This innovative new book explores the structure, growth and effectiveness of virtual communities ... more This innovative new book explores the structure, growth and effectiveness of virtual communities in computer-mediated environments. In spite of initial enthusiasm, much uncertainty remains about the prospects of virtual teams and the technology that supports their collaboration. This book seeks to confront these issues and offers a unique insight into the realities of virtual working. Combining both software and organizational learning perspectives, this important volume investigates the role of computer-mediated-communication (CMC) in dispersed teams, focusing particularly on the communication processes involved. By combining theoretical and case study material, the authors argue that successful teamwork can be achieved without face-to-face contact, even whilst undertaking unstructured and non-routine tasks. These comprehensive case studies show that by changing the structure of the organization in addition to the use of advanced technologies, new and important patterns of communication have emerged in virtual communities. An essential resource for academics working in the fields of management science and organizational learning, this valuable study will also be of interest to managers, practitioners and the wider open source software community as a whole.
International Industrial Networks and Industrial Restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe anal... more International Industrial Networks and Industrial Restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe analyses the role of international industrial networks in industrial restructuring and corporate growth in central Europe, Russia and Ukraine. It shows that two distinct patterns of international industrial integration - domestic vs. foreign led modernisations - have developed in these two regions which have significant effects on patterns of growth and integration of these economies. International Industrial Networks and Industrial Restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe is based on a number of industry and firm case studies which are analysed and interpreted within the current international business and political economy literature.
The publication provides valuable insights to managers and policy-makers who are interested in understanding different strategic options for business activity in Central and East European countries. For the academic reader, it offers a new perspective on international, industrial networks in which theories on strategic management and on industry restructuring and corporate growth are merged into a new view of growth and transformation process.
This book tells a story about the 'real' unification of East and West Germany in a particular sec... more This book tells a story about the 'real' unification of East and West Germany in a particular sector: telecommunication. It uses a case study approach to explain why the East German telecom sector was 'monopolised' by the West German telecom industry. It shows that the dynamics of West German telecom evolution in the 1980s aiming at a more competitive environment virtually came to a halt with unification in 1990. Innovative and competitive solutions for the modernisation of the outdated East German network were postponed by policy makers and managers of DBP Telecom. Meanwhile, other European countries and national telecom service companies were moving further toward more competitive environments leaving German consumers to pay the current and future price of monopolisation.
Within the growing literature on next generation network (NGN), much research has focused on infr... more Within the growing literature on next generation network (NGN), much research has focused on infrastructure competition and spatial effects driving investment incentives in NGN provision. However, less attention has been paid to the dynamic factors explaining NGN rollout. The purpose of this paper is to examine the geographical effects of NGN rollout by utilizing basic data mining techniques in conjunction with exploratory spatial data analysis. In explaining NGN rollout, the paper derives a dynamic geographical model on NGN provision and examines it empirically by focusing on the spatial and temporal effects driving NGN development in the Netherlands. The paper confirms previous research on market uncertainty and the techno-economics of NGN development, but shows, in addition, that more specific factors related to local effects and demand uncertainty are vital in explaining NGN rollout.
In May 2009, the Commission of the European Union (CEU) initiated a discussion about terms and co... more In May 2009, the Commission of the European Union (CEU) initiated a discussion about terms and conditions under which (local) governments can get involved in the implementation of municipal broadband networks (CEU, 2009). With the Community Guidelines for the Application of State Aid Rules in Relation to Rapid Deployment of Broadband Networks (in short: Broadband Guidelines), the CEU has taken a step forward in more clearly delimiting the geographical and the product market for the rollout of next generation access (NGA) in municipalities in Europe. As the document identifies the relevant competition-related aspects of municipal fibre networks, it stops short in defining appropriate public policy objectives and open fibre access on the wholesale basis and retail basis. This is troublesome as the experience in the Netherlands has shown that competitive service level entry can be hampered if open access is not defined. In addition, there is a threat that vertically-integrated market structures will emerge in next generation access markets. Functional separation can be considered as an instrument to warranty a competitive and open market structure.
