ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the research results evaluated from the perspective of the emerging digital economy as it is crystallizing in the most developed market economies. Also, the impact Western actors had on the emergence of Information Society in Central and Eastern Europe will be assessed. The sectoral surveys show that in all sectors the use of computers and computer networking gradually expanded, albeit at highly different speeds. The spread of outsourcing, customisation of production, just-in-time production, supply chain management and lean production, that significantly has enhanced competitiveness and productivity levels, can be explained independently of the spread of ICT applications. Social shaping of technology has been a neglected dimension in technological innovation in Central and Eastern Europe. Learning tasks for transitional economies, needed for catching up with the most developed economies, are becoming increasingly formidable. In the new development paradigm there is a greater role for regional and local authorities, the furthering of endogenous development and innovative potential.
