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• Digital finance has a significant positive impact on business environment. • Industrial structural upgrading serves as a mediating factor between digital finance and business environment. • The level of digital infrastructure moderates the relationship between digital finance and business environment. • The impact of digital finance on business environment exhibits regional heterogeneity, with a stronger influence observed in the central and eastern regions compared to the western regions. In the digital wave of the 21st century, digital finance, as a new financial services model, has profoundly changed the global business environment. Based on data from Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2011 to 2020, this study examines the relationship among digital finance, the business environment, the upgrading of industrial structure, and the level of digital infrastructure. The results show that digital finance has a positive mediation effect on the business environment. Industrial structural upgrading plays an intermediary role in this process, while the level of digital infrastructure acts as a moderator. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that digital finance has a stronger promoting effect on the business environment in the eastern and central regions compared to the western regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Addresses research gap on digitization's multifaceted impact on rural revitalization in developing countries like China. • Finds digital infrastructure and finance positively contribute to rural revitalization, mediated by upgrading and marketization. • Heterogeneity tests reveal effectiveness of digitization varies across contexts, underscoring need for tailored strategies. • Argues for holistic approach integrating digital investments, financial inclusion, and efforts to promote upgrading and markets. • Contributes to literature on digitization and rural revitalization, offering valuable implications for policymakers and practitioners. Despite the growing recognition of the potential of digitization to transform rural areas, there is a paucity of research on its multi-faceted impact on rural revitalization in developing countries such as China. Thus, this study investigates the direct and mediating effects of digital infrastructure and digital finance on rural development in China by using a comprehensive dataset from 2003 to 2021. Based on the findings, both digital infrastructure and digital finance positively contribute to rural revitalization, with their impacts partially mediated by industrial upgrading and marketization, respectively. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of digitization varies across different contexts, underscoring the need for tailored strategies. The implication of the findings is that a holistic approach that integrates digital investments, financial inclusion, industrial upgrading, and marketization is crucial for harnessing the potential of digitization in bridging the urban-rural divide and fostering sustainable rural growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital infrastructure construction provides new channels and a nurturing environment for individual entrepreneurship and is considered a significant factor in stimulating individual entrepreneurship. This study explored the impact of digital infrastructure construction on individual entrepreneurship and its mechanisms. The primary data used in this study were obtained from the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS). The relevant data were analyzed using a time-varying difference-in-differences (DID) model. The results indicate that the construction of digital infrastructure can significantly promote individual entrepreneurship by enhancing imitation effects, improving optimistic expectations, and creating flexible work arrangements. Moreover, its promoting effect is more pronounced among individuals with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), females, and low-income families. The study's results reveal the connection between digital infrastructure construction and entrepreneurship, providing policy recommendations and insights to help government departments achieve goals such as digitalization and common prosperity. This study also contributes to the Chinese experience in the global analysis of entrepreneurship. • We investigated the impact of digital infrastructure construction on entrepreneurship. • We used the micro-level CLDS database as our sample. • Imitation effects, optimistic expectations, and flexible work are the mechanisms. • The effects are more pronounced for ACE, women, and the poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies aim to spur quality, effectiveness, efficiency, and support growth. At the same time, however, conditions change significantly, imposing demands on companies to be flexible and agile with regard to their production environment. Changes involved are based on the business strategy, internal and external stressors, and impact operational and tactical level. The adaptability of the digital infrastructure determines the flexibility, control, and possibility of supporting decision-making in production processes. This paper specifies requirements and a blueprint for an adaptable digital infrastructure. Furthermore, components such as middleware are described that are needed to enable not only a flexible digital infrastructure, but to get the right information, at the right moment, to the right entity, system, person, and decision-maker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is accelerating its entry into the digital age, and the contribution of digital infrastructure to the reduction of carbon emissions is becoming increasingly prominent. The influence mechanism of digital infrastructure on urban carbon emissions is empirically tested in this study from the standpoint of digital empowerment using panel data from 250 cities between 2008 and 2020. According to the study, digital infrastructure greatly lowers urban carbon emissions, with each additional mobile base station reducing carbon emissions by 36 tons. This conclusion remains robust even after controlling for endogeneity issues. The mechanism examination indicates that the decarbonization effect of digital infrastructure is mainly achieved by empowering enterprises, individuals, and governments with digital capabilities. