Advanced digitalisation and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: firm-level evidence from developing and emerging economies

Elisa Calza*, Alejandro Lavopa, Ligia Zagato

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Advanced digital production technologies - often clustered under the label of 'Industry 4.0'- are reshaping industrial production. Using novel firm-level data collected by UNIDO this paper investigates the extent to which these technologies shielded developing countries' manufacturing firms in times of COVID-19. The results of the analysis show that the adoption of the latest vintage of digital technologies strengthened firms' robustness against the shock and, at the same time, facilitated their readiness to respond and adapt to the new context. These findings pose relevant implications for the design of post-COVID recovery strategies to strengthen future industrial resilience in developing and emerging economies.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)864-894
Number of pages31
JournalIndustry and Innovation
Volume30
Issue number7
Early online date1 Jul 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 9 Aug 2023

JEL classifications

  • d22 - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
  • d24 - "Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity"
  • f61 - Globalization: Microeconomic Impacts
  • l20 - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior: General
  • o12 - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
  • o14 - "Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology"
  • o33 - "Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes"

Keywords

  • Industrial development
  • digital technologies
  • resilience
  • fourth industrial revolution
  • firm-level analysis
  • COVID-19
  • >
  • SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE
  • RESEARCH-AND-DEVELOPMENT
  • GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS
  • INDUSTRY 4.0
  • DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES
  • INNOVATION
  • EMPLOYMENT
  • PRODUCTIVITY
  • FUTURE
  • GROWTH

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