Digital Economy: How New Technologies Are Changing the World
Śledziewska, K., & Włoch, R. (2020). The Digital Economy. How New Technologies Are Changing the World. University of Warsaw Publishing House.
"The Digital Economy" is a book that provides a framework for one of the most important changes of our time: the transition from a world based on material resources to a world in which data is becoming a key resource. It demonstrates that this is not about individual technologies and passing fads, but about a lasting transformation of the rules of markets, companies, work, consumption, and the state.
About the book
The authors guide the reader through the logic of digital transformation—from technological foundations to economic and social consequences. They explain how datafication and growing data processing capabilities are transforming business models, relationships between producers and consumers, employment structures, and the operation of public institutions. This synthetic approach combines economic and sociological perspectives, allowing for an understanding of both "what" is happening, "why," and "what the practical implications are."
What does it bring?
- It provides a clear conceptual framework for talking about the digital economy – without simplifications and without technological jargon.
- It shows the mechanisms that drive change: datafication, scaling, network effects, and platformization.
- Explains why digital platforms have become the new market infrastructure and how they are changing competition in subsequent industries.
- Describes the impact of automation and digital tools on work: from process organization to competences, inequalities and employment security.
- It organizes the consequences for the state and public policies: regulations, public services, privacy, cybersecurity and trust.
- It provides the reader with a “4.0 map” that facilitates analysis and decision-making in business, government and education.
Key themes
Datafication, artificial intelligence, cloud, Internet of Things, automation and robotization, blockchain, digital platforms, new business models, Industry 4.0, work and competences, digital consumption, the state in the age of technology, globalization 4.0.
Ideal for
For those managing transformation in companies, for administration and public policy makers, for researchers and students of social sciences, for educators, and for all those who want to understand digital change in terms of economic mechanisms – not just tools and trends.
What you will find inside
The book begins by explaining the technological foundations and the "data explosion," then defines the digital economy and its logic, describes platforms as a new model of market organization, discusses Industry 4.0, and then explores the implications for work, consumption, and the state. It concludes with a perspective on globalization in the digital age and concise summaries that help capture the shift from 1.0 to 4.0.
Formats
The book is also available as audiobook (on Spotify), which allows you to use it "on the go" – as an organized, coherent narrative about the mechanisms of the digital economy.