Digital transformation and value chains

Introduction

Bibliographic Data

ID4262877
AuthorsFlorian Butollo (0000-0003-0749-240X, Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society/Berlin Social Science Center Berlin Germany, corresponding author), Gary Gereffi (0000-0002-0905-5206, Department of Sociology Duke University Durham North Carolina USA), Chun Yang (0000-0002-0169-3449, Department of Geography Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong), Martin Krzywdzinski (0000-0002-3927-6616, Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society/Berlin Social Science Center Berlin Germany)
Year2022
Volume22
Issue4
Pages585-594
Publication date2022-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGlobal Networks (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1470-2266 • E-ISSN: 1471-0374
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/glob.12388
OpenAlexW4285587571
LanguageEN
Citations received21
References cited47

New digital technologies based on the internet of things and artificial intelligence play centre stage in contemporary discussions about the prospects for economic development and the future of work. This article summarizes theoretical and empirical contributions on how these technologies affect global value chains (GVCs). We argue that the leading paradigms that analyse global production - the GVC framework and the related global production networks (GPNs) approach - are in need of some 'technological uprading' themselves. The GVC/GPN approaches acknowledge that technology is constitutive for the emergence of geographically fragmented production, but rarely address directly how technological change affects interfirm relations. The authors provide a framework that acknowledges the key role of technology while situating digital tools and systems in their social embeddedness, that is the role of human agency and institutions in shaping their development and impact. A research agenda is outlined focusing on three topics: the varieties of digitalization approaches in different world regions, the role of data as a specific form of intangible resource and the role of platform business models for industrial ecosystems. These topics are addressed in the special issue of Global Networks on 'Digitalization and Value Chains' introduced by this contribution

Business · Digital transformation · Economics · Embeddedness · Global value chain · Globalization · Industrial organization · Knowledge management · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Computer Science · Digital Economy and Work Transformation · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact · Innovation and Socioeconomic Development

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access