Europe enlarged its boundaries in 2004 with the accession of ten new member states to the European Union. The creation of an effective information society is seen as critical to the global competitiveness of Europe. Based upon detailed data collection and rigorous analysis, the book presents a benchmarking study of the 10 new member states and 3 candidate countries of the European Union as compared to the 15 incumbent countries with respect to the development of their information societies. Using a framework based on the Europe 2005 benchmarking framework, the 28 EU members and candidate countries are ranked according to their level of information society development, and then classified into 4 categories. The results presented in this book are of importance to all managers and companies doing business in the IT sector in the European Union.

You can measure practically anything in the age of social media, but if you don't know what you're looking for, collecting mountains of data won't yield a grain of insight. This non-technical guide shows you how to extract significant business value from big data with Ask-Measure-Learn, a system that helps you ask the right questions, measure the right data, and then learn from the results. Authors Lutz Finger and Soumitra Dutta originally devised this system to help governments and NGOs sift through volumes of data. With this book, these two experts provide business managers and analysts with a high-level overview of the Ask-Measure-Learn system, and demonstrate specific ways to apply social media analytics to marketing, sales, public relations, and customer management, using examples and case studies.

Europe enlarged its boundaries in 2004 with the accession of ten new member states to the European Union. The creation of an effective information society is seen as critical to the global competitiveness of Europe. Based upon detailed data collection and rigorous analysis, the book presents a benchmarking study of the 10 new member states and 3 candidate countries of the European Union as compared to the 15 incumbent countries with respect to the development of their information societies. Using a framework based on the Europe 2005 benchmarking framework, the 28 EU members and candidate countries are ranked according to their level of information society development, and then classified into 4 categories. The results presented in this book are of importance to all managers and companies doing business in the IT sector in the European Union.

With total coverage of over 100 economies worldwide and published for the seventh consecutive year, "The Global Information Technology Report" has grown into the world's most eminent assessment of the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on the development and competitiveness of nations, and into a powerful tool for business leaders and policy makers in understanding the enabling factors of ICT advancements. "The Global Information Technology Report 2006-2007" features the latest computation and rankings of the Networked Readiness Index as well as a number of essays covering different issues of networked readiness and showcasing best policies and practicing in leveraging ICT for growth and development. As in previous years, the Report is the result of collaboration between the World Economic Forum and INSEAD, France

"If you want to understand why Wikipedia is changing the world, this book is a must read."
-Jimmy Wales, Founder, Wikipedia

"This book is a must read for all - social activists, politicians or managers - who have an interest in understanding how our society is morphing."
-Professor C.K. Prahalad, #1 Management Guru and author of "Competing for the Future"

Synopsis
The rise of social networks like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo is changing the way we see ourselves, how we interact with each other, how we work and how we do business on a daily basis. "Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom" explores the powerful forces driving the social networking revolution, the impact of these profound changes, and the far reaching consequences of social networking.

Detailing the way social networks affects both individuals and societies as a whole, the book offers a detailed focus on the ways social networking affects the world of business and work. The generation entering the workforce today - and entering boardrooms everywhere - is fully engaged with social networking and its uses. Rather than feeling threatened and paranoid, today's business leaders need to understand this phenomenon, accept that it won't go away, and embrace its power in the world of business.

Excerpts from "Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom"
"Your next CEO's most impressive job credential might be status as an online gladiator, honing valuable leadership skills mercilessly slaying mortal enemies on World of Warcraft. Why not, the skills necessary to hack your way to the top levels of virtual games - especially a killer instinct - are excellent pre-requisites for managing complex organisations."

"Many senior managers mistakenly believe Enterprise 2.0 is a product, like the latest Microsoft office suite. They don't realise that Enterprise 2.0 is not a cost centre, but a "state of mind" - a revolutionary new way of managing companies and conducting business.

Web 2.0 tools have no regard for "organisational boundaries, hierarchies, or job titles." Try telling a senior executive that, henceforth, there will be no job titles, reporting lines, and organisational boundaries in the company - and watch the reaction closely."

"When someone calls a meeting, he or she is asserting authority over those who are invited to attend. Meetings are exclusive and closed. In most corporations, who gets invited to a meeting - and who does not - sends a signal about who's 'in the loop'. Meetings are a form of social grooming inside organisations. Meetings impose vertical authority. They establish status hierarchies. The Enterprise 2.0 model is feared in corporations because it threatens status hierarchies."

"Harnessing the dynamism of horizontal networks, Web 2.0 social media are bypassing institutional forms of social organisation and directly empowering people. This book has attempted to tell that story with illustrations, which, we hope, have offered intriguing and instructive insights into the powerful transformations we described. What has interested us most, indeed, is the transformative impact - or "e-ruptions" - of Web 2.0 social media on the three dynamics that gave this book its structure: identity, status and power."

Financing Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Markets offers an original perspective on the links between macro data on innovation, data on micro-entrepreneurial processes and venture capital supply. The authors synthesize two disparate fields of research and thinking-innovation and entrepreneurship and economics-to illuminate how domestic companies compete and the business environment in which entrepreneurial firms operate. Its broad scope and firm linkages between processes at different levels leapfrogs research topics. For those investigating entrepreneurship and innovation in the early stages of economic development, this book demonstrates how micro and macro foundations of productivity, and hence economic growth and development, are inextricably intertwined.