The future of the information revolution in Europe

the long version

"This report contains the proceedings of a conference focused on the information revolution in Europe, that was held in Limelette, Belgium, in April 2001. Participants in this conference argued that the information revolution is following a somewhat different course in Europe than in America: the process of "creative destruction" by which new technologies and business paradigms replace their predecessors is proceeding more slowly, Europe's emphasis on economic and social equity results in a less aggressive approach to new IT business opportunities than does the "winner-take-all" business mentality in the U.S., and Europe's "top down" planning mentality is fostering more deliberate decision making. As a result, the information revolution has been proceeding slower in Europe than in America, with the U.S. in the vanguard in most IT-related areas and Europe following along somewhat behind. This is likely to continue for at least the next few years, if not longer."--Rand abstracts.