ICT and e-Business in the Pulp, Paper and Paper ... - empirica

Pulp, paper and paper products
1 Introduction
1.1 About e-Business W@tch
Policy background
The European Commission launched e-Business W@tch in late 2001 to monitor the
adoption, development and impact of electronic business practices in different sectors of
the economy in the European Union.
The initiative is rooted in the eEurope Action Plans of 2002 and 2005. The eEurope
2005 Action Plan defined the goal "to promote take-up of e-business with the aim of
increasing the competitiveness of European enterprises and raising productivity and
growth through investment in information and communication technologies, human
resources (notably e-skills) and new business models". 3 e-Business W@tch has been an
important instrument for the European Commission to assess the developments and
progress in this field.
The i2010 policy 4 , a follow-up to eEurope, also stresses the critical role of ICT for
productivity and innovation, stating that "… the adoption and skilful application of ICT is
one of the largest contributors to productivity and growth throughout the economy,
leading to business innovations in key sectors" (p. 6). The Communication anticipates "a
new era of e-business solutions", based on integrated ICT systems and tools, which will
lead to an increased business use of ICT. However, it also warns that businesses "still
face a lack of interoperability, reliability and security", which could hamper the realisation
of productivity gains (p. 7).
In 2005, in consideration of globalisation and intense international competition, the
European Commission launched a new industrial policy 5 to create better framework
conditions for manufacturing industries in the coming years. Some of the policy strands
described have direct links to ICT and e-business developments. One of the new sectorspecific
initiatives covered by the policy is the taskforce on information and
communication technologies (ICT) competitiveness. The taskforce with stakeholders
representatives focuses on identifying and proposing measures to remove obstacles that
inhibit ICT take-up among enterprises. Another initiative is to conduct a series of
competitiveness studies, to include for ICT, food, and fashion and design industries, in
order to analyse trends affecting the competitiveness of these industrial sectors.
These policy considerations constitute the background and raison d'être of e-Business
W@tch as an observatory of related issues and a core theme for the analysis. Within this
broader policy context, two further important facets regarding the mission of the initiative
3
4
5
"eEurope 2005: An information society for all". Communication from the Commission,
COM(2002) 263 final, 28 May 2002, chapter 3.1.2
"i2010 – A European Information Society for growth and employment." Communication from the
Commission, COM(2005) 229 final.
"Implementing the Community Lisbon Programme: A Policy Framework to Strengthen EU
Manufacturing - towards a more integrated approach for Industrial Policy." Communication from
the Commission, COM(2005) 474 final, 5.10.2005
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