How should we understand the digital economy in Asia? Critical assessment and research agenda

• Published in: Electronic commerce research and applications 2020-11, Vol.44, p.101004-101004, Article 101004
• Main Authors: Li, Kai, Kim, Dan J., Lang, Karl R., Kauffman, Robert J., Naldi, Maurizio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asian digital economy; COVID-19 pandemic; Digital trade; Digital transformation; Digitalization; Economic growth; Emerging technologies; Firm-level technological sophistication; Global value chains; Industrial infrastructure; Information and communication technologies (ICTs); Information technology (IT); Informatization; IT innovation; Smiling curve; Technological change; Technology impacts; Transaction costs; Value chain participation
• ISSN: 1567-4223; 1873-7846
• DOI: 10.1016/j.elerap.2020.101004

•The realization of the digital economy in the Asian nations is due to the need to revamp traditional business processes, extensive technology innovation, supportive government policies for economic growth, and the high capacity for digital entrepreneurship.•Research opportunities may be related to the components of “digital economy and society index” (DESI) scores.•New research directions are prompted by big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), platform economy, digital trade, fintech innovation, and societal and economic sustainability.•The recent emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world calls for addressing new research directions that could stay after the pandemic has ended. By Asian digital economy, we refer to high-tech developments, business and social transformations, and information-driven changes in the region’s growth. We discuss its background and foundations, significance in Asia and contribution to removal of historical barriers in traditional business. We assess how new value chains are transforming country-level involvement in worldwide manufacturing and note “smiling curve theory” predictions about the global value chain in Asia for high-tech firms and their economies. The takeaway is that the digital economy in Asian nations involves revamping business processes through technology innovation, government policies for growth, and digital entrepreneurship. We analyze the “digital economy and society index”, and attributes of nations, societies and economies, as a basis for framing our ideas. We consider research directions prompted by data analytics and AI, the platform economy, digital trade, fintech innovation, and societal and economic sustainability. We further highlight new issues in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.