Search results

This chapter’s goal is to determine the essence and causal connections of the emergence of conflicts at the level of economic systems (countries) due to technological inequality and to find the perspectives of overcoming these conflicts. The chapter models the economic and political conflict of modern time under the conditions of high-tech development based on the methods of variation analysis and regression analysis. It is proven that the scale of technological inequality in the world economy is very large. It is the economic and political conflict of modern time, the essence of which is as follows: the differentiation of economic systems amid digital development predetermines the opportunities for their entering the world markets. This chapter contributes to the development of the theory of economic and political conflicts, proving the existence of technological inequality as a new form of differentiation of economic systems amid digital development and defining this inequality as a new economic and political conflict of modern time. The chapter also contributes to the development of the theory of international trade, disproving – for the first time – the action of the principle of freedom of international trade. The authors describe technological barriers of the world markets, which limit the presence of countries that are behind the leading countries by digital development. Three key factors that determine the level of technological development of the economy are given: knowledge-intensive employment, venture investments and financing of innovations in business. Due to the above, the chapter provides opportunities for technological conflict management.

This chapter is aimed at reflecting technologies as the key resources of modern regions, identifying the essence and modelling the digital inequality of Russian regions, as well as forming the methodological foundation for the consistent resolution of conflicts in the regional economy of Russia. Through the example of the regional economy of modern Russia, the method of the variation analysis is used for the analysis of differences between regions that are individually investigated in relation to the level of digitalization, and their regression dependence on the level of technological development is determined. As a result, it has been found that Russian regions are characterized by a number of conflicts due to their multi-aspect inequality; these include innovation conflicts, investment conflicts and quality of life conflicts. The abovementioned conflicts are mainly caused by differences in the provision of technological resources to regions (in their digitalization). The novelty and fundamental significance of this chapter consist in the clarification of the cause of spatial inequality through differences in the provision of technological resources to regions. The unique character of this chapter consists in justification of the technology factor of the emergence of inequality and conflicts of regions. This chapter proves that technological inequality exacerbates other aspects of inequality and conflicts of regions. Originality and practical relevance of this chapter consist in the evaluation of the prospects and development of recommendations for conflict management in Russian regions through overcoming differences in their technological support and accelerating the pace of their digitalization.

Purpose: This chapter aims to study the issue of technological inequality in the modern world economy from the position of assessment of the scale of global conflict and the scenario of its development depending on conflict management.

Design/methodology/approach: The performed review of literature sources has shown that they provide an insufficient scientific basis for determining the level of technological inequality in the modern world economy from the position of assessment of the scale of the global conflict and scenarios of its development depending on conflict management. To fill this gap in the system of scientific knowledge, we use the method of comparative and correlation analysis of statistical data. The research objects are China and the United States, as well as other countries of the world that have the highest level of technological development, trade, and digitalization.

Findings: This chapter provides a review of factors that determine scientific arguments in favour of technological inequality of countries, which leads to a global conflict. Many forms of inequality have a socio-economic character and are connected to access to the main services (healthcare, education, or accommodation), as well as incomes and access to the sources of income, especially in the sphere of employment. The deficit of decent work and inequality turned the COVID-19 pandemic from the crisis of public healthcare into the crisis of employment and social conflict, which influenced the subsistence of millions of employees. There is a real risk that without comprehensive and well-coordinated political actions, the increase in inequality and reduction of general progress in the labour sphere will be preserved in many dimensions. There’s a need for the measures of international policy to provide developing countries with access to vaccines and financial support, including through restructuring of debts.

Originality/value: It is proved that after the creation of the UN, the nature of conflicts and violence underwent serious changes. Conflicts take fewer human lives but last longer, and the frequency of conflicts between groups within a country is higher than the frequency of international conflicts. In certain parts of the world, crimes on a gender basis are increasing in numbers. Besides, technologies allow using robots, drones, cyberattacks, viruses, and hackers for military purposes. At the same time, international cooperation is weak, similar to the global ability to prevent and regulate conflicts and all possible forms of violence. Technological progress changes the character of the development of conflicts. Achievements in the sphere of AI and machine learning will play an important role in this process of transformation, so the character of threats from the government and non-government subjects will change. The use of AI raises the precision of cyberattacks and physical and biological attacks, making the identification of attackers very difficult.

