The Political Economy of Digital Ecosystems: Scenario Planning for Alternative Futures

This book connects political economy perspectives with scenario planning to map out future trajectories of digital ecosystems, focusing on their economic, political, and social contexts on a global, national, and local level. It explores alternative meanings of digital ecosystem development and uses a collective imagination to show how future trajectories can be radically different from current trends. The book outlines meta-scenarios for alternative futures of the political economy of digital ecosystems and develops four scenarios for European digital ecosystems through workshops with high-level executives and experts. These scenarios identify the nature of EU cooperation and the development of digital infrastructure as key drivers. The scenarios are used for stress-testing decisions and strategies and can be further developed and modified for specific purposes and contexts.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 160 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book seamlessly weaves together political economy perspectives with scenario planning to chart the course of future digital ecosystems. With a deliberate emphasis on digital ecosystems, which encompass economic, political, and social contexts on a global, national, and local scale, the author aims to explore alternative meanings of their development. The diverse range of political economy approaches employed in this book enables the author to delve into alternative interpretations of digital ecosystem evolution, which is invaluable for envisioning alternative futures.

Unfortunately, many visions about the future of digital ecosystems lack the necessary imagination and are plagued by confirmation bias, which tends to favor extrapolating current trends. To counteract this, this book employs a wide array of political economy perspectives through positivist theorizing, presenting diverse interpretations of developments within digital ecosystems.

Scenario planning teams across the globe have harnessed the power of collective imagination to demonstrate how future trajectories can deviate significantly from the prevailing trends. This book serves as a comprehensive guide, outlining meta-scenarios for alternative futures of the political economy of digital ecosystems by reviewing and synthesizing the work of foresight teams. These meta-scenarios provide valuable insights for developing four scenarios for European digital ecosystems through workshops involving high-level executives and experts.

Within these scenarios, the nature of EU cooperation and the development of digital infrastructure are identified as key drivers. To further operationalize these scenarios, specific contexts are explored, focusing on Estonia and Chinese investments in European platforms. This exercise showcases how scenarios of digital ecosystems can be employed as powerful tools for stress-testing decisions and strategies. Decision-makers, students, scholars, and other stakeholders can greatly benefit from engaging with these scenarios to gain a deeper understanding of the potential outcomes and implications of various actions and decisions.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367653989