De centrale onderzoeksvraag van het project I-Vision was "in welke mate hebben de verschille... more De centrale onderzoeksvraag van het project I-Vision was "in welke mate hebben de verschillenden FTTH (Fibre-to-the-Home) initiatieven vanuit de gemeente een bijdrage geleverd aan de verbetering van het sociaal-economische welzijn van bewoners en bedrijven in de regio Eindhoven". Deze vraag is onderzocht op basis van een theoretische analyse van internationale en nationale ontwikkelingen op het gebied van municipale netwerken en een empirische analyse van ervaringen van glasvezelgebruikers in de regio Eindhoven. De ontwikkeling van het sociaal-economische welzijn is geanalyseerd op basis van a) een kwantitatief onderzoek van de verandering van het sociaal kapitaal en sociale cohesie onder glasvezelgebruikers in the wijk Tongelre en Nuenen; en b) van interviews op de bedrijventerreinen in de Hurk en Esp in September/Oktober 2007.
Information, Communication & Society, Mar 20, 2015
Despite a large number of studies on the social impact of the Internet, little is known about the... more Despite a large number of studies on the social impact of the Internet, little is known about the specific social resources to which social media provide access. Most studies have either examined issues surrounding the question whether or not new online contacts have been established or they have focused on the distinction between perceived bridging capital and bonding capital. Research has rarely focused on the kind of specific benefits that may arise due to the establishment of new online contacts. In this context, the study examines the specific forms of social capital which can be accessed via different social media (i.e. email lists, instant messaging, multiplayer games, weblogs and-forums, chat rooms, social networking sites and an own weblog). This article makes a distinction between the maintenance of existing contacts and the making of new contacts. Utilizing a random sample of Internet users from a major city in the Netherlands, we find that new online relationships do not always provide access to specific resources. But the type of social media employed for communication with new contacts has an influence on the provision (or non-provision
The increasing number of successful latecomer enterprises has led to a growing research interest ... more The increasing number of successful latecomer enterprises has led to a growing research interest in the area, but there is a lack of consensus in academic circles on the relationship between imitation strategy and firm growth. While some enterprises achieved sustainable growth based on an imitation strategy, others withdrew from the market soon after their initial market entry. In this context, this meta-analysis synthesizes empirical findings including 23 independent samples (N = 66,110) to obtain evidence and explore the extent to which an imitation strategy affects firm growth. Moreover, by further examining the moderating effects of industry conditions, country-specific factors, and performance time horizons, this research also aims to address a complementary research question: in which context is imitation strategy more beneficial for the firm growth? We found that an imitation strategy is more effective in promoting firm growth in low-tech industries than in high-tech industri...
Torn between State Aid regulations and Public Utility visions the Commission of the European Unio... more Torn between State Aid regulations and Public Utility visions the Commission of the European Union (CEU) has been rather inconsistent with respect to next generation access (NGA) networks over the past ten years. As the promise of new trans-sectoral services in areas such as e-health or e-government has extensively been used as a justification for public subsidies in these networks the reality of the adoption of these services has been rather disappointing. In the literature a number of technological demand market structure and public policy explanations have been advanced to characterise the dilemma of slow adoption of these services. In this context the concept of "experimental users" is used (and empirically tested) to characterise the different expectations of users with respect to these new services. Consequences with respect to regulatory policy and government strategy are discussed.
Het besef groeit dat met gebruikmaking van vrij toegankelijke databanken nieuwe bedrijvigheid kan... more Het besef groeit dat met gebruikmaking van vrij toegankelijke databanken nieuwe bedrijvigheid kan worden gerealiseerd. Experts schatten de waarde van Europese open data zelfs op dertig tot vijftig miljard euro per jaar. Pare en Sadowski worden geciteerd in dit artikel.
