Abstract

About the Series

A series of specially-commissioned 50-minute lectures to celebrate the first 50 years of Wolfson College. In the series, eleven distinguished members of the college reflect on developments in their fields of expertise in the half-century since Wolfson was founded.

Synopsis

In this lecture, I will take you on a journey of the goods and services we bought over the last 50 years, and how that is changing and what the future might be. I will discuss the markets through which such exchanges happen and how they are evolving, and provide some insights on the understanding of the human sociological condition that is creating new markets with the aid of advanced technologies.

About the Lecturer

Irene Ng is a Senior Member of Wolfson, as well as Professor of Marketing and Service Systems and Director of the International Institute for Product and Service Innovation at WMG , University of Warwick. She studied physics, applied physics and computer programming as an undergraduate and became an entrepreneur and practitioner for 16 years before moving on to an academic career. During her time in industry she occupied a number of senior positions in industry, rising to become CEO of SA Tours and Travel group of companies (Singapore, Malaysia, China and UK) and founding Empress Cruise Lines, a company with an annual turnover of $250m which she sold in 1996. A business economist through her doctoral training, her research lies in the trans-disciplinary understanding of value and new business models. Irene is one of the 5 ESRC /InnovateUK Innovation caucus Thought leaders. Her latest book is the highly-acclaimed Creating New Markets in the Digital Economy, published by Cambridge University Press in early 2014. Both an entrepreneur and an academic, she is passionate about the link between practice and research and advises start-ups on new pricing and revenue models in digital businesses.