Digital Divides in Local Democracy: Size, Resources, and Facebook Adoption in Czech Municipalities

This study examines how organizational capacity and environmental pressures shape social media adoption in local government. Using a mixed‐methods approach, we analyze Facebook adoption patterns across 6,254 Czech municipalities by scanning their official websites for Facebook links, a questionnaire survey (𝑁 = 330), and thematic analysis of posts from municipalities with extended powers. Results reveal a strong relationship between municipal size and Facebook adoption, with rates ranging from 14.1% in the smallest municipalities (fewer than 200 inhabitants) to 88.6% in the largest (10,000+). Primary adoption motivations include communication speed, ensuring citizen awareness, and meeting public expectations for a modern online presence, while resource constraints and fear of negativity constitute major barriers. Thematic analysis reveals dominance of practical information and community event promotion over dialogic engagement. The findings demonstrate how resource limitations create a digital divide in local government communication, with smaller municipalities facing structural barriers to social media adoption. This research contributes to understanding technology diffusion dynamics in fragmented administrative systems and the gap between social media’s dialogic potential and actual government communication practices.