Purpose: This chapter aims to address the problem and explore the process of creating the new ‘markets of tomorrow’ from the perspective of the technological inequalities arising in this context and leading to conflicts in international trade, thus prompting the creation of promising areas of conflict management.

Design/methodology/approach: The study is carried out using the comparative analysis methods through the review of analytical data, as well as using the qualitative structural and logical analysis method.

Findings: This chapter reviews the factors that determine the benefits and limits of participating in the creation of the new ‘markets of tomorrow’ in some of the world’s countries. Prospects and recommendations are identified to prevent or partially mitigate the technological inequalities constituting a barrier to the creation of new ‘markets of tomorrow’, provoking conflict in international trade and promoting the development of promising areas of conflict management.

Originality/value: The results of the study generally supported the assumption that recovery from the economic downturn associated with the COVID-19 pandemic requires a comprehensive and sustained economic transformation capable of delivering economic growth that would contribute to the broader social and environmental goals to be achieved over the coming decade. Implementing such a transformation will require the active creation of ‘markets of tomorrow’ through a creative combination of disruptive technological and socio-institutional innovations. The aim is not only to produce more or in a better way but also to transform economies by creating new technological and institutional systems that can address some of today’s most pressing social problems, in particular to mitigate technological inequalities and prevent conflicts from developing.

This chapter’s purpose is to check (prove or disprove) the argument in favour of technological discrimination of consumers of goods in the conditions of digital development, given the essence of sales conflict, its manifestations and perspectives of overcoming.

The literature review of the existing sources shows that they have an insufficient scientific basis for determining the essence of sales conflict, its manifestations, and perspectives of overcoming in the conditions of digital development and in view of technological discrimination of consumers of goods. To fill this gap in the system of scientific knowledge, the authors use the methods of comparative and correlation analysis of statistical data. The research objects are the top 10 countries from the G20, Latin America, the Caribbean, China, and the United States, which have the highest level of development of online trade and digitalization.

The authors perform an overview of the facts that determine that, from a scientific point of view, there are arguments in favour of technological discrimination of consumers of goods in the conditions of digital development from the position of the emergence of sales conflicts between companies and consumers of online goods. Modern economies are developing along the path of further increase in the technological gap between them, which could be caused by two reasons: differentiation in the level of socio-economic development of separate countries and their different susceptibility to the achievements of the digital economy and digital technologies. Countries with high innovative potential, but without effective innovative systems, undergo ‘digital transformation’. Countries with low innovative potential, but active borrowing and implementation of innovative technologies from abroad, undergo ‘digital adaptations’.

It is proved that the COVID-19 pandemic led to the change of consumer behaviour models, seriously influencing the structure of consumption. While the traditional retail trade is in stagnation, the sales volumes in the system of online commerce continue growing. Together with the development of online commerce, new types of conflicts emerge – they are caused by inequality in the level of technological and digital development of various countries of the world, as well as by discrimination of consumers.

Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to scientifically verify the credibility (prove or disprove) the existing argument for the global technological inequality within the conflict of traditions and innovations, as well as from the perspective of social consequences of the innovative development of the economy and the basics of conflict management.

Design/methodology/approach: A review of existing sources of research literature has shown that they formed an insufficient scientific basis for determining the essence and scope of social consequences of the innovative development of the economy and the basics of conflict management in terms of global technological inequality. The method of comparative analysis of statistical data over time is used to fill the identified gap in the scientific knowledge system in this chapter. The top 10 countries of the world, which are characterized by the highest level of the innovative development of the economy, were chosen as the objects of study.

Findings: This chapter presents a review of facts determining that there are arguments for the conflict of traditions and innovations against the backdrop of global technological progress from a scientific perspective, a conflict that has social consequences for the innovative development of the economy and the basics of conflict management. Today, the protection and promotion of national interests are being increasingly determined by digitalization as the primary function of diplomatic services. For example, cybersecurity affects national security; web platforms support the economic well-being of citizens and companies; the Internet contributes to the development of healthcare, education and other essential social services, especially during the crisis caused by the COVID-19.

