Digital Trade Infrastructures: A Framework for Analysis

Abstract

In global supply chains, information about transactions resides in fragmented pockets within business and government systems. The lack of reliable, accurate and complete information makes it hard to detect risks (such as safety, security, compliance and commercial risks) and at the same time makes international trade inefficient. The introduction of digital infrastructures that transcend organizational and system domains is driven by the prospect of reducing the fragmentation of information, thereby enabling improved security and efficiency in the trading process. This article develops a digital trade infrastructure framework through an empirically grounded analysis of four digital infrastructures in the trade domain, using the conceptual lens of digital infrastructure.