Technology as a Driver of Globalization

Technology as a Driver of Globalization

Introduction

Since the term globalization became a prominent feature of global interactions during the 1980s, different changes have taken place within the global political, economic in addition to social spheres which has in turn resulted in a judiciously interdependent world compared to previous epochs (Christopherson, Garretsen, & Martin, 2008). This spectacle aptly called globalization is by and large influenced by two overriding factors-liberation of global markets/economies coupled with the increasing development of new technologies. The latter nonetheless (technology) plays the function of a principle driving dynamism as well as in addition to being an enabler of the process particularly in regards to global interconnectedness. Towards this end, Technology has allowed globalization to avail fresh opportunities frontiers relating to diverse nations as well as organizations on one side while portending different challenges presented by entry barriers as noted by Bauernfeind, (20). Towards this end, technological advancement is universally advanced as the primary driver of globalization. While technology is indeed a critical aspect contributing to globalization as crucial determinant of global interactions, it is obviously not the only one but its role is most critical towards this end.

This submission will therefore critically examine the role of technology in driving the process that is globalization with a view to understanding the present conceptualization as well as application of the phenomenon in global affairs.

Literature Review: Technology as the Primary Force behind Globalization

Patel, Pieper and Hair, (231) argues that globalization reflects a deeply significant outcome emanating from a novice global framework. Towards this end, it represents the most influential aspect in regards to the approach assumed by global businesses going forward (232).  In addition, Hanefeld (4) contends that globalization is driven to the largest extent by technology and therefore, it refers to the process adopted by the world with respect to democratizing admission into the knowledge possessed by resident markets, services, customer information, as well as products together with capital traversing cultural, linguistic as well as national boundaries – a fact confirmed by Christopherson, Garretsen, and Martin, (343). From this comprehensive definition, it is apparent that technology and particularly advancements in Information Communication Technology is a foremost shaper of the singularity regarded as globalization (Patel, Pieper and Hair 233).

According to Laantia, Gabrielssonb and Gabrielsson (1104), advances in technology are conceived as the principle drivers and enabler of most processes involved in globalization.  However, these authors contend that before analyzing the role of technology in globalization, it is  important to first seek and understanding of technology from a sociological perspective before examining its political, economic as well as social roles in regards to global intergration. Technology in this regard is the socialized knowledge,  which is capable of producing services and goods.  Towards this end, the role that technology plays as ana enabler of globalization can be considered from five stannd points-knowledge, production, possession, instruments and change (1104).

To begin with, technology is concerned with production and therefore the wotld needs it to generate something in the form of goods or else services. In other words, technology enhances the world’s production technology. Secondly, technology results from intellectual propert and therefore levearges knowledge to enable globalization. Thirdly, as a driver of globalization , technology focusses on possession. In other words those possessing technology also exercise control over it. In this reagrd, countries with advanced technologies are able to enhance there outcomes from increased global intergration as they possess the primary driver of the process of globalization. Additionally, technology brings change and this is reflected in the increasing rate of global intergration as a result of the widespread usage of Information Technology regardless of the location in the world. Finally technology provides the instruments that enable globalization as they are extensionsv of the human mind as well as body (Laantia, Gabrielssonb and Gabrielsson 1107).

Bauernfeind (13) notes that the advancement of technology especially over the last three decades has augmented commercial opportunities in the broader market scales coupled with exchanges in terms of cultural aspects to an unparalleled degree. Consequently, people in different regions of the globe experience similar cultural experiences and therefore are afforded an equal chance to pursue identical economic opportunities. Further, the role played by technology in regards to progressing globalization is reinforced by political forces underscoring the world which have availed conduits for establishing and sustaining trade between respective nations as well as enabling cooperative development in regards to global commercial opportunities (Hanefeld 23).

Bauernfeind (45) contends that improvement in technology over the years has influenced as well as established the basis for modern-day globalization activities. Technology has in respect presented revolutions that have transformed transport systems across the globe. Which has in turn augmented connectivity between different regions of the world that were previously no at as accessible. The most important of these technological novelties that have shaped globalization as well as enabled innovations is characterized by the enlargement of commercial aircrafts coupled with to the model for containerization in the closing years of the 1970s and 1880s (Bauernfeind 56). The advances led to in substantial reductions in regards to the monetary as well as temporal costs incurred formerly with respect to the unrestricted movement of diverse goods in addition to people across the across the globe, notes (Hanefeld 76).

