A Digital and Networking Economy

Abstract

The digital economy isn’t just about speeding up communication: it’s about changing the very nature of consumption, competition and how markets work. In an interconnected global economy, as new companies and individuals use digital technologies to innovate, the market can change rapidly. New business models are being created to adapt and take advantage of the opportunities in the digital world. Throughout history, economies have been reshaped by revolutionary inventions. These breakthroughs — such as the telegraph, railroads and the automobile — each sparked a virtuous circle of growth for the economies that could take advantage of them. The difference with the Internet is that it is inherently global, benefitting both developed and developing economies. As such, the digital economy is triggering a third wave of capitalism that transforms business and government. Today everybody has direct and free access to the world market and the creation of network organizations is facilitated. The traditional antagonistic view of the market as a place where there is necessarily a winner and a loser is becoming obsolete and is progressively replaced by a “win-win” relationship and a collaborative economy.