The rise of the digital service economy in European regions

Abstract

ABSTRACT A great interest was devoted to the rise of the Industry 4.0 production model and its impacts. Far less is known about the so-called digital service economy, a multifaceted phenomenon made of a sprawling range of businesses based on digital platforms and redesigning the boundaries of manufacturing towards services. The net socio-economic effects of the digital service economy at the local level are not yet known and difficult to be measured unless the different value creation models it entails are not identified. This paper fills such a gap by separating out, on conceptual grounds, specific value creation models within the digital service economy, each presenting distinctive growth opportunities and threats, and, empirically, measuring their spatial diffusion and coexistence in each European region. The taxonomy of European regions obtained serves future research purposes to assess the expected heterogeneous regional socio-economic effects of the digital service economy and its value creation models.