Report: The Digital Future of Creative Europe

Authors:  Matthew Le Merle, Thomas Künstner, Hannes Gmelin, and Christian Dietsche

Among the sectors most profoundly affected by digitization is the creative sector, which, by the definition of this study, encompasses the industries of book publishing, print publishing, film and television, music, and gaming. The objective of this report is to provide a comprehensive view of the impact digitization has had on the creative sector as a whole, with analyses of its effect on consumers, creators, distributors, and publishers

Both the Pan European report and the country specific reports were financed by Google Inc.

Download Pan European PDF

Download Germany PDF

Download Italy PDF

Download UK PDF

Presentation: Angel Capital Association - The Future of Crowdfunding

Fifth Era is presenting at the 2015 Angel Capital Association Annual Meeting in San Diego, California a set of plausible future scenarios for the future of crowdfunding.

These scenarios indicate that the current widely held "official future" of how crowdfunding will play out, is perhaps at the optimistic end of the spectrum.  Other equally plausible scenarios would see a much more challenging future driven by potentially high failure rates to be experienced on crowdfunding platforms combined with, and perhaps driving increased regulation.

The summary materials are an incomplete record of the discussion, but can be downloaded by clicking this link.

For further perspective on this issue, contact Fifth Era through the contact section of this website.

Report: Building an External Innovation Capability

Authors: Matthew Le Merle and Jamie Campbell

In the past few years, an increasing number of the largest companies in the world have established a new C-level role—the chief innovation officer—responsible for leading innovation activities throughout the enterprise. As these executives get to work, they quickly find that the pace of innovation has accelerated and that their companies cannot hope to create and develop every possible source of innovation advantage exclusively in-house.

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Report: The Next Wave of Digitization - Setting Your Direction, Building Your Capabilities

Authors: Matthew Le Merle, Roman Friedrich, Michael Peterson, Alex Koster

For more than a decade, powerful new digital approaches to business, and life in general, have come on the scene, yet we are now entering an even more rapid and dramatic period of change. The phenomenon of digitization is reaching an inflection point. Three powerful forces are driving the shift: consumer demand, the push for new technologies, and the prospect of even greater economic benefits.

Every company in every industry will be dramatically affected, and it will be the responsibility of CEOs to lead the charge by building the right capabilities for their companies to remain relevant in the digitized environment, achieve growth, and fend off competitive threats. New technology deployments and related investments will add up to more than even the largest and most resource-endowed enterprises can afford. Trade-offs will be required, and the risks of making the wrong choices will be high. Unlike the technology revolutions of the 1990s and 2000s, this time around the basis of competition will be set by the companies that embrace and deploy digitization in the right places at the right time.

This Perspective provides guidance to CEOs and their management teams about the relevance of digitization in their respective industries, and the factors most likely to accelerate or decelerate the digitization phenomenon. The judgments that companies make now will largely determine their relative competitive position for the foreseeable future.

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Report: Measuring Industry Digitization: Leaders and Laggards in the Digital Economy

Authors: Matthew Le Merle, Roman Friedrich, Alex Koster and Florian Groene

The pace of digitization is picking up rapidly but the speed at which digitization is taking place varies a great deal from industry to industry. To gain a better understanding of the relative degree to which digitization is transforming different industries, we have created the Industry Digitization Index. Whether they are currently digitization leaders or laggards, all industries can benefit by investing in the input, processing, and output capabilities needed to extend their digital footprints throughout their business ecosystems.

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Report: Taking Action for Tomorrow - Bay Area Life Sciences Strategic Action Plan

Authors: Matthew Le Merle and Nancy Michels on behalf of the Governor of the State of California, Bay Area Council, BayBio and Monitor Group

As announced by Governor Gray Davis, this Bay Area Life Sciences Strategic Action Plan forms the foundation of an overarching initiative by the state to promote California and the Bay Area as a center of innovation in Life Sciences. It describes the current context and frames the future vision for Life Sciences in the Bay Area. It also identifies critical priorities and sets forth recommended actions for fostering growth of Life Sciences in the region.

This Strategic Action Plan is a blueprint for government, universities, research institutions, companies, and economic development organizations to refocus cooperative actions that will have a positive impact on Life Sciences in the Bay Area, thereby strengthening the economy and enhancing the quality of life in the region and throughout California. It is intended to inform and educate policy makers and civic leaders about the importance of the Life Sciences industry cluster to the regional economy and to strengthen collaboration among stakeholders to enhance the competitiveness of Life Sciences in the Bay Area.

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