Innovations in microprocessors as well; as telecommunications allowed highly effective communication and computing at reduced cost thus increasing connectivity and starting the journey towards the realization of a “global village” (Bauernfeind, 2013). This was enhanced a few later by the express development and expansion of the Internet, which laid the foundations for e-commerce and e-business. This last innovation has revolutionized the way organizations conduct global business activities by enabling the instant conveyance of information between different aspects and people around the globe.

With respect to organizations involved in global business as well as trade activities, the expansion of unparalleled technologies continues to play an important role both as an enabler in addition to being a foremost driver of the phenomenon that is known as globalization since it was first recognized as an essential facet of global engagements writes Aggarwal (52). The inclination of innovation towards this end nonetheless confirms that notwithstanding being a principal driver of the process, it is not the only crucial factor informing global interdependence and therefore, its role should be regarded as more of an enabler/facilitator as opposed to completely viewing it as the  only prime driver as noted by Millar, Choi and Chen (122). These authors further contend that technology alone cannot provide ample justification for the levels realized by globalization as it functions in concert and/or relies on other drivers to enabler of globalization (124).

Analysis

Technology progression has fundamentally influenced the spectacle by qualifying the commoditization of Information and Communication Technology with respect to computers, infrastructure, the Internet in addition to software developments (Christopherson, Garretsen and Martin 28). Towards this end, technology plays the role of the preliminary driver of the process by augmenting interconnectedness across the world (31).  The type of deep global integration created by technological progression lays the basis for the second most critical driver of the process-liberalization of global markets. This enabler has in turn resulted in the establishment of worldwide trading structures together with the necessary standards consequently resulting in the expansion of free trade, removal of trade obstacles, democratization of investment as well as capital barriers in addition to intensification of knowledge transfers across the world (Bauernfeind 13).

Technology has undeniably resulted in significant as well as constructive consequences in regards to the manner in which industrial undertakings are carried out as well as organized in addition to providing the essential skills required for participating in global production. The implication of this contribution is the introduction of innovative technologies has occasioned various changes within each scale of the global society from a universal perspective, but it has achieved this success unaccompanied. In this regard, technology as a facilitator of the singularity that is globalization is reliant on on liberalization to a great degree to realize different transformations in the context, conditions as well as the ways through which technology has transferred or else dispersed dissimilar capabilities (Bauernfeind 103).

This however portends abundant encounters for technological proficiencies within the background of globalized economies, social in addition to political activities particularly where straggler in industrialization or else developing countries are concerned (Patel, Pieper and Hair 22). The superseding challenge in this regard originates from uncertainties as well as inabilities to decide on the most suitable approaches to adopt when selecting the correct type of technology, as well as the most pertinent business atmospheres in addition to policies for accruing better outcomes in terms of achieving economic growth and by extension enhanced economic growth.

Furthermore, technological transformations as crucial drivers of the process of globalization have meaningfully shaped the international trade arrays by presenting novice production methods such as novelties geared towards  realizing better resources-saving, material replacement as well as improved process technologies (Christopherson Garretsen and Martin 65).  While these are important to the welfare of economies from a global milieu, presuming that technology is the sole driver of the process is inaccurate as it leads to declining raw-material-intensity with respect to ultimate products availed within global markets. The overall effect of this is the denigrating global production due to increasing scarce production inputs thereby informing the necessity to contemplate other drivers as imperative aspects with regard to countering the ramifications of this innate challenge (Patel, Pieper and Hair 87).

Technology in addition to liberation of global economies work in concert  to enable the third most critical driver of the process of globalization-economic growth of emerging economies as well as fresh business venturing (Bauernfeind, 2013). This has led to the expansion of entrepreneurial capitalism throughout the world further driving the phenomenon. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (2013), adults in excess of 500 million are actively engaged in various entrepreneurial activities throughout the globe as the direct result of technology and liberalization driven globalization processes. India together with China are the two economies leading this ubiquitous assumption of the free-market conception in addition to the emergence of free enterprises as well as entrepreneurship within their respective societies as adduced by this phenomenon.

For this emerging markets to realize the value accrued from entrepreneurial activities, technology enabled and driven globalization must be predicated on laws that lucidly define ownership. Further, they must establish protection for palpable property rights as innovation and entrepreneurial activities require stout property rules coupled with rights that define the fortification of intellectual property (Bauernfeind, 2013).