Information technology (IT), and in particular data centres, consume a huge amount of energy, whi... more Information technology (IT), and in particular data centres, consume a huge amount of energy, which has negative influence on climate change. Therefore, it is important to look at the sustainability of data centres, especially in the Netherlands as one of the major location of these centres in Europe. In order to examine the extent to which data centres are sustainable and energy efficient, a comprehensive total cost of ownerships (TCO) analysis is undertaken to get better insights into the different costs components and technological opportunities for further reductions. Even if there are already a number of TCO studies on data centres, there have been none dealing with the effects of technological change on the networking part of data centres. However, this can be considered as a serious shortcoming of current research as technological change will have (cost-saving) effects on the networking part of data centres and data traffic will have an impact on the rack. After examining tec...
The paper analyses the effects of governmental policy in the Netherlands on the formation and dev... more The paper analyses the effects of governmental policy in the Netherlands on the formation and development of rural broadband projects. Rural internet access speeds are increasingly falling behind. As a result, the vast majority of Dutch urban households use internet connections faster than those available to their counterparts in remote areas. As demand increases rapidly over time, the experienced deficit will grow rapidly without improvements to rural net-works. This issue has received attention at different levels of government in the Netherlands, where regional and municipal actors have stimulated new broadband network deployment. In this context, the article explores the role of the governmental policy in the rise of these projects and in stimulating new business model development. The paper studies 191 projects in the Netherlands and uses publicly available reports on government spending. The study than focuses on 28 projects in greater detail by using quantitate information ga...
This innovative new book explores the structure, growth and effectiveness of virtual communities ... more This innovative new book explores the structure, growth and effectiveness of virtual communities in computer-mediated environments. In spite of initial enthusiasm, much uncertainty remains about the prospects of virtual teams and the technology that supports their collaboration. This book seeks to confront these issues and offers a unique insight into the realities of virtual working. Combining both software and organizational learning perspectives, this important volume investigates the role of computer-mediated-communication (CMC) in dispersed teams, focusing particularly on the communication processes involved. By combining theoretical and case study material, the authors argue that successful teamwork can be achieved without face-to-face contact, even whilst undertaking unstructured and non-routine tasks. These comprehensive case studies show that by changing the structure of the organization in addition to the use of advanced technologies, new and important patterns of communication have emerged in virtual communities. An essential resource for academics working in the fields of management science and organizational learning, this valuable study will also be of interest to managers, practitioners and the wider open source software community as a whole.
International Industrial Networks and Industrial Restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe anal... more International Industrial Networks and Industrial Restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe analyses the role of international industrial networks in industrial restructuring and corporate growth in central Europe, Russia and Ukraine. It shows that two distinct patterns of international industrial integration - domestic vs. foreign led modernisations - have developed in these two regions which have significant effects on patterns of growth and integration of these economies. International Industrial Networks and Industrial Restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe is based on a number of industry and firm case studies which are analysed and interpreted within the current international business and political economy literature.
The publication provides valuable insights to managers and policy-makers who are interested in understanding different strategic options for business activity in Central and East European countries. For the academic reader, it offers a new perspective on international, industrial networks in which theories on strategic management and on industry restructuring and corporate growth are merged into a new view of growth and transformation process.
This book tells a story about the 'real' unification of East and West Germany in a particular sec... more This book tells a story about the 'real' unification of East and West Germany in a particular sector: telecommunication. It uses a case study approach to explain why the East German telecom sector was 'monopolised' by the West German telecom industry. It shows that the dynamics of West German telecom evolution in the 1980s aiming at a more competitive environment virtually came to a halt with unification in 1990. Innovative and competitive solutions for the modernisation of the outdated East German network were postponed by policy makers and managers of DBP Telecom. Meanwhile, other European countries and national telecom service companies were moving further toward more competitive environments leaving German consumers to pay the current and future price of monopolisation.
