Digital Ecosystems for Sustainable Society. Current Developments and Future Research Pathways

With the prevailing digital technology and some history of using it, scholars collected evidence that digital applications do add to the well-being of society. However, they also have a negative effect on it. Digital technology differs from hardware technology by the level of modularity and connectivity , but also temporality . By temporality, we mean that digital technologies can be reprogrammable while in use; thus, software features can be modified or changed, continuously leading to new products or services. Digital technologies can also be applied across borders and sectors’ boundaries, thus converging data, information, and knowledge, and consequently, digital ecosystems emerge [1] . Finally, due to the network effect, digital technologies can be generative ; put differently, they can generate - “an unprompted change is driven by the large, varied and uncoordinated audience” [ 2 , p. 1980]. These digital technology features and affordances yet to be enacted have a positive effect when it comes to reorganizing supply chains for circularity and sustainability, enhancing accessibility and affordability, enabling complementary resources and energy-effective consumption, and accelerating the development and diffusion of innovation [3] . On the other hand, digital technologies can have a negative impact, e.g., related to ownership of identity, personal data safety, the mental health of youngsters and adults, the digital divide, and digital waste in digital and physical realms [4] .