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We are living in a time of exciting, dynamic and fundamental technological changes. The expansion and development of new digital technologies leads to changes in all aspects of business, from strategic to operational. Digital transformation is the integration of digital technologies into the economy, public administration and society as a whole. Digital transformation is one of the main priorities of the European Union, which is already visible from the Lisbon Strategy and the adoption of the Digital Agendas. In this paper, our goal is to determine whether the progress of the European Union countries in the area of digital transformation, shown through the DESI index (digital economy and society index), has a positive impact on the economic growth of member states, measured by gross domestic product per capital.

The digitalisation of society as well as of individual branches of the economy determines the speed of economic growth and the ability to adapt new technologies to business and social processes. That is why analyzing the degree and pace of digitalization of individual countries is so important for assessing the economic potential of European Union countries. A very important phenomenon analysed is also the capacity for convergence of countries with a much lower degree of digitalisation. The aim of the article is an research of the convergence of the level of digitisation of individual European Union countries on the basis of the analysis of the DESI index. The research used statistical data available from European Union studies between 2017-2022. Statistica 13 was used to carry out the statistical analyses. The results of the conducted research do not inspire optimism as the expected catch-up effect is definitely lower than predicted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the readiness of enterprises for employee training using ICT. It first examines Eurostat's secondary data, mainly comparing 2019 and 2022 for medium-sized enterprises (50-249 employees, all sectors excluding the financial sector) from the Visegrad four countries. It then examines two specific Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) indicators: Human Capital and Integration of Digital Technology. The paper concludes with an analysis of these indicators using the Kruskal-Wallis test to confirm or reject the assumed positive relationship between the indicators, and data about enterprises that provide training in order to develop the ICT skills of their employees. Data on ICT usage in enterprises were collected from Eurostat. Data on the Digital Economy and Society Index were collected for comparative analysis. COVID-19 was found to have had no significant effect on enterprise readiness for employee training with ICT. The results also suggest no positive relationship between ICT employee training and indicators from the DESI index. Learning and development practitioners should take greater account of changing and unpredictable realities, as well as the evolving nature of information and communication technology (ICT). The COVID-19 pandemic may yet help to modernise existing development offerings in organisations and foster a culture of lifelong learning.

E-Government is one area of digitization that has been under way for several years in European countries. In this paper, we focus on identifying different indices that are aimed at measuring digitalization or e-Government. The results of the analysis showed that there are several indices that focus on this area within the EU, such as EGDI, EPI, LOSI, DGI, e-Government benchmark, Eurostat—Internet use, GII, DSGI, Going Digital toolkit, and DESI. Subsequently, the index areas to be used in the DEA method to measure the efficiency of e-Government-related inputs and outputs within the EU were identified. Inputs and outputs were selected logically and then verified using correlation analysis. Among the input and output indices chosen were Internet usage, DSGI, GII, e-Government benchmark, and interaction with public administration online. From the analysis, three inputs and three outputs were used and the models were output oriented. After implementing the correlation, it can be said that the values between the selected sub-variables are suitable for DEA analysis. Two models were chosen for the calculation, namely the CCR and BCC models. The CCR model found 10 states to be efficient and BCC model found 13 states to be efficient. In addition, in the close analysis, we took a closer look at the CCR model's inference. Countries such as Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Malta, and Portugal were efficient outliers. When comparing the regions within the EU, we can conclude that the countries of Northern Europe are the most efficient in the field of digitalization (e-Government). As many as four countries out of seven are efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first computers were made as early as in the 20th century, but the rapid development of digitalisation took place in the 21st century. Nowadays, Industry 4.0 has created a network connection between man and machines. Without computers and the Internet, the world is unthinkable. Digitalisation is pervading every part of our lives. Whether at work or in our leisure activities, digitalisation and the use of digital tools are present. The digital revolution was started by computers and is now an indispensable our lives, for example with the internet, mobile phones, cloud solutions and self-driving cars. It's no coincidence that digital competence is no longer an expectation, but an obligation for employers and employees alike. Several studies have undertaken to define digital skills; however, we can talk about a rather complex competence. The current study examines the question in the dimension of the European Union from a multitude of aspects. The authors use the DESI index and EU statistics on this topic to find correlations between digital potential, use of tools and the exploitation of opportunities offered by digitalisation in thirteen countries. The authors primarily examined the impact of the level of digital infrastructure and the frequency of Internet use on digital skills. It is outlined from statistics that Scandinavian countries have a leading role in the digital competition. Nevertheless, our results throw light on the individual level that digital skills forcefully improve during browsing on the internet, and practical activities have a significant role in development, which the authors named PMP.

