This paper assesses the development of emerging computing applications that fall under the family of digital applications and technologies. These applications and technologies — Internet 2 based technologies for short — enable new ways of connectivity for networking, interfacing and producing content. They have the capacity and the force to disrupt existing social and economic relations and thus have major impacts on society. Hence, the term ‘e-ruptions’: emerging e-trends with potential disruptive power. This paper investigates the socio-economic impact of emerging e-ruptions, in an attempt to try and contextualise their implications and relevance for policy formulation. Evidence on trend development is presented from both formal and less formal sources such as weblogs, journals, independent commercial sources and industry-produced data. Although this evidence is largely anecdotal, at least for Europe [1], it is consistent and growing, and is reflected in social and economic impacts. Some of the social computing applications are only at the promotion stage (e.g. Ajax, social networks and wikis [2]), but others (such as VoIP) have already been widely adopted. The social relevance of these trends appears clear. They affect the way people find information, learn, share, communicate and consume and the way businesses do business. Throughout, an emphasis can be detected on interpersonal communication and on the role of the user as a supplier or co-producer of the service (content, taste, contacts, reputation, relevance, physical goods, but also software, connectivity and storage). In economic terms, these trends are already having a visible impact: new players and markets provide significant threats and opportunities for the ICT and media industries, and the new applications are increasingly used for professional purposes. The rise of the user — as a person, group or firm — as a producer is recognisable as the common thread of most of the emerging trends. Users produce utility-bearing information that minimises the transaction costs on various markets for goods and services in a potentially Pareto-optimal setting. In interacting, they use platforms that enable social networking and facilitate the further development and spread of the new e-ruptive trends. This process also changes the structural composition of (primarily) ICT and media industries, influencing directly their competitiveness. The nature of the competition for platforms that support current e-ruptive trends has been identified as one of the key factors in the continuing development of these trends. Although spectacular success stories of trend-setting companies promoting some of these applications can be observed, one has to be more cautious (bearing the Internet bubble in mind) when assessing their sustainability. In other words, a second bubble is not impossible. However, the success of innovation is measured by how established it is on the market and not by of any individual company. During the Internet bubble, the ‘holy grail’ of company success was "first-mover advantage"; now the focus has shifted back to more traditional business concepts, such as income, providing a more stable economic base. Internet 2 computing companies tend to have a smaller cost base, since they rely on users for a large part of their output, viable business models, and real market and they are much more closely integrated with the old economy, providing increasingly predictable income streams. This was not so much the case when the Internet bubble burst a few years ago. The paper starts by analyzing the available evidence on the usage growth of these trends (point 2). It then spells out the drivers of this growth (point 3), the different types of social and economic impacts (points 4 and 5 respectively). Building on this analysis, it puts forward interpretations on the sustainability of these trends (point 6), and on the main implications for innovation and competitiveness (point 7). The conclusions point to further research needs, and European policy options (point 8). In the annex (point 9), the main empirical data and a rough impact assessment are given.

The aim of this paper is to assess opportunities the Clean Energy Package provides for Plus Energy Buildings (PEBs) and Plus Energy Districts (PEDs) regarding their economic optimization and market integration, possibly leading to new use cases and revenue streams. At the same time, insights into regulatory limitations at the national level in transposing the set of EU Clean Energy Package provisions are shown. The paper illustrates that the concepts of PEBs and PEDs are in principle compatible with the EU energy community concepts, as they relate to technical characteristics while energy communities provide a legal and regulatory framework for the organization and governance of a community, at the same time providing new regulatory space for specific activities and market integration. To realize new use cases, innovative ICT approaches are needed for a range of actors actively involved in creating and operating energy communities as presented in the paper. The paper discusses a range of different options to realize PEBs and PEDs as energy communities based on the H2020 EXCESS project. It concludes, however, that currently the transposition of the Clean Energy Package by the EU Member States is incomplete and limiting and as a consequence, in the short term, the full potential of PEBs and PEDs cannot be exploited.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the main implications for innovation and competitiveness of social computing trends that promote swift social and economic relations. They are increasingly being considered by policymakers, both as tool and object for policymaking (i.e. how social computing could play a role in information society policies). Therefore, a general issue for the paper is represented by the lessons to be learned in terms of policy‐related consequences for Europe.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on an extensive desk‐based survey of secondary data available from reports, studies and most recent statistics, from internet audience measurement companies, international research companies, research projects of non‐profit centers, international firms or the industry itself.FindingsThe diffusion and usage of social computing applications have been growing at an exponential rate. A powerful feature emerges, i.e. the new user as supplier, co‐producer or innovator of the service. New areas of innovation lie at the crossroads of an increasingly complex process of both tacit and codified knowledge production. They affect the way people find information, learn, share, communicate and consume and the way business is done. New players and markets provide significant threats and opportunities for the ICT and media industries. New players have a smaller cost base, viable business models and a real market.Research limitations/implicationsComparative and systematic research of the fast growing social computing trends is needed over longer periods of time.Practical implicationsThe paper provides the first evidence on the size and weight of these trends, as well as on their social and economic relevance. It raises the need for more research, e.g. on the areas that would be most impacted and to what extent, as well as a wealth of policy‐related research questions.Originality/valueSince social computing is an emerging phenomenon, the work is innovative and novel because it attempts to draw a first solid overall picture of the development of these trends.

Two data sets are contrasted: country-level data (R&D performed by business in a particular sector and country (BERD) and company-level data (R&D financed by a particular company regardless where R&D investment is performed). About half of the overall EU vs. US R&D gap is in the information and communications technologies (ICT) sector. In turn, this ICT R&D gap has two faces. Country data suggest that the gap is largely intrinsic: the EU displays lower R&D intensities in several sub-sectors, while ICT sector size and composition are quite similar. On the other hand, company data suggest that the gap is instead structural: the sector size and composition of sub-sectors differ greatly, while R&D intensities are similar. One major explanatory factor lies in international flows of R&D and value added. Companies tend to allocate a larger share of their value added and a smaller share of R&D outside their home markets. In the sub-sectors which include much larger and more numerous US companies, these flows are unbalanced, and (BERD) R&D intensities are thus higher in the US than in Europe, everything else being equal.

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