. A comparative institutional analysis finds that each of these institutions act according to their own norms and processes in influencing the recipe for cookies. It is these institutional tendencies that shape cookie technology. By understanding these tendencies, policymakers can better assess, predict and proactively influence the development of communication technologies to improve societal welfare.