Digital Transformation, International Competition and Specialization

Abstract

From an economic point of view, digital transformation has a positive effect on competition. Although the immanent characteristics of information goods, such as network effects in particular, favour the emergence of monopolies, cost reductions also lead to an intensification of (international) competition. In addition to direct cost savings, digital transformation improves production and organisational processes, which increases overall economic efficiency. As digital transformation continues to increase the importance of innovation, (economic) pressure on countries with weak institutions will increase, leading to international convergence. An immediate challenge that can ultimately only be tackled in a global environment is cybercrime. This threatens the existence of companies and thus the prosperity of a society. Since cybercrime is a cross-border problem, international cooperation and the improvement of all prosecuting institutions are indispensable.

Keywords: Digital transformation, international competition, hacking

JEL Classification: L1, L86, K4, F5, F6