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the effects of digital infrastructure on carbon emissions vary after considering variations in the city's administrative hierarchy, industrial structure, and resource types in China. According to the study's findings, developing countries should expand digital infrastructure construction and fully harness its potential for energy saving and emissions reduction to meet their emission reduction targets. At the same time, differentiated emission reduction policies should be formulated to adapt to the heterogeneous characteristics among cities and ensure that emission reduction measures are effectively implemented in each city. • Quantitatively assess the impact of digital infrastructure on urban carbon emissions. • Digital empowerment theory drives multidimensional holistic analysis framework. • Exposing digital infrastructure's uneven CO 2 emission impact amid urban disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers contemporary digital transformation experiences. The analytical tools to support decision-making of its organizational and digital infrastructure development are offered here. In particular, directions for measuring the digital maturity of production in terms of institutional infrastructure are being explored. An evaluation methodology is proposed to identify the most important signs of the digital transformation of production, the degree of transformation of the production system, the identification of development the problem zones and the optimum trajectory of further development of production. The development of such a trajectory depends on the level of development of the Staff Digital Readiness Index (Smart Production). It includes such indicators as Digital Literacy Index (Initial Digitization), Digital Management Index (Digital Manageability), Digital Confidence Index (Digital Transformation). The authors see the possibility of optimizing the production system activity by simulating the possibility of transition from one state of the production system to another one, corresponding to the requirements of the digital maturity assessment. A Markov chain machine is used. The tools developed can provide a knowledge base for the analytical infrastructure of the production system. It focuses on the information infrastructure of smart manufacturing that allows to take advantage of intellectual technologies such as Big Data, machine learning, the industrial Internet of things. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The study analyzed the synergistic effect of digital infrastructure and human capital on innovation. • System generalized method of moments is employed on a sample of 28 African countries over the 2011–2019 period. • Digital infrastructure positively impacts innovation. • Digital infrastructure and human capital are complementary factors in promoting innovation. While both theory and empirical evidence have established the critical role of digital infrastructure in promoting innovation, there needs to be more understanding of factors mediating this nexus, especially from the African context, which is understudied. This paper argues that digital infrastructure spurs innovation, but the overall effect depends on countries' level of human capital. Relying on data from 28 African countries spanning 2011–2019 and the system Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) estimator, this study departs from the extant literature by examining the synergistic effect of digital infrastructure and human capital on innovation while placing much emphasis on the multidimensional measurement approach of digital infrastructure. The results show a positive relationship between digital infrastructure and innovation in Africa. Furthermore, the interactive effect of digital infrastructure and human capital is significantly related to innovation, implying that digital infrastructure can indirectly enhance innovation through human capital accumulation. To promote innovation, the study recommends that policies that improve digital infrastructure should be pursued simultaneously with policies that enhance human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordination of economic development and ecological conservation has emerged as a global trend for sustainable development. This paper utilizes the "Broadband China" policy as a quasi-natural experiment, employing panel data from 279 prefecture-level cities spanning from 2006 to 2019. By constructing a spatial difference-in-differences (SDID) model, it examines the impact of digital infrastructure (DI) on industrial ecology (IE). The study finds that DI enhances both local and neighboring IE, with a spatial attenuation boundary of 600 km for IE impacts on neighboring cities. DI primarily facilitates the transformation of IE by promoting green technology innovation and expediting factor mobility. Heterogeneity analysis conducted using a spatial difference-in-difference-in-differences (SDDD) model reveals that DI has a greater impact on IE in resource-based cities, highly marketized regions, small-scale cities, and eastern regions. This research provides a novel perspective for exploring the transformation of IE theoretically and offers practical insights for leveraging digitization to promote IE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a multi-dimensional model was designed based on the technology adoption model (TAM), the digital infrastructural characteristics of social media, and source credibility (SC), with the aim of predicting the intention to use social media when a disaster strikes. This is the first study in which utilitarian values—perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU)—have been considered along with hedonic values (enjoyment) as predictors of attitude and intention to use social media to reduce the impacts of a disaster. The sample design strategically divides European countries into six regions, each with a country chosen randomly through cluster sampling. The questionnaires were subsequently distributed through popular social networking platforms, utilizing convenience sampling. The results of structural equation modeling using SmartPLS software revealed three infrastructural features of social media—perceived adaptability, reflexivity, and perceived interconnectedness— impact