Title: Recorded music supply network reconfiguration: the dual effect of digital technology

Authors: Davi Nakano; Afonso Fleury

Addresses: Production Engineering Department, Escola Politecnica, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil ' Production Engineering Department, Escola Politecnica, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil

Abstract: Current literature on the impact of technology innovation has mainly focused on manufacturing firms and networks and has considered technology impact as having an immediate effect on the supply network. This paper analyses how digital technology has impacted the recorded music supply network, a fast moving supply chain, arguing that it had a twofold effect. It was initially applied to the production process, displaying a competency enhancing effect but not changing substantially the industry structure and governance pattern. It was only when applied to the distribution process, the governance-granting process, that its impacts were fully deployed, allowing the entry of new types of players adopting new business models and challenging the former governance pattern: the hierarchical governance was replaced by a pattern in which agents organise themselves in project-based, adhoc configurations, and market access is not controlled by large companies.

Keywords: supply networks; technological innovation; digital technology; creative industries; recorded music supply chains; network reconfiguration; industry structure; governance patterns; distribution process.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMTM.2017.082009

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, 2017 Vol.31 No.1/2/3, pp.153 - 175

Received: 04 Jul 2015
Accepted: 13 Jan 2016

Published online: 01 Feb 2017 *

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