DOZ White Paper #1: Challenges and Opportunities in the Global On-Demand Economy

This morning DOZ is proud to announce the release of its first white paper: Challenges and Opportunities in the Global On-Demand Economy.

Background to the White Paper

Two significant trends are impacting businesses worldwide. Neither shows much sign of abating soon.

The first is globalization. The increasing interdependence of markets, people, and ideas gained speed and importance with the end of the Cold War. It has only become more important with the coming of the twenty-first century. Hundreds of millions of new consumers in the developing world have come online. There is a burgeoning middle class in China and India. There is rapid industrialization in Africa and South America. The global trade in goods and services has exploded and savvy businesses have found opportunities for revenue.

The second is the rise of the on-demand economy. Arising on the back of the sharing and collaborative economies, the on-demand economy has begun to transform labor relationships in the developed world. Simultaneously, it has empowered connected individuals in the developing world. With a focus on competency, availability, meritocracy, and capacity, the on-demand economy has seen links between workers and companies redefined. For more than one third of American workers, an employee-employer relationship is no longer the fundamental basis for their employment. Instead, they work as required on projects of their choice and at a wage they negotiate.

As companies seek to negotiate the emerging business landscape at the nexus of these two trends, certain problems have emerged. Chief among them are three separate but related challenges:

• How to source a qualified workforce
• How to manage remote teams
• How to serve a diverse global customer base

The response to these three challenges will determine how successful a business will be in the global on-demand economy, whether they will thrive or even whether they will survive.

This white paper lays out how that survival is within the reach of any business.

What You’ll Find in the White Paper

Just as you’d expect from research that considers big topics like globalization and the on-demand economy, there’s plenty packed into our first white paper. Amongst all the data and charts you’d expect to find in any white paper you’ll also find:

• the story of how the on-demand economy got started not in San Francisco, California in 2009 but in Sierra Vista, Arizona in 1975;
• the story on how eight elderly men were largely responsible for the shape of today’s globalized world economy;
• the four biggest opportunities – and the three biggest challenges – at the nexus of globalization and the on-demand economy; and,
• how American on-demand economy success stories like airbnb and TaskRabbit have adapted their marketing to successfully enter international markets.

Feedback? Join the Conversation

We hope that our white paper piques your interest. If it does, let us know in comments below or join the conversation on Twitter.

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