Study Guide

Objective

This course will offer students a unique mix of theory and practical insights on the digital economy. Where digital implies digital products, process, services, business models, monetization, and competition in the digital economy. A better understanding of the digital economy and its economics is deemed vital for the implementation of successful business strategies to push the growth and competitiveness of a firm or organization. In addition, students will gain strategic tools, concepts and perspectives that will help them develop a strategic insight to the new digital possibilities from the global digital landscape and how to align organizational strategy execution with them. Such as, how to leverage digital to develop compelling value propositions that will help turn a threat from the global digital economy into opportunities. The growth and the structure of the global digital economy will be explored. The basis for digital based-offerings, industry value chain, patterns of demand and competitive pressures that impact industries and nations because of the growth of global digital economy will be covered. How collaborations in a fast-changing digital world are formed through various levels of ecosystem and platforms-based business models and strategies. Network effects and types of strategies that digital companies apply to compete and dominate the market successfully and how they have been able to scale globally with unprecedented dominance. The emergence and the role of data (economy) in the global digital economy, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its value creation powers and the arguments and key challenges of digital trust in the global digital economy.

Main competences on the course: proactive development, operating in a workplace, sustainable development

Content

The digital economy: an overview
The global digital economy
- Nature of Digital Economy. Predecessors of Digital Economy. Stages of Evolution of Digital Economy.
- What is Shaping the Future of Digital Economy
- Digital Economics: Main Types of Digital Economy Business Models.
- Nature of competition in the global digital economy
Drivers of the digital economy
- The data economy: The emergence and the role of the data (economy) in the global digital economy
- Digital Technologies
- Trends in connectivity
- Connectivity and consumer driven internet
- AI and its value creation powers and its key challenges
Value creation and capture in the digital economy
The growth and the structure of the global digital economy
- Digital based offerings
- Industry value chain
- Ecosystem and platforms-based business models.
- Global dimension to the digital economy
- Network effects and the types of competitive strategies
- Digital currencies
- Digital Trust

Location and time

Contact week session 28.8. 12.30-14.00 ZOOM
23.9. 17.30-20.30. ZOOM
30.9. 17.30-20.30. ZOOM
7.10. 17.30-20.30. ZOOM
21.10. 17.30-20.30. ZOOM

Materials

1. Digital Economics: How Information and Communication Technology is Shaping Markets, Businesses, and Innovation Paperback – June 30, 2018. by Harald Øverby (Author), Jan A. Audestad (Author) ISBN-10 1986751392 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341312807_Digital_Economics_How_Information_and_Communication_Technology_is_Shaping_Markets_Businesses_and_Innovation 

2. The Economics of Data, Analytics, and Digital Transformation: The theorems, laws, and empowerments to guide your organization's digital transformation by Bill Schmarzo (Author), Kirk Borne (2020) ISBN-13 978-1800561410 

3. Infonomics: How to Monetize, Manage, and Measure Information as an Asset for Competitive Advantage 1st Edition, by Douglas B. Laney (Author) ISBN-13 978-1138090385 

4. Monetizing Your Data: A Guide to Turning Data into Profit-Driving Strategies and Solutions 1st Edition by Andrew Roman Wells (Author), Kathy Williams Chiang (Author) 2017. ISBN-13 978-1119356240 

5. Tim Jordan. The Digital Economy (2020) ISBN 9781509517596 

6. Olga Sunigovets (2019) Enterprise competitiveness in the digital economy. SHS Web of Conferences 67, 04012  

7. Afriyadi Cahyadi and Róbert Magda (2021) Digital Leadership in the Economies of the G20 Countries: A Secondary Research. Economies 2021, 9, 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies9010032 

8. Maintaining competitive conditions in the era of digitalization. OECD report to G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, July 2018

9. Harald Øverby , Jan Arild Audestad  (2021) Introduction to Digital Economics. Foundations, Business Models and Case Studies

Teaching methods

The course will be taught in English language and students will work in teams. The learning process will be student driven and where problem solving and innovation skills will be developed and a core part of the learning approach and outcome. Students active engagement in the learning process. Also, online collaborative learning practices which provides a “model of learning in which students are encouraged and supported to work together to create knowledge: to invent, to explore ways to innovate, and, by so doing, to seek the conceptual knowledge needed to solve problems rather than recite what they think is the right answer” would be actively encouraged

The ‘flipped learning’ method will be applied.
Flipped learning creates opportunities for student’s active engagement. As “a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter”.
Flipped learning centres on the idea that students learn more effectively by using class time for small group activities and individual attention. The teacher then assigns students lecture materials and presentations to be used at home or outside of the classroom and thereby, prioritizing active learning.

Learning groups will be used: Learning groups will be established from day one and will be used to support group’s learning and for working on the course project assignment to be assigned to each group.
Development Task: As an essential part of fulfilling the course requirement, each group will carry out a development task/project. The task will give groups the opportunity to carryout analysis on a firm or on a organization of the group’s choice. Through the development task, groups would work to provide innovative insights on how the firm can enhance its business, higher profit margins and sustainability and suitable business model innovation leadership model. In addition, the task will offer groups the by exploiting opportunities of the digital economy

Employer connections

In their respective groups, students are to critically explore the structure and growth of the global digital economy E.g., how it has evolved and grew into a global dynamic economic power-machine that has had far-reaching implications on society and businesses.
Secondly, they will have to explore the structure of value creation and monetization in the global digital economy.
Thirdly, as a connection to working life, students in their respective groups, will pick a well-known global digital firm as a case and to analyze the emergence and growth of the firm as a global digital company. Also, they will examine how the company has achieved its success and how it has been able to scale its activities globally?
Fourthly, with what students have learnt from analyzing a successful global digital firm and of reading the article on “The 4 Things It Takes to Succeed in the Digital Economy by Lindsey Anderson and Irving Wladawsky-Berger (https://hbr.org/2016/03/the-4-things-it-takes-to-succeed-in-the-digital-economy )” they will analyze their own employer (or firm) to ascertain where the company stands in terms of being a player and having the ability to exploit the opportunities of the global digital economy.

Exam schedules

Learning projects have one actual submission date.
Late submissions are not accepted and will be graded as failed.

Dealing with a failed course

Participation in next year's course (A Fail can only be administered when the total assignment shows the criteria of Fail. The consequence of a FAIL is that the assignment must be re-submitted again after considerable repairs and improvements. Note: With written essays, you have only one opportunity to re-submit a failed essay.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Grade 1 - 2: The student
- is able to analyze the special characteristics of the digital economy on the business environment.
- can interpret and explain the challenges of SME’s in the digital era.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

Grade 3-4: The student
- is able to analyze the influence of digitalization on his/her own working place.
- is able to analyze the challenges and opportunities of digitalization in the global economy

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Grade 5: The student
- is able to analyze on a deeper level, the influence of digitalization on his/her own working place.
- is able to assess and design feasible ideas for exploiting digital opportunities at his/her working place.
- is able to demonstrate competence in leading the development of team work, for planning creative ideas for the sustainable development of business operation in the digital economy.

Assessment methods and criteria

Evaluation is based on assignments and demonstrations of competence. These are based on the competence goals of the course. Descriptions, submission dates and evaluation criteria are available on course Moodle. Group assignments require self-assessment of group results and work process.