ABSTRACT

As the twenty-first 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 globalization and in the scale and structure of organizations. ICT has therefore accelerated the process of continual change and evolution that is the hallmark of both the capitalist economy and of organizations.

Giving a student-friendly account of the diversity of theoretical perspectives, this outstanding book aids 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 useful theoretical case studies, which also investigate the significance of increased blurring of the lines between services and manufacturing functions in the production and consumption process.

chapter 1|16 pages

Service Worlds

chapter 3|15 pages

From networks to new forms of regulation

chapter 5|29 pages

The rise and role of producer services

chapter 6|26 pages

Service work

chapter 7|29 pages

Information and communications technology and services

Opportunities and impacts

chapter 8|21 pages

Consuming services

Circuits of knowledge, stages and performances

chapter 9|17 pages

Service spaces

chapter 10|19 pages

Services and globalisation

chapter 11|25 pages

Global services

From trade to foreign direct investment

chapter 12|5 pages

Service Worlds revisited