By Shen Junjie, Research Team on "Promoting China's Economic Restructuring and Upgrading through Informatization", DRC

Research Report No 132, 2015 (Total 4817)

Abstract:

Since 1960s, informatization has been fueling the transformation of global industrial structure from "industrial economy" to "service economy", leading to a worldwide rapid growth of service sector. In essence, informatization, with the development and utilization of information resources, facilitation of information exchanges and knowledge sharing-oriented targets, has triggered revolutionary changes in service sector in terms of factor input and innovation sources. Informatization transformed managerial patterns and operational models of traditional service industry, gave birth to a new form of service industry, namely modern service industry, improved productivity of the industry, assisted progressive increments of gains in some service sectors during certain periods and at certain levels, created new demands and new industries and expanded service trade. Informatization pattern has undergone profound changes brought by a new generation of information technology including the Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data and mobile Internet. Consequently the development of service industry is driven forward and featured by specialization-based division of labor, cross-sector integration, innovation of business model and consolidation of industrial chains by leading Internet companies.