In modern societies, digitalization plays a tremendously important role for people and businesses. Apart from an economic representation, competitiveness characterizes a society from political, cultural, or human points of view. In this article, we aim to highlight the role of digital development from a competitiveness perspective, as there are few studies related to this relationship. The empirical investigation is based on panel data analysis for European Union countries for 2017–2022, considering the digital economy and society index (DESI) and the index developed by International Institute for Management Development (IMD), respectively IMD world competitiveness index. The results obtained are reported both for general indices and for the components of DESI, presented separately for the groups of Central and Eastern European countries and Western European countries. They indicate different influences for the two groups of countries, with only a few common aspects. The most obvious is the case of skilled labor. This aspect demonstrates the link between the various dimensions of digitalization and changes in human capital development strategies, as they appear in the specialized literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technologies play a key role in reviving the world economy. The EU has pledged to combine recovery support with resilient digital transformation. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the lack of digitization in Slovakia and the shortcomings of digital skills in citizens and communication with institutions. Digital skills are important and should form part of educational policy. ICT skills can help people succeed in the labour market and improve communication with public administration. Digitization and globalization increase the importance to communicate through the Internet, applications, and other e-based gadgets. Digital skills are one of the essential parts of e-Government, so people can use e-Government services in communication with public administration. The current crisis is affecting citizens' use of online services. Indices concerning the digital economy are analysed, such as the digital economy and society index DESI and e-Government digital skills (EGDI) from 2018 to 2021 revealed a stagnant state in 2018 and 2019, and in 2020, there was a decrease in basic digital skills. The next index is E-Government Digital Index. It focuses on human capital and digital skills in these indices. The paper analyses and identifies the digital skills of citizens in the context of e-Government development and describes the use of e-Government services by EU citizens with a focus on the Slovak Republic. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey of Slovak Republic citizens' digital skills according to selected categories, the use of e-Government services as well as awareness of e-Government services. Solutions that improve e-Government in the Slovak Republic are gradually being implemented. Improving digital skills according to the National Coalition for Digital Skills and Professions in the Slovak Republic is one of the priorities of The Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic, which has adopted an action plan for 2019–2022 to improve the results in the DESI index by 2025 and focus on the digital skills required by employers. The survey revealed that in Slovakia, the majority of schools offer only weak support for digital education (about the EU-27 average of 68% and 45%, respectively). The research also revealed a decreased level of digital literacy among young people. These competencies are very important to gain a position in the labour market in the digital society. The projects aim to support the development of digital skills of primary and secondary school students, and the integration of new technologies into teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first computers were made as early as in the 20th century, but the rapid development of digitalisation took place in the 21st century. Nowadays, Industry 4.0 has created a network connection between man and machines. Without computers and the Internet, the world is unthinkable. Digitalisation is pervading every part of our lives. Whether at work or in our leisure activities, digitalisation and the use of digital tools are present. The digital revolution was started by computers and is now an indispensable our lives, for example with the internet, mobile phones, cloud solutions and self-driving cars. It's no coincidence that digital competence is no longer an expectation, but an obligation for employers and employees alike. Several studies have undertaken to define digital skills; however, we can talk about a rather complex competence. The current study examines the question in the dimension of the European Union from a multitude of aspects. The authors use the DESI index and EU statistics on this topic to find correlations between digital potential, use of tools and the exploitation of opportunities offered by digitalisation in thirteen countries. The authors primarily examined the impact of the level of digital infrastructure and the frequency of Internet use on digital skills. It is outlined from statistics that Scandinavian countries have a leading role in the digital competition. Nevertheless, our results throw light on the individual level that digital skills forcefully improve during browsing on the internet, and practical activities have a significant role in development, which the authors named PMP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate-neutral economy is today, more than ever, the priority issue for all governmental and non-governmental bodies, directly and indirectly involved in the ambitious and responsible process of society's transition to the green economy. To be or not to be sustainable today is no longer an option, but an urgent necessity. Based on these considerations, our research aims to add to the knowledge on the digital performance of the Member States in the context of the transition to a climate neutral economy, by analyzing the mutations that have occurred in the digital performance of the EU countries in the period 2015–2020, as well as forecasting developments for the year 2025. In order to obtain a relevant result, we used the components of the DESI index, published by the European Commission, and the variables were processed through hierarchical cluster analysis. The results demonstrate that, around the core formed in 2015 by four high digitally performing countries from the North of Europe in 2015, other countries have gradually clustered, so that in 2025 we estimate that a number of eight Member States will be part of the group of the most digitally performing countries. These countries are decisively committed to the transition towards a climate-neutral economy, their initiatives and examples of good practice can be taken up by all European and non-European countries pursuing the same objectives of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current context of the modern world, economies depend on a dynamic innovative environment, the innovation actually representing one of the main facilitators of change. The economic growth has certainly led to an exponential increase with respect to the interaction between innovation and entrepreneurship. Undoubtedly, innovation depends on the entrepreneurial context and mostly on the cooperation between the market process’ level actors. In order to implement the innovation in the entrepreneurial activities, there is a sine qua non condition of having the abilities to contribute as a promoter on spreading and adoption of innovation. The current innovations are, in certain situations, capitalized and they can be oriented towards gaining profit. The disparities in terms of development and the favourable evolution of the business environment are determined by multiple factors, at present the implementation of technologies representing one of them. The correlation between technology and economy exists and the effects it produces on the market reality are showcased in this article. Therefore, the purpose of the current research is to identify the correlations between the economic development and technologies adoption in the entrepreneurial field. For this purpose, quantitative methods have been used in order to strengthen the obtained results.

