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This article investigates decision-makers’ motivations in public sector organisations (PSOs) for pursuing blockchain technology (BCT) projects in government settings. The research sheds light on the underlying motivations that drive decision-makers to pursue BCT despite its inherent complexity and uncertainty.

The study employs a grounded theory approach to explore the motivational factors influencing PSO decision-makers. It integrates theoretical perspectives from public innovation, public administration and technology adoption scholarship to link these motivational elements to academic debates within public management literature. The empirical insights are derived from semi-structured interviews with representatives involved in BCT initiatives.

In the pre-adoption stage, decision-makers are motivated to engage with blockchain for future services if there are knowledgeable stakeholders with relevant experience, a well-justified business case, sufficient resources and a supportive organisational environment free from undue pressure for immediate results. Conversely, uncertain project continuity, limited existing legislation and the PSOs’ internal regulations are seen as demotivators to engage with BCT.

The findings call for further research to examine the extent to which the identified (de)motivators interact with managerial decisions, such as delegate control or governance design, in the actual implementation processes.

By combining theoretical insights with empirical data, this study offers a unique perspective on how organisations approach new technologies while also underscoring the need to consider unique aspects of BCT in the public sector setting, such as its governance and control, infrastructural and legal changes and the necessary skills.

This paper aims to give an overview of EU‐level e‐inclusion policy providing elements for the context for reflection on the role and shape of universal service.

The paper provides an account of the drivers and principles of EU e‐inclusion policy.

The paper finds that e‐inclusion – at this stage – needs a comprehensive and coherent approach addressing any social and economic exclusion factor with the help of ICT, addressing the risk of ICT as a factor of exclusion, bringing together the market, society, and user perspectives and seeking a “triple‐win”, and pro‐actively and forward‐looking combination of policy tools that can help to realize e‐inclusion.

The paper provides a contribution to the discussion on universal service from the wider perspective of EU e‐inclusion policy.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce to the concepts related with universal service and the papers in the special issue about “Re‐thinking universal service in the digital era”.

This special issue aims to provide support to the policy process with regard to universal service in a digital context. The papers in the issue highlight developments that are shaking up the current universal service model. They consider universal service from a set of different dimensions, encompassing both demand and supply side considerations. Also a comparative outlook draws lessons from a representative set of existing regulatory models.

The paper finds that the foundations and concept of universal service are experiencing a profound transformation as we enter into a new phase of information society development. A new set of policy goals and tools is the main consequence of this change.

The paper presents a timely account of the universal service policy debate.

This paper has two interrelated purposes. One is to provide an empirical overview of the developments of new mobile systems and services in Europe, Japan, and South Korea. The other is to examine the discussions regarding the possible explanations for the present lead that East Asia has in new mobile developments. The motivation for making a comparative analysis of mobile developments in Europe, Japan and South Korea is the fact that Japan and South Korea have taken the lead within mobile communications during the last few years, whereas Europe, and in particular the Nordic countries, was leading the way with GSM.

The current approach to universal service involving the provision of specific services (such as fixed voice, public payphones, ability to make emergency calls, etc.) needs re‐thinking in a convergent, NGN environment. This paper seeks to be part of that re‐thinking.

Questions addressed include: Should we move to a focus on universal access to communications infrastructure, allowing consumers to dictate preferred services? Since access to the full range of NGN services, including VoIP, requires broadband connection, should the scope of USOs be “upgraded” to include broadband?

A shift towards universal network access seems sensible provided that a number of conditions exist. One is that traditional services defined under universal service obligations (USOs), remain available. In particular, a shift to VoIP raises questions about whether present features of universal service (quality, ability to make emergency calls, etc) can be sustained. Another condition is widespread access to broadband. Another condition is that consumers are empowered to exercise the increased choice of services that will be available in an NGN environment. Such consumer empowerment requires that market power, information asymmetry, barriers to “switching”, as well as “systematic bias” in consumer decisions be effectively addressed.

Stimulates the policy reconsideration that is needed in regard to universal service in an NGN environment.

This paper aims to give conclusions from the papers in the special issue about “Re‐thinking universal service in the digital era”.

A summary of the themes, trends and new concepts about universal service is compiled from the varied viewpoints introduced in the issue. The editors also appraise the mobile and broadband universal service candidates under the different perspectives in the issue, point out a number of questionable assumptions and gaps in the universal service stories, and touch on the international currents of influence in universal service policy. Finally, a succinct vision of a universal service policy for Europe is outlined.