Within the growing literature on next generation network (NGN), much research has focused on infr... more Within the growing literature on next generation network (NGN), much research has focused on infrastructure competition and spatial effects driving investment incentives in NGN provision. However, less attention has been paid to the dynamic factors explaining NGN rollout. The purpose of this paper is to examine the geographical effects of NGN rollout by utilizing basic data mining techniques in conjunction with exploratory spatial data analysis. In explaining NGN rollout, the paper derives a dynamic geographical model on NGN provision and examines it empirically by focusing on the spatial and temporal effects driving NGN development in the Netherlands. The paper confirms previous research on market uncertainty and the techno-economics of NGN development, but shows, in addition, that more specific factors related to local effects and demand uncertainty are vital in explaining NGN rollout.
In May 2009, the Commission of the European Union (CEU) initiated a discussion about terms and co... more In May 2009, the Commission of the European Union (CEU) initiated a discussion about terms and conditions under which (local) governments can get involved in the implementation of municipal broadband networks (CEU, 2009). With the Community Guidelines for the Application of State Aid Rules in Relation to Rapid Deployment of Broadband Networks (in short: Broadband Guidelines), the CEU has taken a step forward in more clearly delimiting the geographical and the product market for the rollout of next generation access (NGA) in municipalities in Europe. As the document identifies the relevant competition-related aspects of municipal fibre networks, it stops short in defining appropriate public policy objectives and open fibre access on the wholesale basis and retail basis. This is troublesome as the experience in the Netherlands has shown that competitive service level entry can be hampered if open access is not defined. In addition, there is a threat that vertically-integrated market structures will emerge in next generation access markets. Functional separation can be considered as an instrument to warranty a competitive and open market structure.
De centrale onderzoeksvraag van het project I-Vision was "in welke mate hebben de verschille... more De centrale onderzoeksvraag van het project I-Vision was "in welke mate hebben de verschillenden FTTH (Fibre-to-the-Home) initiatieven vanuit de gemeente een bijdrage geleverd aan de verbetering van het sociaal-economische welzijn van bewoners en bedrijven in de regio Eindhoven". Deze vraag is onderzocht op basis van een theoretische analyse van internationale en nationale ontwikkelingen op het gebied van municipale netwerken en een empirische analyse van ervaringen van glasvezelgebruikers in de regio Eindhoven. De ontwikkeling van het sociaal-economische welzijn is geanalyseerd op basis van a) een kwantitatief onderzoek van de verandering van het sociaal kapitaal en sociale cohesie onder glasvezelgebruikers in the wijk Tongelre en Nuenen; en b) van interviews op de bedrijventerreinen in de Hurk en Esp in September/Oktober 2007.
Information, Communication & Society, Mar 20, 2015
Despite a large number of studies on the social impact of the Internet, little is known about the... more Despite a large number of studies on the social impact of the Internet, little is known about the specific social resources to which social media provide access. Most studies have either examined issues surrounding the question whether or not new online contacts have been established or they have focused on the distinction between perceived bridging capital and bonding capital. Research has rarely focused on the kind of specific benefits that may arise due to the establishment of new online contacts. In this context, the study examines the specific forms of social capital which can be accessed via different social media (i.e. email lists, instant messaging, multiplayer games, weblogs and-forums, chat rooms, social networking sites and an own weblog). This article makes a distinction between the maintenance of existing contacts and the making of new contacts. Utilizing a random sample of Internet users from a major city in the Netherlands, we find that new online relationships do not always provide access to specific resources. But the type of social media employed for communication with new contacts has an influence on the provision (or non-provision
The increasing number of successful latecomer enterprises has led to a growing research interest ... more The increasing number of successful latecomer enterprises has led to a growing research interest in the area, but there is a lack of consensus in academic circles on the relationship between imitation strategy and firm growth. While some enterprises achieved sustainable growth based on an imitation strategy, others withdrew from the market soon after their initial market entry. In this context, this meta-analysis synthesizes empirical findings including 23 independent samples (N = 66,110) to obtain evidence and explore the extent to which an imitation strategy affects firm growth. Moreover, by further examining the moderating effects of industry conditions, country-specific factors, and performance time horizons, this research also aims to address a complementary research question: in which context is imitation strategy more beneficial for the firm growth? We found that an imitation strategy is more effective in promoting firm growth in low-tech industries than in high-tech industri...