Originality/value: It is expected that wide introduction of high technologies in developed countries will reduce the competitive ability of currently less industrialized economies of Asia and Africa in terms of cost of labour, will increase the technological gap between them and developed countries that will diversify their economies and create more jobs. In the past, countries such as China, Mexico, Brazil and several Asian countries were climbing the income ladder, transferring labour force and capital from the relatively inefficient agricultural economy to the more efficient products and services. Today, there are fears that high technologies and Industry 4.0 will revolutionize these conventional development processes, making a thorny path even more thorny, and will lead to conflicts of traditions and innovations as a source of global technological inequality.

This paper aims to highlight the importance of relational resources (trust and relationship effectiveness). The authors investigate how the Chinese guanxi is utilized to create and develop service exploitation and exploration activities for adopting non-technological innovations.

This study surveyed 252 Chinese and Taiwanese firms. The results were analyzed through structural equation model.

Relational antecedents of collaborative communication and constructive conflict positively relate to trust, as well as to relationship effectiveness. Constructive conflict positively relates to exploration and exploitation. Relationship effectiveness and trust mediate two relational antecedents to exploitation. Relationship effectiveness crucially mediates two relational antecedents to exploration.

Dyadic data would be more desirable to study firm interactions.

Chinese society perceives conflict as being detrimental to relationships. Constructive conflict enhances inter-firm trust and relationship effectiveness. Relationship effectiveness, which motivates suppliers to mobilize their guanxi network, mediates the supplier–customer interaction in broadening relationships to produce new services, as well as reinforcing networks to strengthen existing ventures.

This study contributes to a relatively under-explored relationship effectiveness area. Chinese suppliers capitalize their guanxi networks to achieve competitive advantages in non-technological innovation.

Purpose: This chapter provides a meso-level scientific and economic study aimed at capturing the nature and extent of technological inequalities manifesting themselves in the regional economy. Regions shall mean economic systems within countries. The authors hypothesize that the regional economy of modern Russia is characterized by pronounced yet moderate technological inequalities at the level of the regional economy.

Design/methodology/approach: A factor analysis of the influence of different factors of state regulation of the regions on technological inequality in Russia is conducted. This makes it possible to develop and substantiate an economic and legal approach to managing conflicts in the sphere of digital development. A bifurcation analysis of wealth and resource dynamics is given.

Findings: In this chapter, the authors examine the basis for state regulation of technological inequalities in Russia’s regions.

Originality/value: The main focus of this chapter is the result of a regression-based factor analysis on the direction of state regulation of the regions on technological inequality in Russia.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of inter-organizational conflicts on the project added value in the Chinese construction industry, and also to examine the mediating effect of conflicts on project added value and the moderating effect of conflict management strategies.

A conceptual model was developed, and a structured questionnaire survey was conducted with 667 professionals. The structural equation modeling technique was used to analyze the data.

The results showed that task conflict, relationship conflict and process conflict were influenced by subject characteristics of project participants, bilateral relationship characteristics and project characteristics. Similarly, these three types of conflicts interact with each other. Meanwhile, these three types of conflicts influence the added value in construction projects, which are moderated by conflict management strategies. Under a collaborating strategy, task conflict and process conflict were positively associated with project added value, and relationship conflict was negatively associated with project added value. Under a competing strategy, task conflict, process conflict and relationship conflict were negatively associated with added value in construction projects. Therefore, the constructive and destructive effects of conflicts on project added value under different conflict management strategies are verified in Chinese construction projects.

The variables may not be exhaustive for construction projects and most of them were applied in construction projects for the first time. As a result, their rationality and effectiveness could be further improved. The results implied that inter-organizational conflicts had a constructive effect on project added value and should attract broad attention for future research. Additionally, different driving factors had different influences on these conflicts, and even the driving factors can be divided into different dimensions.

This study provides a better understanding of the relationship between inter-organizational conflicts and added value in construction projects, and a reliable reference for the project manager to effectively deal with these conflicts. In addition, this research reveals the effects of conflicts on project added value and the path of conflicts transformation. This provides a useful reference for project managers to take advantage of the positive effect of task conflict and process conflict, and to avoid the negative effect of relationship conflict.

Very few studies attempted to examine the effects of inter-organizational conflicts on project added value in construction projects. Therefore, this research makes significant theoretical and practical contributions to the existing body of knowledge on the conflict management and project added value. This research provides an empirical evidence to support the viewpoint that different types of conflicts can be mutually transformed. Similarly, this study explains how conflicts present functional and dysfunctional effects in construction projects. Both of them are potential theoretical contributions to the existing body of knowledge.