perceived social media usefulness. Source credibility predicted both PU and PEOU. The results indicated the intention to use social media for three purposes-acquiring public information, confirming journalistic reporting, and sharing information related to disasters was not influenced by hedonistic values. The findings suggested that to increase the use of social media in relation to disaster risk reduction, robust social media infrastructural characteristics should be considered aligning with the anticipated disaster conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has led the world toward severe socioeconomic crisis and psychological distress. It has severely hit the economy; but the service sector, particularly the hospitality industry, is hard hit by it. It increases the sense of insecurity among the employees and their perception of being unemployed, adversely affecting their mental health. This research aims to contribute to the emerging debate by investigating the effect of economic crisis and non-employability on employees' mental health through perceived job insecurity under the pandemic situation. It empirically examines the underlying framework by surveying 372 employees of the hospitality industry during COVID-19. Results indicate that perceived job insecurity mediates the relationship of fear of economic crisis, non-employability, and mental health. Furthermore, the contingency of fear of COVID-19 strengthens the indirect relationship of fear of economic crisis on mental health through perceived job insecurity. The findings will provide a new dimension to the managers to deal with the psychological factors associated with the employees' mental health and add to the emerging literature of behavioral sciences. The study also highlights the increasing need for investment in the digital infrastructure and smart technologies for the hospitality industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Nations' goal of generating sustainable industry, innovation, and infrastructure is the point of departure for our reflective paper. The paper elaborates on the concepts of digital infrastructure, service-oriented architecture, and microservices. It emphasizes the benefits and challenges of creating a sustainable infrastructure based on a service-oriented environment, in which cloud services constitute an important part. We outline the prerequisites for obtaining a sustainable digital infrastructure based on services. Service-oriented architecture (SOA) and recently, microservice architecture, and cloud services, can provide organizations with the improved agility and flexibility essential for generating sustainability in a market focusing on digitalization. The reuse capability of SOA provides a common pool of information technology (IT) resources and qualifies as a green IT approach that impacts environmental protection. Previous research has identified IT and business alignment together with SOA governance as the most critical criteria when implementing SOA. This paper discusses these issues in-depth to explain sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technologies are a key driver of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. However, as the physical foundation supporting digital technology, how digital infrastructure affects carbon emissions is unclear. Based on the panel data from 2008 to 2019, this paper examines the impact of the Broadband China Policy on carbon emissions by adopting a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) method. The empirical findings indicate that, first, digital infrastructure development plays a significant role in reducing carbon emissions in China. Second, the Broadband China Policy significantly reduces carbon emissions especially in China's low-carbon emission regions, high-level digitization regions, and non-resource-cursed regions. Third, the implementation of the Broadband China Policy facilitates carbon emissions reduction through the promotion of green technology progress, optimization of industrial structures, green transformation of residents' lifestyles, and electrification of energy mix. Finally, the Broadband China Policy has a positive spatial spillover effect on the carbon intensity in the surrounding regions of pilot cities, but it has no significant effect on the total carbon emissions and per capita carbon emissions in the surrounding regions. The results provide important insights for digital infrastructure construction to achieve a win-win situation for economic development and emission reduction. • It explores the impact of Broadband China Policy on carbon emissions reduction. • Digital infrastructure development has positive impact on reducing carbon emissions. • The reduction effect is heterogeneous in regions with different characteristics. • Carbon emissions can be reduced at both industrial and individual levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Digital infrastructure significantly promotes cross-regional corporate collaborative innovation. • The reduction of transaction costs is the key mechanism for this discovery. • Firms with strong technological R&D, industries experiencing swift technological advancements, and cities rich in human capital benefit the most from this infrastructure. This article delves into the role that digital infrastructure plays in facilitating cross-regional collaboration in the innovation processes of enterprises. Collaborative innovation has emerged as a crucial mode of innovation for businesses engaged in technological R&D as the complexity of such R&D grows more sophisticated. In this study, we leveraged the recent nation-wide rollout of China's "Broadband China" strategic pilot program as a natural experiment to empirically investigate the impact of digital infrastructure on cross-regional collaboration in innovation. Our analysis of the financial data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2019 reveals that investments in digital infrastructure have a major impact on encouraging cross-regional collaborative innovation within businesses. Through the study, we examined the mechanisms through which digital infrastructure promotes cross-regional collaboration in innovation and found that the reduction in transaction costs serves as the key rationale for this phenomenon. Moreover, a heterogeneous analysis revealed that businesses with higher levels of