Commissioned by: European Commission-Framework Programme
The changing nature of global supply chains (GSCs) requires a rethinking in the design of appropriate policy responses and
in taking into account their employment and social impacts. The overall goal of RETHINK-GSC is to enhance our understanding
of the impact of GSCs using new measures that can quantify the role knowledge flows, and more generally services inputs, and
thus acknowledge the increasing importance of intangibles in global production. The project provides new and innovative methodologies
for assessing the development of global supply chains, which generates new knowledge on ongoing and expected changes in GSCs
due to shocks. The research, both theoretical and empirical, will be conducted mainly at the level of the firm – the unit
that ultimately decides on the organisation of international production. Using the RETHINK-GSC innovative measures allows
the projects' researchers and future scholars (i) to investigate the interaction between tangible and intangible GSCs to evaluate
the changing nature of global supply chains, (ii) to provide novel ways of analysing the impact of GSCs on social, economic
and environmental outcomes in European countries and (iii) to evaluate the resilience of GSCs to exogenous shocks.
Die Empfehlung des Rates (2016/C 349/01) zur Einrichtung nationaler Ausschüsse für Produktivität zielt auf eine nachhaltige
Verbesserung der Produktivitätsentwicklung in der Europäischen Union und richtet sich insbesondere an die Mitgliedsländer
im Euro-Raum. Das Gesetz zur Einrichtung des Produktivitätsrates in Österreich verlangt zudem, dass neben den Kennzahlen zur
wirtschaftlichen Leistungsfähigkeit auch Aspekte der ökologischen Transformation sowie der sozialen Verantwortung in den Analysen
berücksichtigt werden. In diesem Zusammenhang das WIFO gemeinsam mit dem Büro des Produktivitätsrates eine Hintergrundstudie
zur Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und nachhaltigen Entwicklung der österreichischen Wirtschaft. Für diesen Bericht erstellt das WIFO
aktuelle Befunde zur relativen Position und Entwicklung in Österreich entlang der drei Zieldimensionen: 1. wirtschaftliche
Leistungsfähigkeit, 2. sozialer Ausgleich, und 3. ökologische Transformation. In einem abschließenden Kapitel werden zudem
die langfristigen Herausforderungen durch (i) Dekarbonisierung, (ii) digitalen Wandel, (iii) demografischen Wandel sowie (iv)
(De-)Globalisierung für Produktivität und Wettbewerbsfähigkeit untersucht.
The supply of information and analyses for the preparation of research, technology and innovation topics in the field of industrial
key technologies focuses, among other things, on new information and communication technologies (ICT) and industrial manufacturing.
Supported by: Anniversary Fund of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank
Digital technologies have contributed to the emergence of digital platforms enabling new business models that bear huge potentials
for their users. But little is known about their actual use by Austrian companies, the particular value they create and their
impact on either side of the markets they match. We aim to contribute to the literature by developing and conducting a new
enterprise survey. Based on a classification of the different types of digital platforms relevant to business, the focus will
be on the following research questions: First, we analyse the scope of business use of various digital platforms ("adoption").
Second, we specifically ask enterprises whether and to what extent they use digital platforms to outsource labour input. Finally,
we investigate how the enterprises perceive the impact of the use of digital platforms on the kind and intensity of competition
as well as the underlying value they create for both, the firms (in terms of safeguarding or improving competitiveness), and
the consumers (in terms of reduced price per quality of goods and services).
