Digital technology and governance in transition: The case of the British Library

Comment on the organizational consequences of the new information and communications technologies (ICTs) is pervaded by a powerful imagery of disaggregation and a tendency for ?virtual? forms of production to be seen as synonymous with the ?end? of bureaucracy. This paper questions the underlying assumptions of the ?virtual organization?, highlighting the historically enduring, diversified character of the bureaucratic form. The paper then presents case study findings on the web-based access to information resources now being provided by the British Library (BL). The case study evidence produces two main findings. First, radically decentralised virtual forms of service delivery are heavily dependent on new forms of capacity-building and information aggregation. Second, digital technology is embedded in an inherently contested and contradictory context of institutional change. Current developments in the management and control of digital rights are consistent with the commodification of the public sphere. However, the evidence also suggests that scholarly access to information resources is being significantly influenced by the ?information society? objectives of the BL and other institutional players within the network of UK research libraries

The playfulness of eBay and the implications for business as a game-maker

The purpose of this article is to theorize and to illustrate how eBay as a game may both support and undermine playful consumption. In reaching that aim, we argue that business models such as eBay that operate in an experiential economy supplying new games for restless consumers to play may find it hard to sustain their initial success. As internal and external forces transform “playful” behaviors into “professional” ones and as imaginative and autotelic play is rationalized such that its purpose becomes extrinsic, consumer boredom may follow. Conceptually, we make a case for an appraisal of consumption as playful activity, borrowing key concepts from Caillois's sociology derived from play to guide our analysis of recent developments in eBay's business model as well as to flesh out an explanation as to how eBay engages playful consumption. We conclude by commenting on society's preferred play forms for businesses and for consumer cultur