E-Government is one area of digitization that has been under way for several years in European countries. In this paper, we focus on identifying different indices that are aimed at measuring digitalization or e-Government. The results of the analysis showed that there are several indices that focus on this area within the EU, such as EGDI, EPI, LOSI, DGI, e-Government benchmark, Eurostat—Internet use, GII, DSGI, Going Digital toolkit, and DESI. Subsequently, the index areas to be used in the DEA method to measure the efficiency of e-Government-related inputs and outputs within the EU were identified. Inputs and outputs were selected logically and then verified using correlation analysis. Among the input and output indices chosen were Internet usage, DSGI, GII, e-Government benchmark, and interaction with public administration online. From the analysis, three inputs and three outputs were used and the models were output oriented. After implementing the correlation, it can be said that the values between the selected sub-variables are suitable for DEA analysis. Two models were chosen for the calculation, namely the CCR and BCC models. The CCR model found 10 states to be efficient and BCC model found 13 states to be efficient. In addition, in the close analysis, we took a closer look at the CCR model’s inference. Countries such as Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Malta, and Portugal were efficient outliers. When comparing the regions within the EU, we can conclude that the countries of Northern Europe are the most efficient in the field of digitalization (e-Government). As many as four countries out of seven are efficient.

In modern societies, digitalization plays a tremendously important role for people and businesses. Apart from an economic representation, competitiveness characterizes a society from political, cultural, or human points of view. In this article, we aim to highlight the role of digital development from a competitiveness perspective, as there are few studies related to this relationship. The empirical investigation is based on panel data analysis for European Union countries for 2017–2022, considering the digital economy and society index (DESI) and the index developed by International Institute for Management Development (IMD), respectively IMD world competitiveness index. The results obtained are reported both for general indices and for the components of DESI, presented separately for the groups of Central and Eastern European countries and Western European countries. They indicate different influences for the two groups of countries, with only a few common aspects. The most obvious is the case of skilled labor. This aspect demonstrates the link between the various dimensions of digitalization and changes in human capital development strategies, as they appear in the specialized literature.

