E-service –

knowledge services, entrepreneurship, and the consequences for business customers and citizens 1. Aim of the project This project focuses on the role of knowledge services (all firms producing knowledge services whether service or manufacturing firms) in the knowledge based society and how knowledge services develop new entrepreneurship and research and development (R&D) forms. Particular emphasis will be placed on the introduction of ICT-networks as a production and delivery instrument (e-service) and customer involvement as catalysts for development of new entrepreneurial forms. The project should fulfil the following objectives: 1. Investigate how the most advanced knowledge service firms develop new forms of entrepreneurship (establishment of new firms and corporate entrepreneurship (cf. Pinchot 1985) within existing firms). This may include more formalised R&D activities. 2. Investigate which role the possibility of developing e-services by using ICT-networks (information and communication technology) plays in the development of new forms of entrepreneurship in knowledge service firms. 3. Investigate which role the knowledge service firms' customers-citizens and firms-play in their entrepreneurship (or innovation) process and how new knowledge services affect the customers' functions. 4. Investigate which networks the knowledge service firms use in their innovation or entrepreneurship activities. 5. Investigate service infusion in manufacturing companies and the entrepreneurial activities that could cause. 6. Create one or more scenarios about the role of knowledge services in the future knowledge society. 7. Be the basis for NewInsight to develop a new advisory product, a scenario instrument that can be used by knowledge service firms using ICT networks as a production and delivery tool. The project is composed of three parts, which will be coordinated: Part 1. State of the art and theory development: Literature survey to investigate what is already known about this topic and further theory development. Part 2. Case studies in knowledge service firms and their clients. Part 3. Creation of future scenarios of knowledge service's and ICT-networks' role in the future knowledge society. The scenarios will be based on the case studies and the literature survey. These three parts will be described in the following sections. 2. Project Partners The project will be carried out by two research institutions, Center for Information and Communication Technologies (CICT) and Center for Service Studies, who together cover an interdisciplinary field, and a consultancy firm, NewInsight. The partners have a long tradition for cooperation, among others in the project "Service development", financed by the research councils 1996-99 and the …