This special issue aims to provide support to the policy process with regard to universal service in a digital context. The papers in the issue highlight developments that are shaking up the current universal service model. They consider universal service from a set of different dimensions, encompassing both demand and supply side considerations. Also a comparative outlook draws lessons from a representative set of existing regulatory models.

The paper provides a summary of the main avenues for the upcoming universal service policy debate.

This chapter deals with family/household relevance as a stakeholder institution in rural (farm) communities. The data collection approach is qualitative. Families in Japan and the Philippines’ rice-cultivating communities were the subjects of the study. Results revealed that households in the two sites were experiencing a unique ontological crisis vis-á-vis farming communities. The crisis pointed to the problem of farm families’ relegation as secondary stakeholders in the farming sector. Despite the struggle for survival in the farm sector, farm families were differently adaptive and enduring in dealing with the modern development – that is, selective technology adoption, farmland redefinition, struggle and resistance against farm policies, and community group accommodation, to name a few. This endurance contributes to farm family persistence as a relevant institution in Japan and the Philippines.

The purpose of this paper is to report the findings from a research project aiming to investigate the implications of digitization for the Australian book publishing sector and in particular for current and emerging business models. Recognizing the dynamic nature of the publishing industry in Australia with the rapid development of information and communication technologies, this study aims to address several critical research questions in the publishing industry in Australia as follows: what are the major trends emerging within the publishing industry in Australia? What implications do these trends have for business models? What technologies and applications offer the greatest potential for supporting value creation activities and business model development in the digital era?

A comprehensive review of the literature on business models is conducted, in particular, in relation to the publishing industry. The current status of the technology used in the publishing industry is explored, and the overall profile of the Australian publishing industry is established with the use of a document analysis method based on secondary data available. This leads to the development of an online questionnaire for surveying the book publishers in Australia, and results in the conduct of 14 follow‐up case studies, the latter forming the basis for the current paper.

The findings are that global trends towards consolidation and increasing competition are replicated in Australia, and that business models are responding, for example, with the emergence of hybrid models, embodying traditional elements and those consequent on the advent of digitization. It is also clear that the internet and related network technologies, along with content and digital rights management technologies are emerging as key to change, but those strategic decisions are ultimately based on business drivers rather than on emerging technologies.

The research findings would be of significant benefits to Australian business, especially, the publishers in Australia in their endeavour to effectively deal with the challenges that the rapid advance in information and communication technologies has brought to every organization. These findings help organizations, including Australian publishers, realistically assess the impact of the digital technologies on their businesses and subsequently formulate effective policies and strategies for fully making use of the potential of the digital technologies for developing and sustaining their competitive advantages in the market.

The originality of this study is the use of a multi‐method approach for investigating the implications of digitization for the Australian book publishing sector and in particular for current and emerging business models. Such a study is of tremendous value to the Australian publishers due to the rapid advance of digital technologies; the need for a better understanding of the impacts of such technologies advances on publishers; and the increasing competitive market in publishing. The research findings would help Australian publishers and also other organizations develop specific strategies and polices for effectively dealing with the challenges from the rapid development of the digital technologies.

Small businesses are ubiquitous across the globe and they form a large part of the enterprise population in most economies. Understanding of the sector remains sketchy, despite there being concerted efforts since the 1970s to conduct research to give insight into the behaviour of small businesses.

All businesses have to cope with their external environments, but the resource poverty of small businesses means that they may suffer disproportionately, and they certainly do not have access to the resources, financing and knowhow that large firms have to inform them about the most effective way to manage their resources, minimise threats and optimise opportunities in the environment. This chapter provides a holistic framework to enable deeper understanding of subsequent chapters.

This paper applies the decomposition method proposed by Wang et al. (2013), together with the multi-national input-output tables from World Input-Output Database (WIOD) to estimate the value-chain transition in East Asian production network. Specifically, we calculate and examine the domestic value-added absorbed abroad, foreign value-added embodied in country’s gross exports, and vertical specialization measures to explore the relative positions of major East Asian countries in the global production chain over the period of 1995-2011. The analyses are at country-aggregate, country-sector, bilateral-aggregate and bilateral-sector levels. Based on our results, we answer the important question of whether Taiwan and South Korea have used China’s production chains as an intermediary to re-export their products to other countries in the world. Furthermore, we answer the question that over the 1995-2011 periods, have Taiwan and South Korea exploited cheap labor from China to add value to their products before re-exported them to the rest of the world?