Transforming digital value chain ecosystems for dual-carbon target: An exploration of the BDS-RAS framework

Abstract

As global strategies evolve to achieve peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality, the manufacturing industry faces the dual challenge of reducing carbon emissions while maintaining economic performance. The emergence of digital technologies offers an innovative avenue to mitigate this challenge. This research aims to explore the reformulation of value chain ecosystems by employing digital technologies within a dual-carbon framework. Combining a comprehensive literature review with case studies, this study scrutinizes the impacts and specific challenges that digital technology and dual-carbon strategies pose to value chain ecosystems. Initially, the study elucidates the formation and evolution of value chain ecosystems and proposes a refined definition. Subsequently, it examines the operational processes of these ecosystems under a dual-carbon backdrop, focusing on three core attributes: resilience, adaptation, and sustainability (RAS). To achieve these attributes, we introduce the “BDS-RAS” framework, highlighting digital technologies and key measures essential for the reformation of value chain ecosystems. This framework is bifurcated into “BDS,” which encompasses three crucial domains--“basic operation support,” “decision optimization,” and “service enhancement”--and “RAS,” which represents the outcomes achievable post-implementation of “BDS” strategies within the dual-carbon context. Furthermore, the study anticipates the potential impacts of emergent digital technologies on value chain ecosystems and delineates avenues for future research. This study contributes not only a practical framework for manufacturing firms to transform their value chain ecosystems through digital technologies in a dual-carbon environment, but also provides new avenues and perspectives for academic research.