When: 17 September 2021
Where: Online
Deadline for submission of proposals: 30 June 2021
Call for papers
The social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has among other things particularly highlighted two important issues for countries across the world: the significance of a nation-wide inclusive digitalisation and the re-evaluation of the role of the state as an economic player in times of major uncertainty for businesses and investors. In the case of the former, such issues as the digital divide, data culture and digital readiness of businesses and public organisations have largely been evaluated in terms of the degree of effectiveness of the government’s policies in the digital sphere. The latter has intensified the debate about the need for a mission-oriented entrepreneurial state (Mazzucato, 2011) capable of implementing an industrial policy that is in line with its long-term development goals and takes into account the interests of its major stakeholders (the administration, businesses and society). The much-circulated notion of development-oriented public-private partnerships adds an additional dimension and relevance to the study of the link between digital technologies, public policy and business strategies that has so far been mostly explored under such terms as Digital Governance (Dunleavy, 2005), Government-as-a-Platform (O’Reilly, 2011) and Ecosystems (Teece, 2007).
Digital transformation is often presented as a window of opportunity for developing and emerging economies looking to catch up with the developed countries. The relatively low costs of high-speed internet infrastructure development are believed to give these economies a comparative advantage in building competitive economies, effectively performing the so-called ‘digital leapfrogging’ (World Bank, 2016; Mühleisen, 2018). Depending on the institutional context, however, digital transformation has had an impact of a varying degree on the transformation processes of not only economy but also politics, society and culture. From the rise of China’s tech giants and its geopolitical ambitions to Estonia’s e-government and digital society, or the cyber warfare capabilities of Russia and Iran, the case of developing and emerging economies provides a rich palette of revealing examples to choose from. Considering the digital sphere as a prism for the study of public policies, business strategies and ecosystems along with societal changes of developing and emerging economies may yield useful insights on the key trends that are likely to be intensified in the post-pandemic era.
The workshop will address these issues by bringing together research on the digital transformation of emerging and developing economies from an international and interdisciplinary perspective.
Indicative and non-exhaustive list of topics:
– Socio-economic and institutional prerequisites of an inclusive and sustained digital transformation
– Digital transformation and economic development
– Digital transformation and institutional change
– Impact of digital transformation on mode of organisation and interaction
Network organizational structures in society
Collaborative/Sharing economy in an interdisciplinary perspective
Digital Ecosystems as multilevel organizational networks of socio-economic interactions
– Public policy and regulation in the digital sphere
– Capital-labour relation in the digital era
– Role of finance and public procurement in the digital economy
– Digital citizenship and surveillance society
– Societal, cultural and psychological impact of digital transformation
PhD students and early career researchers are highly encouraged to send their proposals. This workshop will take place on 17 September 2021. Working language will be English. Given the travel restrictions but also the willingness to engage with a greater number of participants worldwide the workshop will be held in online format. The discussion will be moderated by Prof. Julien Vercueil.
Please send your proposals of 400-500 words with brief biographical details to the email addresses below by 30 June 2021. We will inform you about the acceptance by 21 July 2021.
Dmitry D. Volkov (PhD, CREE, INALCO)
dmitry.volkov@inalco.fr
Ilya Filimonov (PhD, Lomonosov Moscow State University)
filimonov@econ.msu.ru
