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on Information and Communication Technologies |
| By: | Jens Sörvik (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Alexander Kleibrink (European Commission – JRC - IPTS) |
| Abstract: | The Digital Agenda Toolbox provides support to regional and national authorities to develop a thorough understanding of the digital growth potential stemming from the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE). It highlights the opportunities Information and Communication Technology (ICT) entails as a key element in their national or regional research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3) and related Operational Programmes (OPs). At the same time, this Toolbox provides guidance for the fulfilment of the DAE-related ex-ante conditionalities that will form the basis for using European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) for ICT investments. It thus complements the RIS3 Guide and other related policy documents such as the Guide on Broadband Investment. The Toolbox furthermore provides hands-on assistance for developing a strategic policy framework for digital growth by discussing the dos and don'ts of the process and giving examples of good practises |
| Keywords: | Smart Specialisation, Digital Agenda for Europe, Structural and Investment Funds, Regional Innovation Policy, ICT Policy, Digital Growth Strategies, Broadband infrastructure, Next Generation Networks, Cloud computing, Key Enabling Technologies (KETs), eHealth, active & healthy ageing, eGovernment, Intelligent transport systems, Smart cities, Smart grids, Open data portals, cultural heritage, Innovation Vouchers, Digital skills, Living labs, ICT in education |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc88896&r=ict |
| By: | Barbara Bre?ko (JRC/IPTS); Panagiotis Kampylis (JRC/IPTS); Yves Punie (JRC/IPTS) |
| Abstract: | Technologies for learning are considered as key enablers of educational innovation. However, their full potential is not being realised in formal education settings and major questions are being asked about the sustainability, systemic impact and mainstreaming of ICT-enabled learning innovations (ICT-ELI) in Europe. This report presents 60 recommendations for immediate strategies and actions to be undertaken by policy-makers at local, regional, national, and EU level to further develop and mainstream ICT-ELI with systemic impact, contributing to the modernisation of Education and Training systems in Europe. The recommendations were developed in the context of the 'Up scaling Creative Classrooms in Europe (SCALE CCR) project, carried out by JRC-IPTS on behalf of the European Commission, DG Education and Culture, based on desk research; case reports from Europe and Asia; continuous stakeholders consultations; and in-depth expert interviews. The final set of recommendations was further validated and prioritised through an online consultation with 149 educational stakeholders. The recommendations were clustered into seven areas presenting a holistic agenda to guide the further development and mainstreaming of ICT-ELI: Content and Curricula; Assessment; School Staff Professional Development; Research; Organisation and Leadership; Connectedness; and Infrastructure. The number and variety of the recommendations provided depict the complexity of ICT-ELI and the systemic approach needed for their mainstreaming across Education and Training systems in Europe. |
| Keywords: | ICT-enabled innovation for learning, Creative Classrooms, conditions for sustainability and scalability of educational innovation, recommendations for policy actions |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I28 I29 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc83502&r=ict |
| By: | Daniel Nepelski (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Giuditta de Prato (European Commission – JRC - IPTS) |
| Abstract: | The EIPE project aims to identify activities related to ICT R&D and innovation which are geographically concentrated and which demonstrate high performance: the European ICT Poles of Excellence. Besides providing a comprehensive map of ICT-related activity in Europe, the project looks at five NUTS3 regions that can be considered as key elements of the European ICT landscape, i.e. Inner London East, Paris, Kreisfreie Stadt Darmstadt, Dublin and Byen Kobenhavn. The study identifies the strengths and weaknesses of each place and provides an overview of policy measures that were undertaken in each of them to facilitate the development of ICT R&D, innovation and business activities. |
| Keywords: | ICT; information and communication technologies; innovation, R&D, ICT industry; region; Europe; Poles of Excellence; clusters; indicators; methods |
| JEL: | O32 O52 R12 R28 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc85354&r=ict |
| By: | Kibae Kim (College of Engineering, Seoul National University); Jorn Altmann (College of Engineering, Seoul National University) |
| Abstract: | One of the notable trends in the software industry is that software vendors provide their software on a platform as a service. Software users consume those software services or compose new services by combining those existing software services. The software vendors, their services, software users, and the platform represent an open innovation system. Collective intelligence is the underlying mechanism for the cooperation between the users of the system, i.e. their continuous reuse of existing software services for the creation of new services. A successfully working software services system is a system that is continuously adapted by its users to meet their needs. The evolution of this software-as-a-service (SaaS) innovation system and the behavior of SaaS users within this system are still unknown. In this paper, we describe the evolution of a SaaS network. The SaaS network consists of nodes (i.e. software services with open interfaces) and links (i.e. the co-development relationships of software services with open interfaces). The results suggest that the SaaS network has gradually grown into a scale-free network with a slight concavity in its cumulative degree distribution. The results also suggest that the topology characteristics are invariant over time except for the early time periods. Furthermore, the results suggest that the SaaS network is not as open (i.e. inter-operable) as its technology let us expect. Considering these results, we imply that SaaS innovation is achieved by platform providers striving to capture users with a few, leading SaaS services. That means, SaaS innovation is not achieved through the possibilities of potential combinations between any kind of SaaS services as could be expected theoretically. These findings are expected to stir further research on the actual structure of open innovation systems that are driven by collective intelligence. |
| Keywords: | Software-as-a-Service, Service Composition, Composite Services, Mashup, Network Evolution, Scale-Free Network, Openness, Collective Intelligence, Software Industry, Software Platforms. |
| JEL: | D85 L14 L86 O31 O32 O33 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:snv:dp2009:2013108&r=ict |
| By: | Wibral, Matthias |
| Abstract: | Reputation systems aim to induce honest behavior in online trade by providing information about past conduct of users. Online reputation, however, is not directly connected to a person, but only to the virtual identity of that person. Users can therefore shed a negative reputation by creating a new account. We study the effects of such identity changes on the efficiency of reputation systems. We compare two markets in which we exogenously vary whether sellers can erase their rating profile and start over as new sellers. Buyer trust and seller trustworthiness decrease significantly when sellers can erase their ratings. With identity changes, trust is particularly low towards new sellers since buyers cannot discriminate between truly new sellers and opportunistic sellers who changed their identity. Nevertheless, we observe positive returns on buyer investment under the reputation system with identity changes, and our evidence suggests that trustworthiness is higher than in the complete absence of a reputation system. |
| Keywords: | trust; reputation; identity changes |
| JEL: | C91 D02 L14 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trf:wpaper:465&r=ict |
| By: | Miglo, Anton; Liang, Shuting; Lee, Zhenting |
| Abstract: | We analyze the financing decisions and capital structure of internet companies and relate observed findings to the common capital structure theories. Large internet companies usually have low debt and small internet companies have high debt. We find that the trade-off theory of capital structure, pecking order theory, market timing theory and other theories cannot individually explain a firm’s capital structure. However, they can compliment each other in describing some patterns of observed behavior. We also suggest a number of recommendations for capital structure theory and practice. |
| Keywords: | capital structure, internet companies, financing strategy, sources of financing |
| JEL: | G32 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:56330&r=ict |