technological R&D, industries characterized by rapid technological transformation, and cities with elevated levels of human capital are more likely to benefit from digital infrastructure investments that foster cross-regional collaborative innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• New government–business relations promote development of urban digital economy. • Urban service capability mediates this relationship. • Better digital infrastructure helps develop urban digital economy. • Study was conducted in 242 prefecture-level Chinese cities over 2017–2019. Drawing from dynamic capability theory, we investigate how new government–business relations impact urban digital economy with mediating and moderating effect model, using panel data from 242 prefecture-level Chinese cities over 2017–2019. We find that building new government-business relations promote urban digital economy, with urban service capability playing a mediating role. We also find that digital infrastructure strengthens the impact of urban service capacity on urban digital economy. These findings are robust and more significant in eastern and larger cities. Our study provides new evidence on exploring mechanism and conditions by which new government-business relations influence urban digital economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of Digital China and Made in China 2025 strategies has brought guiding the rapid development of digital infrastructure (DI) and industrial ecology into focus. Based on Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) city data from 2011 to 2020, this study empirically investigates the influence mechanism and spatial effect of DI and regional collaborative innovation (RCI) on industrial eco-efficiency (IEE) using the improved gravity model and super-efficiency slacks-based measure model. The relevant findings are as follows: (1) Static and dynamic analyses show that DI significantly improves IEE. (2) The moderating effect test shows that RCI strengthens the effect of DI on IEE. (3) The threshold effect test captures a U-shaped nonlinear relationship between DI and IEE at different RCI intervals. In the positive stage, the improvement effect of DI on IEE presents marginal increasing characteristics. (4) For the spatial perspective test, the BTH city's DI and IEE exhibit a positive spatial correlation, and gradually form H–H and L–L cluster states. Furthermore, the city's DI improves the local city's IEE and benefits neighboring city's IEE, revealing spatial spillover effect. This study has valuable reference significance for other regions to simultaneously solve industrial development and environmental problems by advancing DI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the impact of digital inclusive finance (DIF) on urban carbon emission intensity (CEI) in China using panel data from 285 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2019. The city and year fixed effects panel model and the spatial Durbin model are employed for analysis. The results reveal a gradual upward trend in DIF, while urban CEI generally exhibits a decreasing trend with some fluctuations. The empirical findings demonstrate that DIF and its branches of coverage breadth and usage depth have a significant reduction on urban CEI. Particularly, this impact mainly exits in eastern and northeastern cities, as well as cities with developed traditional finance and high levels of industrial modernization. These findings still hold after a series of robustness tests. Moreover, mechanism tests suggest that the reduction of DIF on urban CEI can be attributed to three main effects: digital infrastructure, technological innovation, and resource allocation. Furthermore, the spatial econometric analysis indicates a substantial spatial spillover effect of DIF on urban CEI, with more pronounced effects observed in cities with similar economic characteristics. • This study examines the effect of DIF on urban CEI. • This study explores the heterogeneity effects on from geographical attributes, traditional finance and industrial modernization. • This paper presents new empirical evidence on whether DIF has spatial spillover effects on urban CEI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the slow pace of digital economy in Africa, this study investigated the role of critical digital economy enablers in stimulating the growth of a digital economy in Africa. The paper employed the panel-correlated standard error (PCSE) and feasible generalized least square (FGLS) estimators to analyse relevant data of 37 African countries between 2009 and 2022. For a robust analysis, the sampled countries were grouped into different income groups. The results indicate that digital infrastructure enhances digital economy growth while economic policy uncertainty dampens it across the income groups. Further results reveal that human capital development accelerates digital economy growth in low-income countries while the different measure of institutional quality have heterogeneous impact on the growth of the digital economy in Africa. The paper concludes that African policymakers should design and implement policies that will promote significant investment in digital infrastructures and human capital, and provide a stable and predictable policy framework. The novelty of this paper is its assessmemt of the role of critical digital economy enablers across different income groups in Africa. • This study investigated the role of critical digital economy enablers in stimulating the growth of a digital economy in Africa between 2009 and 2022. • The results showed that digital infrastructure enhances digital economy growth while economic policy uncertainty dampens it across the sampled income groups. • Human capital development accelerates digital economy growth in low income countries while the measure of institutional quality matters for determining whether the growth of the digital economy will be accelerated or slowed • Designing policies to promote significant investment in digital infrastructures and human capital, and providing a stable and predictable policy framework are critical for accelerating the pace of digital economy in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tackling climate change crises needs intelligent manufacturing and effective business models. This paper uses the adaptive structuration theory (AST) and