CONCEPTUALIZATION OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

Author
, professor, Kyiv, Kyoto, 19

In heading

 Economic theory;

Signed print

 21.02.2020

Issues number

 2020 - № 1 (40)

Page

 13-34

Type of articles

 Scientific article

Code UDK

 33.011

ISSN print

 2411-5584

Abstract

 Problem setting. Nowadays, governments pay considerable attention to an issue of developing the digital economy and society. This tendency leads to undertaking corresponding strategies, programs, and regional initiatives, which encompass various directions of activities from informatization and computerization to implementing digital technologies and encouraging digitalization (digital transformation). The Concept
for the Development of the Digital Economy and Society accepted in Ukraine is purely declarative, theoretical, and descriptive. The author has revealed uncertainty and inconsistency of methodology for developing the digital economy as a strategic project of the socio-economic development of the country.
Recent research and publications analysis. Numerous scientific papers of foreign and Ukrainian scholars are dedicated to examining various aspects of developing the digital economy. These scientists disclose results of researching categories and principles of developing the digital economy, predict its influence on the national and international economy, and indicate factual and potential opportunities of changes stipulated by implementing digital technologies in a commodity market and labour market. However, the researchers do not attach sufficient importance to analysing theoretical and methodical frameworks of the digital economy, disclosing the evolution of a corresponding conception, and substantiating the role and place of the new model of the economy.
Paper objective. The system comprehension of a phenomenon of digital economy grounded in researching its fundamental and applied theoretical characteristics may underpin managerial decisions regarding undertaking strategic government documents. This will enable managers to indicate advantages related to it and to predict risks and threats, as well as to urgently find responds to challenges the humankind encounters in the process of accelerating changes of the development.
Paper main body. Foreign classicists, who had significantly contributed to the scientific thought, promulgated theoretical constructions for the emergence of the new economy. Their prognosticative papers have formed a conceptual core for methodology of the information/knowledge society and, therefore, founded a corresponding field of science. Particularly, comprehensive issues of the new model of the economy have to a greater extent explained its peculiarities from the standpoint of forming the new technological basis.
In Ukraine, there are many publications dedicated to examining the information economy from the standpoint of economics. Nevertheless, the author proves that the development of a network of remotely computing centers, as well as project achievements of a system of mathematical models for managing the economy in order to build regular flows of information, including creating special computing machines for economic
processes under the leadership of V. M. Hlushkov, have underpinned the digital transformation of the modern society. Simultaneously, researches indicate that the contemporary domestic economic science cannot efficiently cope with updating theoretical, methodical, descriptive,
prognosticative, and recommendation tools, as well as demonstrates the insufficient level of cognition of tendencies occurring in the current historical period. Thus, the author faces fragmented information on a type of existing economic model, the essence of prognosticated trends, and the global vector of economic development.
The retrospective shows that the economy and relations developing within it have been dramatically transforming during a long period. As a result, many theoretical postulates of this conception have been refuted or have become irrelevant. Correspondingly, the perception of the information economy, which existed at the end of the 20 th century, should differ from the digital economy existing now. In the article, the author compares informatization and digitalization. The author has proven that, from the standpoint of innovatics, the digital economy is the dynamical innovative economy based on the active implementation of innovations, information, and communication technologies in all types
of economic activities and spheres of human activities. This allows to enhance efficiency and competitiveness of particular companies, the economy, and standard of living.
The author has determined that the current conceptual approaches enable identifying scales of a complicated phenomenon of the digital economy in the context of contemporary technological development, which may lead to civilizational changes in the society in general and in the economy in particular. These conceptions raise researches on the phenomenon of digital economy to a qualitatively new level since a majority of them considers the digital economy as a new stage or the new state of economy rather than a sector of the industrial economy.
Conclusions of the research. A matter of the digital transformation (digitalization) of the national economies as a certain form of manifestation of the new economy encourages the scientific discourse in this sphere, as well as practical program actions of government agencies, which need system theoretical and methodological researches, especially with regard to creating the digital ecosystem for developing the new economic model. The author concludes that advantages of this model consist in simplifying and accelerating the interaction of parties compared with the traditional one. This ensures the simplicity, transparency, and ease of integration of managing economic processes into current processes occurring in the country. The certainty and system substantiation of categories should primarily become an important step towards forming methodology for developing the digital economy. These categories are intended to be a basis for making managerial decisions conforming to challenges of our time, undertaking strategic programs, forming a system for the statistical evaluation of corresponding phenomena and processes, and preparing the necessary legislative basis.
Short Abstract for an article
Abstract. The author has ascertained and analysed conceptual approaches to disclosing the essence and nature of the digital economy. The auhtor has substantiated their peculiarities and role in the formation of methodology for implementing program measures of digitalization (digital transformation) of the society. The article describes the evolution of forming the above-mentioned conceptions with regard to the theory and practice of the economic development of Ukraine. The auhtor has developed proposition concerning the activation of scientific researches towards developing theoretical and methodological frameworks for the digital economy, taking into account challenges stipulated by the dramatical implementation of outcomes of the new technological revolution.

Keywords

 concept for the new economy, digital economy, digitalization, digital technologies.

Reviewer

External reviewer

Article in PDF

 13-34

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Code DOI

 10.31359/2411-5584-2020-40-1-13

21.02.2020