The Digital Disruption and its Societal Impacts

Abstract

Deepening digitalization and globalization has induced an ongoing societal transformation that may ultimately prove to be as significant as the original industrial revolution. Even as the ICT industry is being restructured, global competition is being transformed. Previously dominant firms-including telecommunications carriers, equipment providers, and powerful legacy software firms-are under assault from the move to cloud computing, in the network center, and mobile computing, on the network periphery. This transformation of the computing and communication infrastructure has been occurring simultaneously with the spread of ever more complicated and sophisticated global value chains. The articles in this special issue explore a number of the key facets of this transformation in a comparative lens. The authors find that the social, legal, and economic arrangements will impact how these changes affect nation-states. For policy-makers there will be serious dilemmas, as they will have to simultaneously nurture and support many aspects of these changes, while also mitigating or channeling some of the outcomes so as to protect privacy, income equality, and fair taxation.

Business Growth Using Open Source e-Commerce and ERP in Small Business

“…Furthermore, the policymakers should encourage companies to collaborate with technology centers, incubators and universities, and get benefit entrepreneurship services offered by these institutions. [10] Due to digital disruption, the landscape of business has become more global and interconnected, leading to increased competition with new rules in the markets [11]. The role of management is challenged by the need to monitor new tools and possibilities to communicate with their partners and stakeholders, not to forget the customers.…”

Crowdsourcing, Sharing Economies and Development

“…This sector-based categorization is perhaps the easiest method of classification but, as Kenney, Rouvinen, and Zysman (2015) point out, sectors are now blurring due to digitization and use of IT platforms.…”

“…This sector-based categorization is perhaps the easiest method of classification but, as Kenney, Rouvinen, and Zysman (2015) point out, sectors are now blurring due to digitization and use of IT platforms. Belk (2010) suggests the concepts of "sharing in" and "sharing out" as a means of distinguishing between sharing that is similar to family sharing (ownership as common) and sharing with strangers that does not create any attachment or bonds.…”

Ethical Implications Regarding the Adoption of Emerging Digital Technologies: An Exploratory Framework

“…Furthermore, intense competition between large producers of digital technologies -both hardware and, especially, software -has led to unstoppable innovation, affecting in turn other no less disruptive disciplines such as genomics, nanotechnology, and biotechnology, to mention the most significant. Given the overwhelming and pervasive nature of this scenario, it is essential to understand and reflect and act on the implications of technology-society interactions in order to fully leverage the potential benefits of digitisation for social well-being and sustainable development (Benería et al 2016;International Labour Office 2019;International Labour Organisation 2018;International Telecommunication Union 2018;Kenney et al 2015;Mazzucato 2018;Stiglitz et al 2009). The objective of this chapter is to identify implications that require immediate and urgent attention and explore a framework centred on the importance of applying ethical and moral principles as society adopts and appropriates EDT.…”