What is Structural Change

Enterprises have been radically altered since the 1980s, so much so that people talk about a new paradigm, which is referred to by different names such as post- Fordism, post-industrial era, mass customization, information society, etc. However, awareness of this paradigm shift is not a new phenomenon since it has been extensively discussed in the literature since the 1970s (e.g., see Kidd, 1994; Piore & Sable, 1984; Savage, 1996; Toffler, 1971). That the world of enterprise is undergoing a paradigm shift is not of great interest anymore. Of more importance are the details of the new and advanced concepts that are required in the longer-term to deal with an ever-changing business environment.