The influence of the Digital Divide on Big Data generation within supply chain management

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the Digital Divide (DD) and digital alphabetization (DA) on the Big Data (BD) generation process, to gain insight into how BD could become a useful tool in the decision-making process of supply chain management (SCM). Similarly, the paper aims to recognize and understand, from a value-creation perspective, the correlation between DD and BD generation and between DD and SCM. Design/methodology/approach The approach utilized in the present study consists of two steps: first, a systematic literature review was conducted aiming at finding out to determine the existing relationship between “Big Data Analytics” (BDA), “SCM” and the “DD”. A total of 595 articles were considered, and analysis showed a clear relationship among BDA, SCM, and DD. Next, the Vector autoregressive (VAR) approach was applied in a case study to prove the correlation between DD (as part of internet usage) and internet acquisitions, and in general terms the relationship between DD and Trade. Internet usage and internet acquisition in imports and exports at the European level were considered as variables in an empirical study of European trade. The novelty of this two-tiered approach consists in its application of a systematic literature review, the first of its kind, to generate inputs for the longitudinal case study of imports and exports at the EU level. In turn, the case study tested the accuracy of the theorized relationship among the main variables. Findings By analyzing the connection between DD and internet acquisitions, a positive and long-lasting impulse response function was revealed, followed by an ascending trend. This suggests that a self-multiplying effect is being generated, and it is reasonable to assume that the more individuals use the internet, the more electronic acquisitions occur. We can thus reasonably conclude that the improvement of the BD and SCM process is strongly dependent on the quality of the human factor. Tackling DA is the new reading key in the decision-making process: quantifying the added value of the human factor in SCM is challenging and is an ongoing process, based on the opportunity cost between automation in decision-making or relying on the complexity of human factors. Research limitations/implications One of the biggest limits in our research is the lack of the time series available on consumer orientations and preferences. Data on the typology of customer preferences, and how they are shaped, modified, or altered, were non-accessible, though big companies may have access to this data. The present longitudinal study on European trade helps clarify how and to what extent BDA, SCM, and DD are inter-related. The modeling of the theoretical framework likewise highlights several identifiable benefits for companies of adopting BDA in their business processes. Practical implications Understanding the obstacles to DD in trade companies and states, and identifying their influence on firm performance, serves to orient the decision-making process in SCM toward reducing DD to generate important economic benefits. Enhancing internet usage may accelerate longer-term investments in human resources, offering developing countries unprecedented opportunities to enhance their educational systems and to improve their economic policies, widening the range of opportunities for businesses and poor states. Social implications BD generation will undeniably influence microeconomic decisions: they will become evaluation tools of more efficient economic progress in small and/or large economies. However, an economically efficient society will be achievable only in those countries in which qualified human resources can generate and manage BD, to unlock its potential. This twofold effect will surely affect the socio-economic and geopolitical situation. The economic progress of conventional countries may vacillate if it is not adequately flanked by qualified human resources able to progress the information and communication technology (ICT) prevalent in contemporary economies. Consequently, the social impact of investments in ICT capacity building will necessarily affect future socio-economic scenarios. New indicators will become necessary to measure the conventional progress, and one of them will surely be DD. Originality/value The novelty of the present study is twofold: first, it is the first meticulous meta-analysis developed using a very wide analysis of the published literature to highlight a previously hidden relationship among DD, BD, and SCM. This comparative approach made it possible to build a theoretical framework for the real evaluation of the impact of BDA on different organizational elements, including SCM. Second, the research emphasizes the need to reform and reshape the studies on BDA, convincing companies that it is necessary to understand that the obstacles (DD and DA, i.e. internet usage) must be addressed with conscious decision-making processes, strategically and resolutely, to transform points of weakness into opportunities.

Assuring SME’s Sustainable Competitiveness in the Digital Era: A Labor Policy between Guaranteed Minimum Wage and ICT Skill Mismatch

“…Rapid technological development is imposing the acquisition of new skills to respond to the current and future needs of firms and labor markets [1], changing organizational processes and individual job profiles [2]. Consequently, the world is moving towards a digital "people-driven economy" [3,4], in which attracting and retaining human resources have become strategic imperatives [5]. In this context, being able to capture the talents ("war for talent") and "matching workers' skills to the most appropriate jobs within the firms" [6] are becoming real priorities for companies, creating an "economic value of a magnitude that few other economic processes can" [7].…”

The Impact of Internet Usage on Health-Care Expenditures and Sustainability

“…According to WHO's statistics, indicators such as Life expectancy at birth or Healthy life expectancy at birth are showing significant increase (respectively from 66,5 years in 2000 to 72,0 in 2016 and from 58,5 in 2000 to 63,3 in 2016). According WHO's report [1], that analyzed health statistics for its 194 Member States, focusing on the health and health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), these improvements can be ascribed to: a global enhancement of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health; a reduction of incidence of infectious diseases, such as HIV ("from 0.40 per 1000 uninfected population in 2005 to 0.26 per 1000 uninfected population in 2016") or TB (with a 19% decrease of new and relapse cases from 2000 to 2016); a collective reduction of mortality due to the four main Non-Communicable-Diseases (NCDs) 4 in people from 30 to 70 years; universal health coverage (there is an enormous heterogeneity between countries); a gradual growth of essential services provided by national health services; and a constant increase in financial resources spent on research and development to develop or create new health products and processes.…”

“…Recently, OECD [3] analyzed how digital technologies are changing and will change our life. In its report, OECD starts its considerations from some empirical evidences: people are making a constant use of personal digital devices to access the Internet; broadband connections increased by 26% in OECD countries; applications, such as Big data [4], Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence, connected to the widespread technologies are continuously developed.…”

“…In other studies [4], [9] it emerges that digital devices and the Internet connection caused disparities in Internet usage and Internet access, between countries and within countries: these phenomena are known as Digital Divide (DD). The DD is related to three key elements: technology (infrastructure [10] and hardware [11]), Socio-economic impact (social inequalities: class, ethnicity, gender, age, and geographical location [12], [13]), and Ability to use the devices (First Level DD [9], [14] and Second Level DD [15], [16]).…”

“…This paper is organized as follows: the introduction presents the information needed to introduce the research questions; a brief literature review to identify the concept and the variables; the PLM methodology adopted to analyse the data; the results and the conclusion. 4 The four main NCDs are: cardiovascular disease (with 44% of all NCD deaths); cancer (22%); chronic respiratory disease (9%); and diabetes (4%).…”