Investment in information technology (IT) is an important driver of economic growth and productivity in the United States and other developed countries, but as yet it is not shown to be a significant driver in developing countries. Previous research suggests that IT investment and complementary...

The supply chains of the mobile phone industry span national and firm boundaries. To analyze how value is distributed among the participants, a framework based on theories of firm strategy is applied, and a novel methodology is used to measure value capture in three phone models introduced from...

This article analyzes the distribution of financial value from innovation in the global supply chains of iPods and notebook computers. We find that Apple has captured a great deal of value from the innovation embodied in the iPod, while notebook makers capture a more modest share of the value...

This research asks who captures the greatest value in the global electronics industry by testing the concept of the “smiling curve”, which predicts that the greatest value is captured by upstream and downstream firms, and the lowest value is captured in the middle of the value chain. We test...

In today's global electronics industry, innovation is carried out by various value chain participants, including brand-name manufacturers (sometimes called lead firms), contract manufacturers and component suppliers, but there is little understanding of who benefits most from innovation in such...

Nearly all Fortune 1000 firms claim to have downsized since the early eighties, and it is argued that information technology (IT) is responsible for this massive downsizing. However, earlier research has indicated that IT increases middle management. Even though the impact of IT on the middle...

This paper extends our previous studies on the assimilation of Internet-based e-business innovations by firms in an international setting. Drawing upon theories on the process and contexts of technology diffusion, we develop an integrative model to examine three assimilation stages: initiation -...

This paper studies a key driver of the demand for the products and services of the global IT industry---returns from IT investments. We estimate an intercountry production function relating IT and non-IT inputs to GDP output, on panel data from 36 countries over the 1985--1993 period. We find...

The substitution of telecommunications for transportation is held to have major potential for increasing energy conservation within the USA, other developed nations, and even developing nations. This article is the first of a two-part re-examination of the substitution hypothesis based on...