Race to Digitalization – Sustainability Challenges for Developing Countries

Abstract

By the beginning of the twenty-first century, the trend of digitalization has been widely appreciated. At first, digitalization became famous for social networks (e.g., Facebook, Twitter etc.), professional networks (e.g., LinkedIn, ResearchGate etc.), online banking, cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin etc.), education (e.g., Coursera etc.), and dating (e.g., Tinder etc.). Digitalization has been widely accepted by governments for state businesses. International chambers of commerce and multinational companies are utilizing digital means to access new markets and to operate and expand their businesses. A revolutionary shift in digitalization occurred in famous start-ups, such as Uber and Airbnb etc. The current COVID-19 pandemic has promoted digitalization on a mass scale, when social distancing has become a primary infection prevention measure (Qian and Jiang, 2020). Europe and the United States (US) have been points of origin for digital products, later extending to China, India, and the rest of the world. Digitalization has been a good management practice for developed economies but a challenge for developing countries. Usually, developing countries develop digitalization from foreign aid because of a lack of local funding and economic instability. Dependence on foreign aid usually limits independent policymaking because of the funding agency’s interests. In this editorial, we present digitalization in Pakistan as an example of sustainability challenges faced by developing countries.