What's driving the diffusion of next-generation digital technologies?

Abstract

The recent development and diffusion of next-generation digital technologies (NGDTs) such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, big data, 3D printing, and so on are expected to have an immense impact on businesses, innovation, and society. While we know from extant research that a firm's R&D investment, intangible assets, and productivity are factors that influence technology use more generally, to date there is little known about the factors that determine how these emerging tools are used, and by who. Using Probit and OLS modeling on a survey of 12,579 South Korean firms in 2017, we conduct one of the first comprehensive examinations highlighting various firm characteristics that drive NGDT implementation. While much of the literature assesses the use of individual technologies, our research attempts to unveil the extent to which firms implement NGDTs in bundles. Our investigation shows that more than half of the firms that use NGDTs deployed multiple technologies simultaneously. One of the insightful complementarities identified in this research exists amongst technologies that generate, facilitate and demand large sums of data, including big data, IoT, cloud computing and AI. Such technologies also appear important for innovative tools such as 3D printing and robotics.