The Economy of virtuality and reality: an introduction

As dot.com became dot.bomb, the hype that surrounded the meteoric growth of the network economy has given way to realism, or even scepticism, about the potential of ICT as a source of new business models. It is now appropriate to reflect critically on the e-economy hype, and to use this as a way of looking forward to new, more realistic possibilities. Using a business and socio-economic framework, this book investigates a range of challenges for restructuring the e-economy. This framework includes operations management, human resource management, e-learning, e-retailing, e-marketing, e-government, enterprise culture and digital divide. Divided into four themes (the changing business environment, knowledge management, learning in the public domain and e-business practices within and between organizations), each chapter considers the international context and critically explores a key aspect of the e-economy. Rigorous yet still retaining the accessible format which distinguishes all the volumes in this series, this book provides a thorough critique of the prospects facing businesses in the new economy and will be of interest to anyone studying e-business/commerce