EAEPE 2003

sponsored by

Ministry of Economic Affairs

Maastricht research school of Economics of TEchnology and ORganizations

Erasmus Research Institute
of Management

Ministry of Justice - Directorate
of Strategy Development

Royal Netherlands Academy
of Arts and Sciences

EAEPE 2003
The Information Society - Understanding Its Institutions Interdisciplinarily

PROCEEDINGS

November 7-10, 2003
Maastricht, the Netherlands

Outline
In the emerging Information Society intangibles are key factors in shaping the economic dynamic. These intangibles such as knowledge or social relations and the institutions that create and sustain them, therefore become centre stage in analysis of the economy. Now that, for instance, interactions can take place between parties who are not (geographically, or temporary) proximate, social and economic interactions between both humans and organizations undergo a process of change. The Internet is crucial in facilitating, shaping and sustaining these interactions, but implications for economic and social interactions go beyond what the Internet triggered in ways we are still trying to understand. Insights from technology studies and history (of technology) highlight the contingent nature of many technological innovations, and the important role played by the ‘social’ and institutions. This emphasizes the need for an interdisciplinary understanding of the Information Society.

Institutions, however, not only restrict development of and behavior in the Information Society but rather institutions are the sine qua non for the Information Society to function. Institutions of the formal kind, for instance intellectual property rights and technical standards, play an important role in the information society but so do institutions of the informal kind in promoting conventions in communication and communities. Economic and societal environments change; interactions on a micro level are affected. The kinds of issues that emerge are wide ranging. For instance, how do organizations behave in an Information Society? How does the geography of an Information Society change, and how does that affect actors? Is the creation of knowledge and new technologies in an Information Society different from a Fordist society, if so how? Do the dynamics of certain sectors of the economy – such as the financial sector – change, again if so how? Are some economies more affected than others? What are the implications for less developed regions and countries; can they hope to catch up? Likewise, will excluded groups fall further behind? Or will an ‘e-society’ be an inclusive one?

This conference aimed to analyze the institutions of the information society and welcomed scholars from all social sciences with an interest in understanding the economic significance, broadly conceived, of the information society.

This theme was discussed in both the plenary sessions and a number of parallel sessions. The conference was held at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration & MERIT / Infonomics, University of Maastricht, Tongersestraat 53, Maastricht, the Netherlands.