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COPYRIGHT 2005 Management Futures
"A cloud masses, the sky darkens, leaves twist upward, and we know that it will rain. We also know that after the storm, the runoff will feed into groundwater miles away, and the sky will grow clear by tomorrow. All these events are distant in time and space, and yet they are all connected within the same pattern. Each has an influence on the rest, an influence that is usually hidden from view. You can only understand the system of a rainstorm by contemplating the whole, not any individual part of the pattern" (Senge, 1994). This paper follows a keynote presentation and attempts to reflect on the systems view of the present, and the futures that may very well affect how we live as much as how we do business in the global e-economy. As an organization, you are a corporate citizen of the world. You need to pay close attention to the evolution of that worm--changes in population, health, education, etc., so you can better understand the impact on your business eco-system. As in Senge's example of the storm, we must consider all the phenomena as being interconnected and inseparable.
Key Concepts and Framework
Let's begin by establishing a baseline of a few concepts that underlie the e-Economy. Innovation is a key driver of productivity and sustainable businesses. It has been defined as "the process by which new ideas are generated into new products, services, technologies, and business processes to bring greater value to customers" (Government of New Brunswick) or "the process through which new economic and social benefits are extracted from knowledge" (Government of Canada). The focus is on attaining benefits through self-improvement: commercialization through improvement of our productivity, improvement of our processes, our manufacturing tools, our services, using novel ideas and approaches.
As a means to accelerate innovation and create the desired economic impact, technology clusters are a current business model being implemented around the world in many communities (Porter 2003). Two diverse components are essential for a cluster's success. They are: 1) a sustained investment in research and development (R&D) by every level of government as well as by the private sector, and 2) innovation by small and medium enterprises.
Let's first discuss what we mean by the knowledge economy and the e-Economy. Essentially, the knowledge economy is not technology, but people. Everything depends on having people. The new, globalized economy relies more on knowledge and skills than did the traditional economy. "The most important sustainable resource asset of any economy is its people, their knowledge and business skill in creating and sustaining wealth and culture" (Government of Canada IC Roundtable, 2002). "For countries in the vanguard of the world economy, the balance between knowledge and resources has shifted so far towards the former that knowledge has become perhaps the most important factor determining the standard of living--more than land, tools, and labor. Today's most technologically advanced economies are truly knowledge-based" (Government of New Zealand, 1999).
Furthermore, the e-Economy is about networks of people--using the power of the grid of people to enhance any business process. Today, over 250 million hosts exist on the Internet (this represents the number of two-way communications possible). This is up from 50 million in 1999 and one...
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