ABSTRACT
The information revolution is the latest of the logistical and technological revolutions that have characterised the development of the European economy (see Box 9.2). The information revolution has its basis in the preceding industrial society where, since the 1970s, informatics and telecommunications have become the new engines of growth in the global economy driven in no small part by the rising utilisation of these technologies within the increasingly important service sector. This shift towards service sector based economies implies that knowledge will become a key factor determining the quality, utilisation and transformation of resources. The end point of this trend is the substitution of physical goods and processes by their electronic equivalents (that is, the dematerialisation of the
economy). In addition, increased competitive pressures from the global economy will push companies to combine a range of inputs from an array of sources to develop commercially attractive products and services. This trend underlines the increased importance of the services element within product development.
