South American Expert Roundtable: Increasing Adaptive Governance Capacity for Coping with Unintended Side Effects of Digital Transformation

Gabriela Viale Pereira, Elsa Estevez, Diego Cardona, Carlos Chesñevar, Pablo Collazzo-Yelpo, Maria Alexandra Cunha, Eduardo Henrique Diniz, Alex Antonio Ferraresi, Frida Marina Fischer, Flúvio Cardinelle Oliveira Garcia, Luiz Antonio Joia, Edimara M. Luciano, João Porto de Albuquerque, Carlos O. Quandt, Rodrigo Sánchez Rios, Aurora Sanchez (), Eduardo Damião da Silva, João Silvestre Silva-Junior and Roland W. Scholz
Additional contact information
Gabriela Viale Pereira: Department for E-Governance and Administration, Danube University Krems, 3500 Krems an der Donau, Austria
Elsa Estevez: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Universidad Nacional del Sur, B8000 Bahía Blanca, Argentina
Diego Cardona: Facultad de Administración, Finanzas y Ciencias Económicas, Universidad EAN, 110221 Bogotá, Colombia
Carlos Chesñevar: Instituto en Ciencias e Ingeniería de la Computación, Universidad Nacional del Sur, B8000 Bahía Blanca, Argentina
Pablo Collazzo-Yelpo: Department of Management, Vienna University of Applied Sciences, 1180 Wien, Austria
Maria Alexandra Cunha: Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo, Fundação Getulio Vargas, 01313-902 São Paulo, Brazil
Eduardo Henrique Diniz: Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo, Fundação Getulio Vargas, 01313-902 São Paulo, Brazil
Alex Antonio Ferraresi: Program in Cooperative Management, Pontifical Catholic University of Parana, 80215-901 Curitiba, Brazil
Frida Marina Fischer: Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, 01246-904 São Paulo, Brazil
Flúvio Cardinelle Oliveira Garcia: Corregedoria Regional da Polícia Federal no Estado do Paraná, 82640-040 Curitiba, Brazil
Luiz Antonio Joia: Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration, Getulio Vargas Foundation, 22231-010 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Edimara M. Luciano: Management Graduate Program, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, Brazil
João Porto de Albuquerque: Institute for Global Sustainable Development, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
Carlos O. Quandt: Department of Administration, Pontifical Catholic University of Parana, 80215-901 Curitiba, Brazil
Rodrigo Sánchez Rios: Department of Administration, Pontifical Catholic University of Parana, 80215-901 Curitiba, Brazil
Eduardo Damião da Silva: Department of Administration, Pontifical Catholic University of Parana, 80215-901 Curitiba, Brazil
João Silvestre Silva-Junior: Department of Medicine, São Camilo University Center, 04263-200 São Paulo, Brazil
Roland W. Scholz: Department of Economics and Globalization, Department Knowledge and Information Management, Danube University of Krems, 3500 Krems an der Donau, Austria

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-47

Abstract: This paper presents the main messages of a South American expert roundtable (ERT) on the unintended side effects ( unseens ) of digital transformation. The input of the ERT comprised 39 propositions from 20 experts representing 11 different perspectives. The two-day ERT discussed the main drivers and challenges as well as vulnerabilities or unseens and provided suggestions for: (i) the mechanisms underlying major unseens ; (ii) understanding possible ways in which rebound effects of digital transformation may become the subject of overarching research in three main categories of impact: development factors, society, and individuals; and (iii) a set of potential action domains for transdisciplinary follow-up processes, including a case study in Brazil. A content analysis of the propositions and related mechanisms provided insights in the genesis of unseens by identifying 15 interrelated causal mechanisms related to critical issues/concerns. Additionally, a cluster analysis (CLA) was applied to structure the challenges and critical developments in South America. The discussion elaborated the genesis, dynamics, and impacts of (groups of) unseens such as the digital divide (that affects most countries that are not included in the development of digital business, management, production, etc. tools) or the challenge of restructuring small- and medium-sized enterprises (whose service is digitally substituted by digital devices). We identify specific issues and effects (for most South American countries) such as lack of governmental structure, challenging geographical structures (e.g., inclusion in high-performance transmission power), or the digital readiness of (wide parts) of society. One scientific contribution of the paper is related to the presented methodology that provides insights into the phenomena, the causal chains underlying “wanted/positive” and “unwanted/negative” effects, and the processes and mechanisms of societal changes caused by digitalization.

Keywords: digital transformation; unintended side effects; proposition-based expert roundtable; trandisciplinarity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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