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18 May 2006
Ref:
LBS 01
To:
Contact:
Phillippa BIGGS
Tel:
+41 22 730 6222
Fax:
+41 22 730 6453
E-Mail:
[email protected]
Subject:
Digital Transformations in the Information Society,
ITU/LBS conference, Geneva, 1-2 June 2006
All Invitees
Dear Sir/Madam,
We are delighted to announce a joint conference being organised by the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) in conjunction with the London Business School (LBS), entitled
“Digital Transformations in the Information Society”. This conference continues the work of ITU
in implementing the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and building
digital bridges, and represents the culmination to the LBS’s four-year Digital Transformations
Programme
funded
by
the
Leverhulme
Trust
(please
see
webpage
at
www.london.edu/digitaltransformations.html).
It is our pleasure to invite you to participate in this event, which promises answers to some of the
more pressing issues raised by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). This
conference will explore the impact of ICTs in industry, firms, growth and productivity: what is the
real meaning of the digital divide? Can investment in ICTs help to reduce the productivity gap? Are
countries really at a disadvantage through falling behind in take-up of ICTs? The enclosed abstract
overviews some of the issues to be examined at this conference, with sessions devoted to the
measurement of digital opportunity, the influence of ICTs on growth and productivity and the
impact of ICTs at the macro-economic, industry- and firm-levels.
We hope that you will join us to share your views in seeking answers to these and other important
questions at this Conference, to be hosted by ITU at its headquarters, in collaboration with the
LBS, on 1-2 June 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Conference is open to all interested parties
and stakeholders, and will be especially relevant to telecommunication policy-makers, regulators,
academics and industry players.
We hope you are able to accept our invitation to participate in this notable event and can join us in
June. If you have any questions or need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact
Miss Phillippa Biggs at [email protected] or Kalyan Dasgupta at [email protected].
Yours faithfully,
(signed)
(signed)
Yoshio UTSUMI
Secretary-General
International Telecommunication Union
Professor Leonard Waverman
Economics
London Business School
Enc:
Abstract, Draft Programme, Registration form
Joint Conference
Digital Transformations in the Information Society
hosted by the International Telecommunication Union
and the London Business School
Geneva, Switzerland
1-2 June 2006
Abstract
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) recently concluded with a vision, as well as
a challenge: a vision of the unlimited potential of a future Information Society in which ICTs are
used everywhere, by everyone, as well as the challenge to realise this vision. And yet, at the same
time, there is much we are still learning about the impact of ICTs: just how important are ICTs?
Can investment in ICTs help to reduce productivity gaps?
Do ICTs drive industrial
competitiveness? How integral are they in determining firm performance? How is the digital divide
evolving? The measurement of ICTs and their impact is fundamental to answering these questions
and evaluating progress and the future evolution of the Information Society.
The Geneva Plan of Action (Paragraph 28) calls for international performance evaluation to
benchmark implementation and progress towards bridging the digital divide; a call that was
reaffirmed in the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society. As part of its continuing work beyond
WSIS, ITU is hosting this conference, in conjunction with the London Business School, to assess
what has been learned so far about the impact of ICTs at the macro-economic, industry- and firmlevels, the measurement of this impact and implications for the digital divide.
To this end, ITU and LBS will convene a conference comprising economists, statisticians,
academics, policy-makers, industry analysts, regulatory representatives and international
organisations, who will discuss:
1. The most appropriate indicators for measuring access to and usage of ICTs for development
goals and the development of a composite Digital Opportunity Index to measure the digital
divide;
2. The impact of ICTs in shaping and redefining industry: for example, through specialisation and
outsourcing;
3. The impact of ICTs in determining and improving firm performance.
4. The macro-economic effects of ICTs on growth and productivity.
Parallel Sessions
Discussion topics throughout the conference include:
Parallel Session 1: Digitization, growth and productivity





How can the macroeconomic impact of ICT be measured?
What role do ICTs play in shaping the productivity gap?
Is creative destruction any more present in IT-intensive sectors?
Are certain countries and sectors better able to deal with recessions, and if so, why?
Do ICTs modify the effects of fluctuations on growth?
Parallel Session 2: Firm-level impact of ICT

How are new and existing businesses using ICTs?
1




How are firms coping with the challenges of ICT-based organisation?
What factors determine ICTs’ impact on firm performance?
Why do ICTs have different impact on profitability and productivity in different firms?
Why is the marginal impact of ICTs more pronounced in some countries than others?
Parallel Session 3: Measuring Digital Opportunities





