Digital Ecosystems as a Unit of Scientific Analysis. A Sociological Investigation

The growth of digital ecosystems such as Google, Apple and Uber has led to radical changes in economic activity, work and consumption. It has also challenged established economic, social and organization theory, which has clear limitations in understanding these phenomena. The discourses on these topics are conducted in various arenas, which are not linked, and conceptualise digital ecosystems differently. What kind of theoretical object is this? The purpose of this study is to present an institutional and comparative analysis of the research on platforms and digital ecosystems. We identify four research streams; political, economic, technological and individual. We analyse each stream regarding the key insights, and identify the most important knowledge sources. Then we assess the relevance of classical and modern sociology for understanding digital ecosystems

From industrial ecosystems to digital economy ecosystems: new business models and models of competition in the conditions of digitalization of international trade in goods and services

В статті відзначено, що міжнародні ринки товарів і послуг відчувають дедалі потужніший вплив цифрових технологій, які трансформують бізнес-процеси, а подекуди і руйнують усталені взаємозв’язки і моделі господарювання. Сектор торгівлі послугами – в числі тих, хто опинився в центрі цифрової революції, яка уможливила заміщення послугами окремих груп товарів, що і вплинуло на зменшення обсягів міжнародної торгівлі останніми і пришвидшило процеси активної сервісизації світової економіки. Бізнес-середовище ускладнюється, змінюється і сама природа конкуренції вимагає формування нових конкурентних переваг компаній: забезпечення життєздатності не на основі миттєвої ефективності, а на використанні синергії від взаємодії гравців ринку за рахунок використання зручних цифрових каналів взаємодії. Мета статті полягає у дослідженні характерних ознак цифрових бізнес-моделей і цифрових екосистем, які охоплюють існуючі (реалізовані) та потенційні (неявні, приховані) відносини, що формуються та встановлюються завдяки цифровим інноваціям, і концептуалізації взаємозв’язків бізнес-середовища та технологічного середовища організацій, що займаються цифровою трансформацією. Встановлено, що перехід до економіки платформ ознаменував кілька фундаментальних змін у способах ведення міжнародного бізнесу: (1) перехід від контролю ресурсів до координації ресурсів; (2) перехід від внутрішньої оптимізації до взаємодії із зовнішніми стейкхолдерами; (3) перехід від споживчої цінності до цінності мережі; (4) переорієнтування інформаційних технологій та бізнес-систем з організаційного управління на соціальні мережі та спільноти споживачів. Хоча екосистема платформ зазвичай ототожнюється із цифровими бізнес-екосистемами або програмними екосистемами, в процесі виокремлення специфічних характеристик кожної із розглянутих екосистем — підприємницької екосистеми, інноваційної екосистеми, екосистеми послуг, екосистеми продукту, нами було з’ясовано їхні спільні й відмінні риси. Виявлено, що екосистеми, які мають тенденцію розширюватися за межі своєї первісної сфери, забезпечують вихід на новий ринок не через окремих новаторів, а через усю екосистему, яка використовує свою існуючу ринкову владу, технології та репутацію для виходу на суміжні ринки. В структурі екосистеми платформ відзначено роль технологічної платформи як архітектури, що формує інфраструктуру екосистеми та виступає її ядром, яка полегшує обмін, насамперед, послугами, між оператором платформи та кінцевими клієнтами. Трансформація економіки платформ в економіку екосистем забезпечує задоволення потреб учасників ринку у швидкому доступі до якісних продуктів та послуг.Digitalization has become a new stage in the development of the world economy in terms of the development, implementation and dissemination of new technologies, and its impact on the development of international trade is decisive, if only because there is already an explosive growth in digital transactions and digital trade on a global scale. The key result of digital transformations for international trade is the creation of new markets, products and business models based on new digital technologies. In the context of digitalization, however, there is a certain difficulty in defining the increasingly blurred boundaries between goods and services. The main manifestations of the digital transformation of international trade are the large-scale development of e-commerce, the intensive development of foreign trade in information and communication services, and the development of digital e-commerce platforms. Digital technologies have transformed economic activity in domestic and international markets. Their widespread use affects all sectors of international trade, however, they have most affected trade in services, which has become at the center of the latest technological revolution. By creating new products, changing the characteristics of traditional products, and reducing trade costs, digital technologies have a serious impact on the determinants of competitive advantage, and these, in turn, on the structure of international trade. This raises the important question of which determinants of competitive advantage will be stronger in the digital age and whether new determinants are likely to emerge. Digitalization has become a new stage in the development of the world economy in terms of the development, implementation and dissemination of new technologies, and its impact on the development of international trade is decisive, if only because there is already an explosive growth in digital transactions and digital trade on a global scale. The key result of digital transformations for international trade is the creation of new markets, products and business models based on new digital technologies. In the context of digitalization, however, there is a certain difficulty in defining the increasingly blurred boundaries between goods and services. The main manifestations of the digital transformation of international trade are the large-scale development of e-commerce, the intensive development of foreign trade in information and communication services, and the development of digital e-commerce platforms. The purpose of the article is to study the characteristic features of digital business models and digital ecosystems, covering existing (realized) and potential (implicit, hidden) relationships that are formed and established through digital innovations, and to conceptualize the relationship between the business environment and the technological environment of organizations. involved in digital transformation Digital technologies have transformed economic activity in domestic and international markets. Their widespread use affects all sectors of international trade, however, they have most affected trade in services, which has become at the center of the latest technological revolution. By creating new products, changing the characteristics of traditional products, and reducing trade costs, digital technologies have a serious impact on the determinants of competitive advantage, and these, in turn, on the structure of international trade. This raises the important question of which determinants of competitive advantage will be stronger in the digital age and whether new determinants are likely to emerge. Although the ecosystem of platforms is usually identified with digital business ecosystems or software ecosystems, in the process of highlighting the specific characteristics of each of the considered ecosystems - the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the innovation ecosystem, the service ecosystem, the product ecosystem, we found out their common and distinctive features. It has been established that with the rapid development of digital technologies, the forms of economic activity are evolving, the volume of information being used is increasing, and new methods of its processing are emerging. The presence of the qualifying word "digital" in "digital ecosystems" opens the possibility to interpret "ecosystem" as an orientation model for the development of self-organizing software systems, software services, and applications that arise spontaneously from an artificial environment. Self-organization of digital ecosystems is expressed in the ability to independently change in the face of changes in internal elements and the external environment. However, a fundamental change in the external environment, expressed, for example, in a deep economic crisis, may adversely affect the ability of the digital ecosystem to self-organize. The scalability of digital ecosystems lies in the ability to function effectively with a growing amount of data in use and digital divisions. An increase in the number of ecosystem elements leads to an increase in the scale of the ecosystem

