Service Worlds

As the 21st century begins, significant changes are occurring in the way that services and goods are produced and consumed. One of the key drivers of this change is information and communications technology (ICT). It has transformed the role of space and time in patterns of economic development, in the rise of globalisation and in the scale and structure of organisations. ICT has therefore accelerated the process of continual change and evolution that is the hallmark of both the capitalist economy and of organisations. Technological innovation has stimulated the introduction of new forms of organisation, management and work, and has enabled improvements in productivity, especially in service industries. These are just some of the indicators that have given rise to the notion of a 'new economy' in which service activities are amongst the key players. Services in the New Economy gives a new 'take' on the service industries in the context of changes in technology, organisation, production and consumption, as well as at a time when new paradigms, such as the cultural approach, are now widely used to interpret and understand the form and structure of 'new economies'. A student-friendly account is given of the diversity of theoretical perspectives for understanding the evolving economic geography of advanced capitalist economies. A series of detailed firm and employees' case-studies from Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific, are used to inform the theoretical case-studies. These also highlight and examine the significance of the increased blurring of the distinction between services and manufacturing functions in the production and consumption process.