Digital power resources (DPR): the political economy of structural and infrastructural business power in digital(ized) capitalism

Abstract

Abstract Studies on digitalization and business power tend to focus on digital platform firms. In contrast, we argue that data, digital technologies and digital infrastructures create novel digital power resources (DPR) for firms throughout sectors. DPR can be structural, that is, rooted in data and digital technologies, and infrastructural, that is, rooted in digital infrastructure. We propose indicators and apply them to a sample of 120 large firms from the USA, UK, France and Germany, active in five sectors. We find that firms from all sectors control DPR but the sectoral distribution varies depending on the national political–economic context. Lastly, we demonstrate the analytical value added of our concept by explaining variation in business preferences and strategies toward data sovereignty and data-sharing regulation in the German automotive sector. Our DPR concept improves our understanding of why and how business seeks to influence (digital) policies and politics in digital(ized) capitalism in general.

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