configuration perspective to investigate the effects of digital infrastructure, digital orientation, top management team heterogeneity, servitization, government support, and customer demand uncertainty on the business model of intelligent manufacturing enterprises in China. The fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was employed to analyze the data. The study found that there were five configurations of business model formation, which classified business models into five types: executive-led enhanced, digital leadership-enhanced, adaptive, extended, and complex business models. There was an intrinsic relationship between the five models with respect to the dimensions of digitalization and servitization. Further analysis revealed that executive-led, digital leadership-enhanced, and adaptive business models were positively associated with enterprise performance. The paper discusses the potential implications of these findings. • There are five formation pathways of the business model. • An interrelated relationship among the models regarding the digitalization and servitization • Business models influenced by digitization make enterprises more sensitive to climate change. • Enhanced and adaptive business models are associated with enterprise performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015 the Government of India announced an ambitious mission to develop 100 smart cities throughout the rapidly urbanising country. As part of this mission, the Government has initiated ICT based citizen engagement through a dedicated website - MyGov.in. The disparity in digital infrastructure between different socio-economic demographics is a challenge for cities in emerging economies wishing to implement smart city policies. Our research explores the relationship between active civic engagement and the availability of basic digital infrastructure and socio-economic standards in Indian cities. This study provides insights on factors that lead to the success or failure of cities’ online citizen engagement platforms. Such insights offer important lessons for building future smart and connected cities as well as promoting healthy urban relationships and welfare, in the emerging economies of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is the exploration of the management of Business Intelligence (BI) solutions in the Norwegian industry. BI aims to improve data analysis and enhance business performance. Nonetheless, academics and practitioners note that BI is complex and difficult to manage. We interviewed BI managers in 5 companies who had been awarded the Norwegian Computer Society's BI prize, based on the following research question: What can we learn from the successful BI implementations and management in award-winning Norwegian companies? We surmise two findings. First, building upon concepts derived from the Digital Infrastructure Theory we find that while the Norwegian industry still has a traditional, complex BI architecture, it is scalable in the sense that they can add or remove elements, or even scrap the whole BI solution. The companies demonstrate innovation and adoption through their use of dashboards and real-time data. In light of these findings we propose a future research agenda for BI. Second, we offer three lessons for managers of BI in organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although prior studies have proposed some smart city index systems, they primarily focus on generic indicators connected to urban development and fail to reflect the properties of intelligence. To fill this gap, we develop a new index system involving three dimensions of digital infrastructure, smart living, and digital economy. Moreover, compared with studies that use subjective weighting methods to rank the smartness of cities, we combine the Shannon entropy weighting method with three multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods to show the objectiveness of the evaluation process. Through analyzing the quantitative data from nine cities in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region in China, we find that digital infrastructure is the most important first-level indicator, accounting for 46.92%, followed by the digital economy and smart life accounting for 32.48% and 20.60% respectively. More importantly, when the nine cities in the PRD region are ranked by three MCDM methods, the correlation between the results is over 90%, thus proving robustness. We contribute to the current smart city literature by enriching the components of the smart city index system, as well as evaluation methods. Our findings also guide decision-makers in formulating more targeted smart city construction plans. • Develop a new smart city index system involving three dimensions of digital infrastructure, smart living, and digital economy • Use three multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods to rank the smartness of cities • Data were gathered from online platforms in the Pearl River Delta Region, China. • The correlation between the results from different MCDM methods is >90%. • The practical implications are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Collaborative networks' role in boosting sustainability is conceptualized and investigated at the country-level. • A configurational analysis of digital infrastructures and socio-cultural factors enhancing the sustainability competitiveness of countries is proposed. • High level of social-cultural factors fostering collaboration and high level of digital infrastructure are associated with a high level of sustainable competitiveness at the country-level. • Even in the absence of a high level of socio-cultural factors enhancing collaboration, the presence of digital infrastructures is sufficient to lead to high sustainable competitiveness. This paper aims to shed light on collaborative networks' role in boosting sustainability at the country level, both in terms of digital infrastructures and cultural factors supporting collaboration. Using three different country-level databases, it investigates how different combinations of cultural factors supporting collaboration and digital infrastructure lead to sustainability performance. Longitudinal data on 16 European countries are analyzed employing fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fs-QCA). The findings suggest that in the presence of high levels of digital