Digital skill types and economic performance in the EU27 region, 2020-2021

Abstract

In the era of Industry 4.0, enterprises and economies are increasingly investing in digital tools and resources, which allow them to create competitive advantages to improve business efficiency and sustainable development.Among these, digital skills of individuals and the role of information and communication technology (ICT) specialists are pivotal to the success of digital transformation.In contrast, capital sources, such as intangible, tangible, or human, also affect the effectiveness of the digital transformation process of enterprises.In this study, the authors processed secondary data from the Statistical office of the European Union (EUROSTAT) and the Network Readiness Index to investigate the relationship between the digital skills of the labour workforce and economic development, and the relationship between IT specialists and ICT development.Using correlation and hierarchical cluster analyses, this study shows that almost all indicators of digital skills strongly and positively correlate with economic development in the European Union countries (EU27), except for the most basic level of online information and data literacy skills.Moreover, this study found a strong correlation between deploying ICT specialists and ICT development levels.ICT specialists were classified into five groups, based on certain indicators, using hierarchical cluster analysis.In the conclusion, the authors emphasised the importance of digital skills and ICT specialists in developing policies for digital transformation in Europe.