Before we answer this, one needs to revisit the American Economic Historian W.W. Rostow who in the sixties had suggested that countries passed through 5 stages of economic development as Traditional Society, Transitional Stage, Take-off, Drive to Maturity and High Mass Consumption.

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Indeed, it is the move of established firms on to the Internet that seems likely to drive this technology forward to maturity.

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The maturity of a social businesses hinges on the ability to develop a competitive advantage through better systems that drive the collective, and not just individual, talent and eminence of the organization.

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