Digital Competences Post-COVID-19 for a Sustainable Society

UIDB/04647/2020 UIDP/04647/2020The digitalization of societies, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, is an unstoppable process. This paper seeks to answer the question: what post-COVID-19 digital competences are needed for a sustainable society? It also aims to analyze the digitalization processes in education for shaping a sustainable digital society. A bibliographic search was performed on some of the most relevant international databases of scientific literature and the selected documents were analyzed through a content analysis. It is concluded that digital education has experienced a strong increase, reinforced by COVID-19, shaping the digital presence in all dimensions of life. However, it is not sufficient to assume that the new generations are naturally engaged in and can master digital social sustainability. The results demonstrate the importance of literacy and the unavoidable promotion of sustainability in a digital society. However, this digitalization of the educational process poses several challenges: it requires both software and hardware conditions, as well as digital literacy as a result of a complex of literacies. It also implies that teachers and students change their standpoints and practices with the attainment of new teaching and learning competences in order to fight the digital divide and to foster the widest possible social inclusion for the promotion of sustainable society—digitainability.publishersversionpublishe

Consumption, Sustainability and Everyday Life

This open access book seeks to understand why we consume as we do, how consumption changes, and why we keep consuming more and more, despite the visible damage we are doing to the planet. The chapters cover both the stubbornness of unsustainable consumption patterns in affluent societies and the drivers of rapidly increasing consumption in emerging economies. They focus on consumption patterns with the largest environmental footprints, including energy, housing, and mobility and engage in sophisticated ways with the theoretical frontiers of the field of consumption research, in particular on the ‘practice turn’ that has come to dominate the field in recent decades. This book maps out what we know about consumption, questions what we take for granted, and points us in new directions for better understanding—and changing—unsustainable consumption patterns

Digital Ecosystems as a Unit of Scientific Analysis. A Sociological Investigation

The growth of digital ecosystems such as Google, Apple and Uber has led to radical changes in economic activity, work and consumption. It has also challenged established economic, social and organization theory, which has clear limitations in understanding these phenomena. The discourses on these topics are conducted in various arenas, which are not linked, and conceptualise digital ecosystems differently. What kind of theoretical object is this? The purpose of this study is to present an institutional and comparative analysis of the research on platforms and digital ecosystems. We identify four research streams; political, economic, technological and individual. We analyse each stream regarding the key insights, and identify the most important knowledge sources. Then we assess the relevance of classical and modern sociology for understanding digital ecosystems