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Introduction
Many organisations define technology as a significant asset to generate income and control cost (Brynjolfsson and Hitt, 2000). The World Wide Web (henceforth referred to as the Web) is recognised as the fastest growing publication medium of all time, containing well over one-trillion uniform resource locators (URLs) (Alpert and Hajaj, 2008). With an estimated growth rate of 566 per cent in the Internet usage in the past twelve years (Internet World Stats, 2012), the Internet has become the main source of communication worldwide. With ever-increasing growth rates, the technology supporting the structure of the Internet is evolving at an even higher rate. The Web, acting as an enabler for technological advancement, matures in its own respective way. Initially, there were the static informative characteristics of the early Web, referred to as Web 1.0, which progressed into the more interactive experience of Web 2.0. The next phase of Web evolution, Web 3.0, brings forth new opportunities and challenges. Web 3.0 will change the way people interact with devices and networks, and how companies use information to market and sell their products and operate their businesses (Booz and Company, 2011). Organisations need to be ready and acquire knowledge about the opportunities and negative impacts arising from Web 3.0 technologies.
Research objective
The objective of this study is to define Web 3.0 and to discuss the underlying technologies, investigate the impact of Web 3.0, and its applications on business operations. In doing so, the study aims to identify opportunities and challenges arising from Web 3.0 technologies. The study proposes to provide knowledge to organisational leaders, managers, boards of directors, information technology (IT) professionals and information managers, rather than technical experts, with regard to opportunities and negative impacts arising from the use of Web 3.0 and its applications. Thus, the study investigates the impact of Web 3.0 technologies on broad-based business operations which are applicable to most businesses and, therefore, does not focus on industry-specific operations. The research focuses on incremental opportunities and constraints specifically pertaining to Web 3.0 and not the negative impacts prevalent to Web 2.0, or other pre-existing negative impacts. It is not the purpose of this research to discuss the technologies underlying Web 3.0 in detail.
Research motivation
Web 3.0 calls for a complete...