This study seeks to gain knowledge about key conditions in the process of digitalization using a socio-technical systems design as a theoretical framework and a case-study approach. Semi-structured interviews with 15 relevant stakeholders are conducted to learn about barriers to and enablers of the development and implementation process in a manufacturing company. After conducting a thematic analysis, eight higher-ranked themes relevant to the digitalization process are identified. These are grouped to describe the overarching phenomena, resulting in four enablers and four (...) barriers. The study takes a holistic view of digitalization in its investigation of the development and subsequent implementation processes. The findings contribute to the literature via three key takeaways for stakeholders of a digitalization process in manufacturing. First, it is vital to understand and strengthen the role of the key enablers identified in this paper. Second, managers should observe and identify barriers in their own organizations, related both to technical and social aspects. Third, some of the enablers described in this paper can serve managers as helpful tools to approach the expected barriers to digitalization. This paper also challenges the research literature by arguing that research conducted on digitalization that sets new standards and premises for the working life in industry needs to use up-to-date socio-technical design concepts and theories. (shrink)

As the first empirical study of the nonlinear effects of digital business on global value chains (GVC), we provide insight into the nonlinear effects of digital business on the global value chain (GVC) values. We employ four indicators, including the value of online selling, sales through E-commerce, and customer relationship management (CRM) usage, to capture the prevalence of digital business in the economy. By testing a sample of 25 European countries that have been analyzed using various econometric techniques over the (...) period 2012–2019, our estimation results confirm that GVC values are a U-shaped function of digitalization. That is, an increase in digitalization pervasiveness initially induces more significant risks and uncertainties, hindering European countries from getting involved in or scale-up within the GVC. However, a rise in digitalization pervasiveness goes beyond a specific threshold, which facilitates GVC activities as more opportunities are created. Furthermore, our findings suggest that digital business contributes significantly to reducing the adverse influences of global uncertainty on the GVC values, while the marginal effects of digital business on GVC values become more pronounced in countries with the most advanced institutional structure. (shrink)