Social Responsibility and the Transition Toward a Knowledge-Based Society in Latin America

Abstract

In Latin America, the proliferation of regional and multilateral agreements with integration as a purpose has generated a high flow of goods, services, and investments among these countries. From the economic perspective, the outcome is trade and, therefore, stimulus to economic growth. Information technology is a relevant parameter in this endeavor. The “digital gap” between developed countries (DC) and less developed countries (LDC) is greater than the gap in the “standard of living” between them. The uneven distribution of wealth among and within countries, and the lack of communication infrastructure and computer-based power, situate them at a transitional stage within the “knowledge-based society,” which emanates social changes, and therefore new roles to be achieved by private and public institutions within the framework of social responsibility.