How can the digital divide be measured?
What are the difficulties in measuring it?
What are the strengths of an index approach?
How should a composite index for measuring the digital divide be structured:
o What kinds of variables to include
o Ways in which to cluster variables
o How should variables be combined and weighted?
o Checking for robustness
The impact of new technologies in narrowing the digital divide - e.g, the rapid spread of
mobile telephony in developing countries.
Parallel Session 4: Industry-level impact of ICT




Why is it that, in some settings, ICTs have failed to live up to expectations of transforming a
sector? Why is it that they failed to “blow the world to bits”?
How do ICTs change the boundaries of an organisation? What can we learn from in-depth
analyses and how could recent technological changes further affect a firm’s boundaries?
How can ICTs affect the nature and structure of industries’ value chains? What are ITrelated reasons for international value-chain differences?
To what extent have ICTs helped the “global enterprise”, e.g. through off-shoring?
2
INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION and
LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
Geneva, Switzerland – 1-2, June 2006
Draft Programme
1 June, 2006
9:00 – 9:30
Registration and Coffee
9:30-12:15
Opening Plenary:
Welcoming Remarks (Session Chair)
Presentations on the Digital Transformations Programme (London Business School
Team)
Overview of the outcomes of WSIS and its implementation (Dr. Tim Kelly)
Keynote presentations
12:15 – 13:15
LUNCH
13:15 – 16:15
Parallel Session: Digitization, growth and
productivity
(Including 15
minute break
for coffee)
Parallel Session: Firm-level impact of ICT
What is the impact of ICTs on growth and
productivity? Do ICTs explain the
productivity gap? Does creative
destruction apply to ICT-intensive
sectors? How can countries benefit from
How are firms using ICTs? How are they
coping with the challenges of ICT-based
organisation? What factors determine
ICTs’ impact on firm performance?
ICTs to deal with recessions better?
16:15 – 16:45
COFFEE BREAK
16:45 – 17:45
Cross-Cutting Panel Discussion (Chair: Fernando Suarez)1
19:00
DINNER (KEYNOTE DINNER SPEAKER TBC)
1
These cross-cutting discussions will synthesise the findings of the two parallel sessions. The panellists will
draw on rapporteurs who will attend the parallel workshops and report briefly on the findings of each
workshop. The rapporteurs will be London Business School or ITU personnel.
3
2 June, 2006
8:30-11:30
(Including 15
minute break
for coffee)
Parallel Session: Measuring Digital
Opportunities
What is the digital divide and how can it
be measured? The WSIS Geneva Plan of
Action identified the need for follow-up
and monitoring of digital opportunities.
How can we measure ICTs? How can
indices be used to do this? How should a
composite index be structured? What is
Parallel Session:
Industry-level impact of ICTs
Why is it that ICTs are transforming some
sectors and not others? How do ICTs
change the boundaries of organisations?
How do they affect the nature and
structure of Value Chains? To what extent
have they helped “the Global Enterprise”
(e.g., through offshoring)?
the impact of new technologies on the
relevance of the Digital Divide?
11:30 – 12:30
Cross-Cutting Panel Discussion (Chair: Michael Jacobides)
12:30 – 13:00
Closing Plenary and Wrap-Up (Chair: Leonard Waverman)
4
Joint Conference
Digital Transformations in the Information Society
1-2 June 2006
Geneva, Switzerland
This form can be used for REGISTRATION.
**Please tick relevant boxes and complete in PRINT or BLOCK CAPITALS**
I am pleased to confirm my attendance at the Joint Conference on “Digital Transformations
in the Information Society”. My contact details are:
Family Name:
Job Title:
Address:
Post Code:
Tel:
Email
Mr/Ms
First Name:
Organisation:
Country:
Fax:
I personally am unable to attend the Joint Conference on “Digital Transformations in the
Information Society”, but would like to confirm the attendance of one of my colleagues,
whose contact details are indicated below.
Family Name:
Job Title:
Address:
Post Code:
Tel:
Email
Mr/Ms
First Name:
Organisation:
Country:
Fax:
I regret that our organisation is unable to send a representative to this event.
I would prefer to receive further correspondence by:
e-mail
fax
Please note that, in addition to registering for the conference, you may need to make a separate hotel
booking. Practical information on the conference venue and hotels in the surrounding area will be available
on the event website at: www.itu.int/travel/
Please FAX completed form or EMAIL the above information by 16 May 2006 to:
Miss Phillippa Biggs
Tel: +41 22 730 62 22
Fax:
Email:
+41 22 730 64 53
[email protected]
5