The fourth industry is the general name of knowledge, technology and information-intensive industrial departments differentiated from the three industries. It includes: designing and producing computer software and its services, consulting department, new technology department applying microcomputer, optical fiber, laser and genetic engineering, high automation and electrification department, etc. Information industry is an independent fourth industry.
Information industry refers to the industry that converts information into commodities. It includes not only software, database, various wireless communication services and online information services, but also the publication of traditional newspapers, books, movies and audio-visual products. The production of computers and communication equipment will no longer be included, and it will be listed as a branch of manufacturing.
The redefined information industry refers to those industries that turn information into commodities. (1) information and cultural products production and circulation industry;
(2) industries that provide delivery or distribution of these products and data or communication methods;
(3) industries that process data. According to the National Standard Industrial Classification (1987), the United States Department of Commerce defines the information technology industry in the digital economy 2000 as follows: the information industry should be composed of four parts: hardware industry, software industry and service industry, communication equipment manufacturing industry and communication service industry. American Information Industry Association (AIIA) defines the information industry as:
Information industry is a combination of production activities that rely on new information technology and innovative information processing means to manufacture and provide information products and services. The North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) defined the information industry as an independent industrial sector for the first time in the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) jointly formulated by 1997. The system stipulates that the information industry, as an independent and complete department, should include the following units: units that produce and publish information and cultural products; Units that provide methods and means to disseminate and publish these products; A unit of information service and data processing. Specifically, it includes publishing industry, film and audio-visual industry, radio and television and telecommunications industry, and information and data processing services. China's information industry has not developed for a long time. Due to different analysis angles, standards and statistical caliber, there are many different views on the definition and division of information industry.
Professor Wu, a quantitative economist and information economist in China, believes that the information industry is an industry that serves the industry, and it is the general name of enterprises, institutions and related internal institutions engaged in the production of information products and services, the construction of information systems and the manufacture of information technology equipment. At the same time, he thinks that the information industry can be divided into broad sense and narrow sense. In a narrow sense, information industry refers to the production department directly or indirectly related to electronic computers. Information industry in a broad sense refers to all production departments related to collection, storage, retrieval, organization, processing and information transmission.
Qu, a Chinese scholar, believes that the information industry is the general name of industrial departments specializing in information technology development, research and production of equipment and products, and providing information services for social and economic life. It is an industrial group that includes information collection, production, detection, conversion, storage, transmission, processing, distribution and application. Basically, it mainly includes information industry (including computer equipment manufacturing, communication and network equipment and other information equipment manufacturing), information service industry and information development industry (including software industry, database development industry, electronic publishing industry and other content service industries).
Although there are various viewpoints, there are generally three different viewpoints: broad, narrow and moderate. In a broad sense, under the influence of the theories of Mahlup and Polat, the information industry refers to everything and information production; Circulation and utilization of related industries, including information services and information technology, scientific research, education, publishing, news and other departments. In a narrow sense, influenced by the structural division of information industry in Japan, information industry refers to comprehensive production activities and basic institutions engaged in the research, development and application of information technology, the manufacture of information equipment and devices, and providing information services for economic development and social needs. The information industry structure is divided into two parts: one is information technology and equipment manufacturing, and the other is information service industry. Another scholar believes that the information industry is the information service industry, which is composed of activities that take data and information as production, processing, transmission and service, including data processing industry, information providing industry, software industry, system integration industry, consulting industry and so on.