and cultural factors that enable collaborative networks, countries also are characterized by high sustainability performance. Furthermore, even in the absence of high levels of cultural factors supporting collaboration, digital infrastructures are sufficient for enhancing sustainability performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Despite the increasing importance of large IT-based solutions binding actors and processes together across institutional borders, still little is known about how these Information Infrastructures (IIs) assume their shapes and potentially may be reshaped towards specific ends. We focus on the duality of organizations using the IT artefacts of the European e-Customs IIs to inscribe harmonised behaviour into the operation of the infrastructure and how the IT artefacts are divergently interpreted by the users of the II. We find a tension between the need for artefacts with strong inscription to regulate the II and a need for flexibility for II users. The consequence is diluted inscriptions and, in contradiction to what has previously been concluded about interpretative flexibility, the European e-Customs II does not show signs of settling down in a stable phase with consensus. This lack of stability forces the users of the European e-Customs II to continously modify and investment in IT participate in the infrastructure, explaining an expressed longing for the ‘good old paper days’. Based on theoretical integration and empirical findings, we develop a model of the duality of inscription and interpretation in IIs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The recent boom of the services sector, especially in developing countries, coincides with the rise of digital technologies. While the former might be attributed to the latter, empirical analysis of this relationship is still limited. This paper fills this gap by examining the effect of digital infrastructure on services sector employment. Employing a panel data comprising 45 Sub-Saharan Africa countries over the period 1996–2017, we find that digital infrastructure contributes positively to services sector employment. However, further analyses reveal that the positive effect of digital infrastructure on services sector employment depends on education, institutional quality, and macroeconomic conditions as captured by the inflation rate. In particular, we find that the positive effect of digital infrastructure on services sector employment increases as institutional quality becomes better, while poor macroeconomic conditions decrease the effect of digital infrastructure on employment in services. We also find evidence suggesting that the effect of digital infrastructure on employment in the services sector tends to benefit countries at low levels of education. • Examines the effect of digital infrastructure on the services sector employment in Sub-Saharan African countries. • We find a significant positive effect of digital infrastructure on the services sector employment. • The effect of digital infrastructure on the services sector depends on institutional and economic conditions. • Digital infrastructure is more beneficial for employment generation at the base of the pyramid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet comprises thousands of independently operated networks, interconnected using bi-laterally negotiated data exchange agreements. The European Union (EU)'s General Data Pro-tection Regulation (GDPR) imposes strict restrictions on handling of personal data of European Economic Area (EEA) residents. A close examination of the text of the law suggests signifi-cant cost to application firms. Available empirical evidence confirms reduction in data usage in the EEA relative to other markets. We investigate whether this decline in derived demand for data exchange impacts EEA networks' decisions to interconnect relative to those of non-EEA OECD networks. Our data consists of a large sample of interconnection agreements between networks globally in 2015–2019. All evidence estimates zero effects: the number of observed agreements, the inferred agreement types, and the number of observed IP-address-level inter-connection points per agreement. We also find economically small effects of the GDPR on the entry and the observed number of customers of networks. We conclude there is no visible short run effects of the GDPR on these measures at the internet layer. • The GDPR has no visible effects on Internet interconnection across eight measures. • This supports the view that the costs of GDPR have been borne by application firms. • Detailed interconnection data informs the policy debate on the Internet. • Additional data, such as Internet traffic, would be valuable for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We investigate the IT/IS strategy research activity from its inception until today. • We identify five research trends in recent IT/IS strategy research. • We find shifts in how IT/IS strategy is understood by scholars in the last decade. • We infer how IT/IS strategy can, should, or should not be understood in the digital age. IT/IS strategy is of central importance to practice and many well-developed lines of research have contributed to our understanding of IT/IS strategy. However, throughout the last decade, digitalization has fundamentally transformed the business world and put into question traditional strategy wisdom. As information technologies are the driver of this digital transformation, we can expect an even more fundamental change in IT/IS strategy thinking. To verify this expectation, we undertook an in-depth, extensive review of the academic literature on this topic. Our review, which is time-framed to the years 2008–2018, distils five different directions in the development of IT/IS strategy research. It also identifies a shift in how IT/IS strategy is defined and investigated over this period. Moreover, we present an emerging debate on how digitalization challenges traditional IT/IS strategy wisdom. As this debate is still in its infancy, we take it further by entering into the larger discussion on digitalization, including digital innovation, digital ecosystems, and digital transformation. Building on this, we derive at deeper insights on how IT/IS strategy could, should, or should better not be understood in the digital age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]