SEEK Project 2020: Firms Going Digital: Evidence and Policy Implications

SEEK Project 2020: Firms Going Digital: Evidence and Policy Implications

Client/Allowance

Baden-Württemberg

Period: 01.02. – 31.12.2020

Digital transformation of the economy and society is affecting and driven by firms. The project aims to contribute to a better understanding of firms’ own digital transformation and insights into how firms create value in the digital age. This will provide evidence to enable the assessment of related implications for policy, e.g. policies affecting technology diffusion, access to data, human capital, or innovation.

In co-operation with the OECD, the project will

  • provide information on the digital transformation of the business/economic environment in which firms operate;
  • review how firms are going digital by using digital technologies and data to source, produce and sell;
  • identify key aspects of value creation in digital intensive firms, e.g. platforms and networks, that are also relevant for traditional firms;
  • provide insights into value creation through data-driven innovation, based on micro-data analysis of the relationship between firms’ use of big data and innovation outcomes.

As a function of the main findings from the above, the project shall identify selected policy implications to improve the conditions for firms to thrive in the digital age.

Jointly with the OECD and researchers from selected OECD Member countries, ZEW will carry out micro-econometric analyses on the interrelation between data use and innovative performance of firms. The research will draw on micro-data from national statistical offices combining the Eurostat Community Innovation Survey and the Survey on ICT Usage in Enterprises.

Project members