THE FORTHCOMING INFORMATION REVOLUTION - ITS IMPACT ON SOCIETY AND FIRMS

The impact of the industrial revolution on all aspects of our society, work and life has, undoubtedly, been substantial. Will all the talk a bout the information revolution produce similar, far-reaching changes? By examining analogous inventions of the industrial and information r evolutions, this article argues that the latter is on target and that by around the year 2015 it will be at about the same stage of developm ent as the industrial revolution is today. This would mean extensive c hanges which will affect the way we shop, obtain services, work, educa te and entertain ourselves. Furthermore, the impact of information tec hnology on firms and management will be considerable, resulting in fla t, horizontal organizations and an intensified competitive market plac e that spans our entire planet, as people will be capable of buying go ods and obtaining services from anywhere in the world by using compute r networks like the lnternet.