Torn between State Aid regulations and Public Utility visions the Commission of the European Unio... more Torn between State Aid regulations and Public Utility visions the Commission of the European Union (CEU) has been rather inconsistent with respect to next generation access (NGA) networks over the past ten years. As the promise of new trans-sectoral services in areas such as e-health or e-government has extensively been used as a justification for public subsidies in these networks the reality of the adoption of these services has been rather disappointing. In the literature a number of technological demand market structure and public policy explanations have been advanced to characterise the dilemma of slow adoption of these services. In this context the concept of "experimental users" is used (and empirically tested) to characterise the different expectations of users with respect to these new services. Consequences with respect to regulatory policy and government strategy are discussed.
Het besef groeit dat met gebruikmaking van vrij toegankelijke databanken nieuwe bedrijvigheid kan... more Het besef groeit dat met gebruikmaking van vrij toegankelijke databanken nieuwe bedrijvigheid kan worden gerealiseerd. Experts schatten de waarde van Europese open data zelfs op dertig tot vijftig miljard euro per jaar. Pare en Sadowski worden geciteerd in dit artikel.
Information technology (IT), and in particular data centres, consume a huge amount of energy, whi... more Information technology (IT), and in particular data centres, consume a huge amount of energy, which has negative influence on climate change. Therefore, it is important to look at the sustainability of data centres, especially in the Netherlands as one of the major location of these centres in Europe. In order to examine the extent to which data centres are sustainable and energy efficient, a comprehensive total cost of ownerships (TCO) analysis is undertaken to get better insights into the different costs components and technological opportunities for further reductions. Even if there are already a number of TCO studies on data centres, there have been none dealing with the effects of technological change on the networking part of data centres. However, this can be considered as a serious shortcoming of current research as technological change will have (cost-saving) effects on the networking part of data centres and data traffic will have an impact on the rack. After examining tec...
The paper analyses the effects of governmental policy in the Netherlands on the formation and dev... more The paper analyses the effects of governmental policy in the Netherlands on the formation and development of rural broadband projects. Rural internet access speeds are increasingly falling behind. As a result, the vast majority of Dutch urban households use internet connections faster than those available to their counterparts in remote areas. As demand increases rapidly over time, the experienced deficit will grow rapidly without improvements to rural net-works. This issue has received attention at different levels of government in the Netherlands, where regional and municipal actors have stimulated new broadband network deployment. In this context, the article explores the role of the governmental policy in the rise of these projects and in stimulating new business model development. The paper studies 191 projects in the Netherlands and uses publicly available reports on government spending. The study than focuses on 28 projects in greater detail by using quantitate information ga...
Within the growing literature on smart cities, much research has focused on issues related to the... more Within the growing literature on smart cities, much research has focused on issues related to the formation stage and the roles of different actors in these initiatives. The large number of failures of smart city initiatives, however, points at an existing gap between the understanding of the formation of these initiatives and the practice of their management. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to address this research gap by discussing determinants of smart city initiatives and the experiences in smart city management. By taking an innovation ecosystem perspective, the paper focuses on the management experiences of four smart city initiatives (WoonConnect, Mobilty Portal, Vehicle2Grid, Straatkubus) in the Netherlands. The empirical research has been undertaken during the period May and June 2016. In linking to the discussion on smart cities, the research shows that most studies on smart cities have focused on the formation stage of the initiative and the roles of partner...
