Introduction to digital globalization and the spread of technology

Abstract

This study made an attempt to establish a theoretical outline among the digital globalization, technological advances, and its socio-economic impacts. It does not view digital globalization as a linear phenomenon or a process that is good for everyone. Instead, it sees it as a field with uneven access, power, and capabilities. The proliferation of digital technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), is significantly influencing organizational behaviour, legal frameworks, and socioeconomic structures. The main contribution of seven articles included in this SI go beyond abstract theorization by showing how digital change happens in specific institutional and regional contexts. They address three interconnected themes: (1) institutional agility and digital skilling; (2) geopolitics, regulation, and the ethics of emerging technologies; and (3) socio-economic drivers and barriers to technological adoption in context of digital globalization and the spread of technology. The contributions across these areas demonstrate that rather than being fundamentally deterministic, technological change is shaped by human decision-making, organizational structures, and larger political economic processes.