The phenomenon of globalization starts from afar and includes significant changes in the economic and social relationships amongst people, companies, and institutions. We are all part of the process, which sees the shortening of distances and the standardization of lifestyles combined with an increasingly global presence of certain economic subjects.

With the advent of emerging technologies and the rise of the industry 4.0 paradigm in recent years, globalization has increasingly become an important phenomenon.

It both concerns us and allows us to take an active role in fostering successful global conversations, which in turn translates into inclusive and equitable growth in all countries.

Today we can no longer consider ourselves passive regarding this phenomenon, as new technologies enable a different role for each of us.

It is necessary to focus on the implications of the current transformation in the economic, social, geopolitical and environmental contexts, and to globally define the intent to face the future in a constructive and collaborative way. We are witnessing the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, forged by new advanced technologies, wherein the digital world and the physical-biological world combine to create innovations that advance with a speed and on a scale with no comparison in the history of humanity.

This metamorphosis is radically changing the way in which individuals, companies, and institutions relate to each other by rapidly moving towards a new phase of global cooperation: Globalization 4.0.

Digital Transformation – Digitalization and Digital Diffusion

When we talk about Digital Transformation, we often confuse it with Digitalization. In reality, they are connected but are different phenomena.

Digitalization refers to the use of digital technologies to manage business processes in an innovative and increasingly automatic way to exploit the advantages of emerging digital technologies in making a company more efficient and optimizing our business model.

On the other hand, the Digital Transformation is a much wider phenomenon that is radically changing our society, our economy, and our institutions by exploiting digitalization as an enabling phenomenon. All this is possible thanks to Digital Diffusion – the growing and pervasive presence of digital technologies in our daily life. So, Digitalization enables Digital Transformation through Digital Diffusion.

We cannot consider the role and impact of emerging digital technologies only on a local scale and for a single company. To take a holistic view we must consider the role they will play in the development of globalization, and therefore consider them disruptive factors for this process.

Globalization is a phenomenon that represents the intensification of trade and the increasing interdependence among nations. The grafting of emerging digital technologies into the heart of the management processes is at the base of this phenomenon. It cannot help but create a disruptive innovation that, if not qualified through the grafting of sustainable and inclusive policies, can take us away from sustainable and inclusive innovation.

These new digital technologies do not just contribute to the efficiency of the management process, but also create new business models that were previously unthinkable. Industry 4.0, in fact, represents the very basis of a revolutionary model of production and business management.

For example, until just a few years ago, the Supply Chain benefited from Information Technology as a fluidizing factor leading to organizational efficiency. Today is evolving towards the Orchestration of Ecosystems with a preponderant need for data analysis.