Since 2010, the twofold drive of the European Commission to achieve, on the one hand, the ambitio... more Since 2010, the twofold drive of the European Commission to achieve, on the one hand, the ambitious goals of the Digital Agenda for Europe 2020 and to guard, on the other, the efficiency of the market mechanism by applying State Aid regulations has resulted in a wide variety of business models deployed by municipalities and housing organizations across Europe. In case, municipalities are intending to set-up a broadband network in a particular area, open access regulation will become central affect the viability of their business models (CEU, 2014a, 2014b). Next generation access (NGA) network pose a different challenge as the market failure has to be demonstrated to allow the implementation of a municipal network. With open access provided at the active layer, the business model is based on low costs and aimed at encouraging market entry. With open access at the passive layer, high costs are expected and market entry becomes more expensive. The paper examines the viability of differ...
The political perception of New Zealand’s broadband market performance as ‘poor’ has underpinned ... more The political perception of New Zealand’s broadband market performance as ‘poor’ has underpinned many significant changes to the telecommunications policy and regulatory environments since 2001. Most recently, this has been manifested in substantial government subsidies by way of public-private partnerships (PPPs) for an ultra-fast broadband (UFB) network that promises to deliver fibre connections with upload/download speeds of 100Mbps/50Mbps to 75% of New Zealanders by 2019. Bert Sadowski and Bronwyn Howell explore the pros and cons of the New Zealand PPPs.
A new textbook on network economics? Without doubt, Information Rules will quickly obtain textboo... more A new textbook on network economics? Without doubt, Information Rules will quickly obtain textbook status in economics and management classes * like Michael Porter's Competitive advantage or Hal Varian's Intermediate Microeconomics. There was a need for such book that could dismantle the`hypea in the current fast changing information and technology markets and could skilfully disprove arguments on a`frictionfreea economy or on an`entrepreneuriala competition in industries e!ected by information technology. Both authors have been well equipped to write such book in being for a long time at the forefront of the theoretical discussion on the economics of information, technological change, game theory and competitive strategy, and in actively participating in anti-trust legislation in the industry. The result of their joint e!orts has, however, been ambiguous. To be sure, both authors have produced a well-written, partly even amusing book that is easily accessible to the reader, while elaborating on rather complicated economic constructs such as`lock-ina and`positive feedbacka. They use these constructs to convincingly demonstrate that the dynamic competition driving the industry is more oligopolistic, than entrepreneurial by nature and therefore regulatory intervention might be warranted. For readers in need of a textbook that explains the economics of networks based on &classical' equilibrium economics, Information Rules provides the required knowledge. This also represents, however, the Achilles heel of the book: The economics of networks are inherently dynamic, a state of equilibrium is the exception, and disequilibrium is the rule. In other words, equilibrium concepts in the tradition of &classical' readings provide some answers with respect to the Schumpeterian notion of dynamic competition and`temporarya monopolies. They seem at present unsuitable to examine questions such as how the evolution of network systems leads to an ine$cient resource allocation and to what extent ex ante regulation might remediate this situation. The current debate precisely tackles these issues and provides rather contradictory answers to policy makers. In this respect, the book falls behind the discussion on network economics which has traditionally forced economists and policy-makers to reconsider traditional economic, policy and regulatory concepts.
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Books by Bert Sadowski
The publication provides valuable insights to managers and policy-makers who are interested in understanding different strategic options for business activity in Central and East European countries. For the academic reader, it offers a new perspective on international, industrial networks in which theories on strategic management and on industry restructuring and corporate growth are merged into a new view of growth and transformation process.
Papers by Bert Sadowski
The publication provides valuable insights to managers and policy-makers who are interested in understanding different strategic options for business activity in Central and East European countries. For the academic reader, it offers a new perspective on international, industrial networks in which theories on strategic management and on industry restructuring and corporate growth are merged into a new view of growth and transformation process.