Technology and especially Information technology has been identified through this review of pertinent literature as a primary force behind the process of globalization. Improvements during the formative years of the 1990s in regards to computer software, hardware as well as telecommunications have resulted in monumental progression in terms information access and economic prospects (Laantia, Gabrielssonb and Gabrielsson 1108). These improvements have in turn enabled efficacy gains within all economic sectors through the provision of effective communication networks that enable the expansion of ideas, products in addition to resources among people and nations notwithstanding geographic location. By creating effective as well as efficient information channels Information Technology is the principle catalyst for globalization or global integration.

The impacts of technological advancement on the structure of the global economy has created profound transformations in regards to the manner in which nations and organizations organize production, invest capital, trade goods as well as develop novice processes and products. Complex information technologies have therefore allowed instant communication between operations in far-flung global enterprise operations. Moreover, fresh materials are changing the diverse sectors such as communications and construction. Through technology, advanced technologies in manufacturing have transformed long-standing productivity as well as employment patterns (Laantia, Gabrielssonb and Gabrielsson 1112).

As previously stated, while technology is almost certainly an important factor contributing to globalization, it is not the only one. Market drivers also represent critical drivers of globalization. The importance of these drivers is seen in the way domestic markets respond to oversaturation of markets. In this regard, such markets will seek to address shortages in growth opportunities by naturally expanding outwards into the global business setting by leveraging universal consumer needs coupled with worldwide marketing avenues as well as to transfer marketing as incentives for resulting to internationalization or else globalization (Patel, Pieper, & Hair, 2012).

Competitive drivers on the other hand influence the advance of globalization in that as global economies expand, inter-firm competition in the global sense amplifies and as such, organizations are forced into internationalization (Christopherson, Garretsen, & Martin, 2008).  These drivers are further supported by solid interdependencies between distinct nations and the elevated two-way FDI and trade actions. Finally, cost drivers in terms of costs and sourcing efficiencies differ from one economy to the next and as such, organizations within the globalized business setting can leverage this fact to play an increasingly crucial role within the internationalized context. Other drivers in this regard relevant to the advancement of globalization are the numerous opportunities to build and leverage global “economies of scale” in addition to the extraordinary costs of product development witnessed currently (Bauernfeind, 2013).

Conclusion

This research paper has confirmed that indeed technology has permitted globalization to open up new frontiers in regards opportunities related to diverse countries as well as organizations on the one hand, but also portends various challenges relating to entry barriers. Towards this end, technological advancement is universally advanced as the primary driver of globalization. While technology is almost certainly an important factor contributing to globalization, it is not the only one. The effectiveness on technology to drive or else facilitate globalization is dependent to the greatest extent on its ability to leverage and work collaboratively with other drivers considered as less influential. One such driver is liberation which has allowed the creation of global trading structures coupled with requisite standards leading to the development of free trade, elimination of trade barriers, democratization of investment and capital barriers and augmentation of knowledge transfer. Information Technology in particular a primary force behind the process of globalization and has resulted in advancements that have in turn enabled efficacy gains within all economic sectors through the provision of effective communication networks that enable the expansion of ideas, products in addition to resources among people and nations notwithstanding geographic location. Technology has allowed globalization to offer novice opportunities frontiers relating to diverse nations as well as organizations on one side while addressing different challenges presented by the process.

Works Cited

Aggarwal, Raj. “Developing a Global Mindset: Integrating Demographics, Sustainability, Technology, and Globalization.” Journal of Teaching in International Business ( 2011 ): 51-69.

Bauernfeind, Markus. Drivers of Globalization: Integration of Theories and Models. New York,NY: GRIN Verlag, 2006.

Hanefeld, Johanna. Globalization and Health. London: McGraw-Hill Education , 2015.

Laantia, Riku, Mika Gabrielssonb and Peter Gabrielsson. “The globalization strategies of business-to-business born global firms in the wireless technology industry.” Industrial Marketing Management 30.8 (2007): 1104-1117.

Millar, Carla C. J. M., Chong Ju Choi and Stephen Chen. “Globalization Rediscovered: The Case of Uniqueness and “Creative Industries” .” Management International Review (2005): 121-128 .