ABSTRACT

This Handbook provides a thorough discussion of the most recent wave of technological (and organisational) innovations, frequently called “smart” and based on the digitisation of information. The acronym stands for "Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology". This new wave is one in a row of waves that have shaken up and transformed the economy, society and culture since the first Industrial Revolution and have left a huge impact on how we live, think, communicate and work: they have deeply affected the socioeconomic metabolism from within and humankind’s footprint on our planet. The Handbook analyses the origins of the current wave, its roots in earlier ones and its path-dependent nature; its current forms and actual manifestations; its multifarious impact on economy and society; and it puts forward some guesstimates regarding the probable directions of its further development. In short, the Handbook studies the past, the present and the future of smart technologies and digitalisation.

This cutting-edge reference will appeal to a broad audience, including but not limited to, researchers from various disciplines with a focus on technological innovation and their impact on the socioeconomic system; students across different fields but especially from economics, social sciences and law studying questions related to radical technological change and its consequences, as well as professionals around the globe interested in the debate of smart technologies and socioeconomic transformation, from a multi- and interdisciplinary perspective.

Part 1. Disruptive technological change: historical record, economic analysis, methods and tools 1. Is technological progress inevitable? 2. Disruptive technological change in recent economic history 3. On machine ages: Causes, forms and effects of technological change 4. Tools and concepts for understanding disruptive technological change after Schumpeter 5. Entrepreneurship and industrial organisation 6. Is this time different? A note on automation and labour in the fourth Industrial Revolution Part 2. Smart technologies and work 7. Smart technologies and the changing skills landscape in developing countries 8. The impact of disruptive technologies on work and employment 9. The fourth industrial revolution and the distribution of income 10. The legal protection of platform workers 11. Smart technologies and gender: A never-ending story Part 3. Smart technologies and social and economic transformation 12. Artificial intelligence 13. The science space of artificial intelligence knowledge production: global and regional patterns, 1990–2016 14. Structural dynamics in the era of smart technologies 15. The diffusion of industrial robots 16. The triple bottom line of smart manufacturing technologies: an economic, environmental, and social perspective 17. From smart technologies to value creation: understanding smart service systems through text mining 18. Smart cities: A spatial perspective 19. Producing the ‘user’ in smart technologies: a framework for examining user representations in smart grids and smart metering infrastructure Part 4. Smart technologies, governance and institutions 20. Digital transformation and the sovereignty of nation states 21. Antitrust law and digital markets 22. Platform regulation: Coordination of markets and curation of sociality on the internet 23. New mission-oriented innovation policy in the digital era: How policy-based social technologies fuel the development of smart technologies. 24. Crypto assets 25. Blockchain and the "smart-ification" of governance: The last "building block" in the smart economy Part 5. Smart technologies and grand societal challenges 26. "Back to the Future": Smart technologies and the sustainable development goals 27. North-South divide in research and innovation and the challenges of global technology assessment: the case of smart technologies in agriculture 28. Smart technologies, energy demand and vulnerable groups; the scope for ‘just’ metering? 29. Smart health 30. Cybersecurity and ethics: An uncommon yet indispensable combination of issues Part 6. Smart technologies: case studies 31. A digital society for an ageing population. The Japanese experience 32. Digitalisation and development in India: an overview 33. Industry 4.0 in China