MULTIDIMENSIONAL EVALUATION OF EU AND SLOVAKIA IN THE CONTEXT OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION USING DIGITAL ECONOMY AND SOCIETY INDEX

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the cardinal intent, in which digital technologies play a key role in building a sustainable future, revealing disparities between digitally equipped companies and those that are still implementing digital solutions. It showed the difference between urban, rural and remote areas with good connections. This paper is divided into two parts. The first aim is to evaluate the performance of the digital economy and society according to its basic dimensions and quantify and compare the position of 28 European Union countries (considering Great Britain as a member) in the international area using DESI - (Digital Economy and Society Index). It will look to evaluate the overall change in the development of the Slovak Republic between individual periods based on the main dimensions of the composite index. The second part aims to find the clusters of the European Union countries by using data on their rankings within the five dimensions of DESI. Correlation analysis is used to meet the first aim, cluster analysis is used to meet the second aim. The data are obtained from the Ministry of Investment, Regional Development and Informatization of the Slovak Republic and the database of the European Centre for Digitization. The results show a statistically significant correlation in the rankings of the EU countries between the analysed years 2016-2020. Moreover, among the European Union countries, there are internally homogeneous and external heterogeneous groups of countries with respect to ranking within DESI dimensions. Cluster analysis has not been used so far in analysing DESI in the existing literature. Therefore, the results of this paper fill such a research gap.Implications for Central European audience Quantification and comparison of the position of 28 European Union countries in the international area using DESI can help to identify and improve the digital competitiveness of European Union countries. Knowing five dimensions of DESI, its specific subdimensions, and indicators can help to identify controversial areas to which the state should pay attention. This paper deals, in more detail, with the position of Slovakia in the digital competitiveness of the EU using DESI © 2023, Central European Business Review.All Rights Reserved.