We build on the argument that measurement of digitalization is essential for effective public policy strategies in order to to govern digital transition. Developing this argument, we investigate the five principal dimensions of the European Commission's Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) using a series of multivariate statistics. The analysis can be divided into three groups. First, we analyse the linear relationships between dimensions by correlation analysis, partial correlation analysis, and principal component analysis. In the partial correlation analysis, causal relationships between the dimensions show high correlations. Second, we assign countries into groups with cluster analysis and multi-dimensional scaling. The groups obtained by the two methods are very similar. Finally, we rank the European Union (EU) countries using statistical methods and compare with the results obtained with the overall DESI index. The correlation between the two rankings shows a strong linear relationship. Based on these results we draw conclusions on how to effectively use the DESI data for public policy analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital competitiveness is gaining more and more attention as a source of competitive advantage at the business and national economies levels. Digital economy performance is a matter of national strategies for achieving economic growth and socioeconomic development. Widely accepted instruments for reporting progress in these areas have been recently developed, including the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI index). The current study aims to use the DESI index and its five dimensions (namely Connectivity, Human Capital, Use of Internet Services, Integration of Digital Technology and Digital Public Services) not only as a tool for recognizing the current state, but also to forecast progress under the Greek economic environment. The Gompertz model was used as a methodological tool and it is valuable that a diffusion model has been implemented on a composite index related to countries’ digital competitiveness. Moreover, the results reveal the areas where convergencies and divergencies exist between Greece and the rest of the EU-28 member states, while forecast permits one to evaluate how current policies have a significant impact on digital competitiveness. Results indicate that Greece is facing significant challenges as a result of the low state of digitization, coming from both the demand side (businesses that consume internet services) and the offer side (institutional and governmental constraints). The proposed results could be used in order to readjust existing policies and to spot aspects where further improvement is needed to achieve high standards of digital competitiveness.

This paper examines the relationship between entrepreneurship and productivity for the 27 EU member countries using panel data. Given the critical role that digitalization plays in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the model was estimated using the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) and its subcomponents as instruments for entrepreneurship. The results show a significant positive relationship between entrepreneurship and productivity, as well as a positive relation between digitalization and entrepreneurship. Moreover, all components of the DESI index except for Human Capital also demonstrate a positive relationship with entrepreneurship. These results provide policymakers with a digital agenda to stimulate entrepreneurship as an engine of productivity and growth and shed light on the importance of empirically evaluating entrepreneurship in the light of digitalization. • Entrepreneurship is found to stimulate productivity for the EU & UK. • This provides support the "creative destruction" theory. • Importance of empirically evaluating digitalization in entrepreneurship research. • Possessing user skills is not sufficient to stimulate productive entrepreneurship. • Interaction of users with technology shapes technology affordance and creates value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital competitiveness is gaining more and more attention as a source of competitive advantage at the business and national economies levels. Digital economy performance is a matter of national strategies for achieving economic growth and socioeconomic development. Widely accepted instruments for reporting progress in these areas have been recently developed, including the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI index). The current study aims to use the DESI index and its five dimensions (namely Connectivity, Human Capital, Use of Internet Services, Integration of Digital Technology and Digital Public Services) not only as a tool for recognizing the current state, but also to forecast progress under the Greek economic environment. The Gompertz model was used as a methodological tool and it is valuable that a diffusion model has been implemented on a composite index related to countries' digital competitiveness. Moreover, the results reveal the areas where convergencies and divergencies exist between Greece and the rest of the EU-28 member states, while forecast permits one to evaluate how current policies have a significant impact on digital competitiveness. Results indicate that Greece is facing significant challenges as a result of the low state of digitization, coming from both the demand side (businesses that consume internet services) and the offer side (institutional and governmental constraints). The proposed results could be used in order to readjust existing policies and to spot aspects where further improvement is needed to achieve high standards of digital competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]