The Role of IT in Globalization and Trade. An Empirical Analysis (PDF)

Akademische Arbeit aus dem Jahr 2021 im Fachbereich BWL - Handel und Distribution, , Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: The beginning of the twenty-first century marks a period of sustainable changes in society and the economy. Particularly regarding global trade, globalization has slowed down its speed after the financial crisis in 2008. While diverse industries are confronted with profound technological and digital changes, this entails an increasing exchange of digital
products and R&D collaborations among competitors to thrive on new products. Therefore, the emergence of digital technologies requires new forms of collaborations and interactions among market participants. Companies engaged in cross-border businesses have addressed evolving challenges in global trade by arranging production in international value chains, decentralizing hierarchical structures, relocating human capital and offshoring innovation.

The primary objective of this paper is to highlight the impact of these changes on international companies and countries engaged in global trade-in-tasks.

The introduction constitutes the first chapter and highlights the relevance of globalization from an economic perspective. The primary objective is to stress the urgency of the topic hence cross-border value chains emerged, national borders are becoming increasingly blurred, and the advent of the Internet remarks the beginning of a new digitalized world.

The objective of the second chapter is to define the term globalization, to explain its characteristics, stages and to examine major changes in international value chains. Although a broad literature exists about the historic phases of globalization, evolving challenges and upcoming trends, only a few scholars have already evaluated digitalization as a new era of
globalization. Therefore, the third chapter critically discusses the associated chances and risks of trade in tasks on global markets and the influence and role of modern information technology to achieve competitive advantages in global trade.

Finally, the fourth chapter summarizes the key findings and assesses their relevance in a broader context. Besides, the
author provides a prospective outlook on how digitalization can further shape global trade.