Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
incorporate the creation of services, because it is the source of competitiveness and
the source of value creation. Reponen et al. (2003) focused on the IT-enabled
customer relationship management, because it can be the source of competitiveness
of a company and the source of additional value. The term ITeS in some cases only
means outsourcing. For example, many companies in the United States have
outsourced their call center operations to India where there is a large number of
English speakers who can be paid at cheaper rates than their counterparts in the
United States. In addition, there is a convenient time difference between the two
countries, which allows Indian companies to complement the office hours of their
US partners. ITeS, however, should not refer solely to outsourcing. Instead, it
should be the source of the growth of national wealth.
1.5 Relationship Between Service and ICT in the
Twenty-First Century
As mentioned in the previous sections, ITeS in the twenty-first century has become
an important source of economic growth. In the following sections, some notable
cases from ITeS and future perspectives are presented.
1.5.1
Innovations Brought by ITeS in Rural Areas
Globalization has been accelerated through various factors, one of which is the
development of ICT. For example, the penetration of ICT into the daily lives of
rural Japanese has been promoted by the development of broadband mobile phone
networks. The following provides discussions of ITeS in the rural context.
1.5.1.1
ITeS and Production in Rural Areas
A typical production model of ITeS in rural areas is known as the “Sixth industry
model” (Odagiri
2011
). The term, which relates to the number six, comes from the
synthesis of “primary industry” plus “secondary industry” plus “tertiary industry”
(1+2+3
6, hence, “Sixth industry”).
In rural areas, primary industries such as fishery and farming have remained as
major industries. In the past, it used to be difficult for these sectors to reach
consumer markets in metropolitan areas. Therefore, they had to rely on
organizations such as
Zen-Noh
, which owned processing facilities and a large
distribution channel.
By using ICT, each producer has now gained better access to the market in two
ways. One is physical access via ICT, and the other is the access to information on
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