Digital economy
Heriot-Watt University will be part of a consortium of researchers, headed by the University of Exeter Business School to undertake research into the digital economy.
The consortium has been awarded £1.5 million by the Research Council UK to inform business sectors and large companies about the changes they need to make to take advantages of the opportunities created by the technologies now available.
The investment will enable the creation of a network of business people, academics and other experts who will identify and then investigate the big research questions that have arisen as a result of the enormous and fast-paced growth of the digital economy.
'Third industrial revolution'
Professor Roger Maull from the Centre for Innovation and Service Research at the University of Exeter Business School explains, "Arguably, we are currently experiencing the third industrial revolution. The first two completely changed the global economy and how business was conducted, the same is happening now.
"Whilst everyone has interacted with relatively new technologies like mobile phones, tablet computers and the internet for example, little academic research has been done into how businesses should be responding to these changes both now and in the future. Over the course of the three years, we will answer some of those questions."
The other institutions involved in the project are the University of Cambridge and Warwick Manufacturing Group.