ICTs as a condition and as an enabling driver of service science in Italy

Abstract

The new international division of labour has changed the position of industrialised countries in world markets. The delocalisation of production processes and the dispersion of markets impose extensive use of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) to enable real-time presence where and when potential demand is expressed. The technological leap to be made concerns not only production but also forecasting and managing demand as well as flexibility in relationships with suppliers and customers. ICTs, in this scenario, to express their full potential, impose an extensive change in firm strategy and management. A firm that uses a network to exchange information, knowledge and communications cannot limit itself to fragments of the process but must include all human, technological and financial resources in this change. This process cannot be left to individuals but must involve the network of relationships that characterise firms and markets. This chapter suggests a role of ICTs as enabling and decisive technologies for the development of an entire production sector until a new economic system is arrived at through successive steps and traditional production activities are abandoned.