The Vulnerability Problem of Business Ecosystems under Global Decoupling

Cha, Hongryol Wu Jie Kotabe Masaaki

[...]the post-Cold War global economic growth era saw the establishment of various regional trading blocs, such as the European Union, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, creating a decentralized network structure (see Figure 1b). [...]since the dawn of the 21st century, we have started seeing free trade agreements extended beyond regions, such as the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), characterizing a more distributed network structure (see Figure 1c). According to the World Bank's (2020) analysis on world economies based on purchasing power parity (PPP), the PPP-based GDP's regional portions have become similar to each other (see Figure 2). [...]these populistic programs can be reinforced by social identity like cultural and racial attitudes. [...]the appeals of the populists to the working class that wants to recover their low-skilled jobs in developed countries have provoked global decoupling like Brexit and protectionism.