Business Digitisation Index
The HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge designed the Business Digitisation Index which measures the rate of entrepreneurial sector organisations’ adapting to digital transformation in Russia, European countries, the Republic of Korea, Turkey, and Japan. The index is calculated on the basis of the following five indicators: broadband internet access, use of cloud-based services, RFID technology, and ERP systems, and participation in e-commerce.
Digital technologies have penetrated all areas of life, changing economic and organisational processes and the ways suppliers and consumers of goods and services communicate with each other. To obtain an integral measure of digital technologies’ use in the entrepreneurial sector, the HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge designed the Business Digitisation Index which describes how quickly companies adapt to digital transformation, how actively they use broadband internet access, cloud-based services, RFID technology, and ERP systems, and the level of their participation in e-commerce. The index is calculated for Russia, European countries, the Republic of Korea, Turkey, and Japan.
The leader among the above countries is Finland, with the score of 50 (Fig. 1). Next come Belgium (47), Denmark (46), and the Republic of Korea (45). Russia (28 points) is on a par with such Central and Eastern European countries as Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Romania.
Analysis of use of specific technologies taken into account in calculation of the index in Russia reveals that 82% of companies have broadband internet access, 23% use cloud services, 19% ERP systems, 12% participate in e-commerce, and 6% use RFID technology (Table 1).
The gap between the Russian and relevant Finnish figures (the latter country has the highest value of the index) varies between 9 and 43%. The minimal deviation was found in areas such as e-commerce (9%) and use of RFID technology (17), while the maximum was noted for use of cloud services (43%).
Table 1. Companies’ use of digital technologies, by country: 2017 (or the nearest year for which data is available)
(share of companies who use digital technologies in the total number of entrepreneurial organisations, %)
Broadband internet access |
Cloud-based services |
RFID technology |
ERP systems |
e-commerce in various formats (web sites, extranet, and EDI systems) | |
Russia |
82 |
23 |
6 |
19 |
12 |
Austria |
98 |
21 |
19 |
40 |
17 |
Belgium |
98 |
40 |
21 |
54 |
24 |
Bulgaria |
89 |
8 |
18 |
23 |
7 |
UK |
95 |
35 |
8 |
19 |
20 |
Hungary |
91 |
16 |
7 |
14 |
13 |
Germany |
95 |
16 |
16 |
38 |
24 |
Greece |
85 |
11 |
7 |
37 |
11 |
Denmark |
100 |
51 |
9 |
40 |
29 |
Ireland |
96 |
36 |
11 |
28 |
30 |
Spain |
98 |
24 |
15 |
46 |
20 |
Italy |
96 |
22 |
13 |
37 |
8 |
Cyprus |
96 |
22 |
14 |
35 |
12 |
Latvia |
99 |
12 |
9 |
25 |
11 |
Lithuania |
100 |
23 |
10 |
47 |
22 |
Luxembourg |
97 |
19 |
18 |
41 |
8 |
Malta |
95 |
28 |
17 |
30 |
17 |
Norway |
94 |
48 |
10 |
30 |
29 |
Netherlands |
100 |
35 |
18 |
48 |
16 |
Poland |
95 |
10 |
9 |
26 |
10 |
Portugal |
98 |
23 |
11 |
40 |
18 |
Republic of Korea |
98 |
… |
42 |
28 |
11 |
Romania |
82 |
11 |
7 |
17 |
8 |
Slovakia |
95 |
22 |
18 |
31 |
15 |
Slovenia |
99 |
22 |
15 |
30 |
18 |
Turkey |
95 |
10 |
... |
14 |
11 |
Finland |
100 |
66 |
23 |
39 |
21 |
France |
99 |
17 |
11 |
38 |
17 |
Croatia |
95 |
31 |
14 |
26 |
18 |
Czech Republic |
98 |
22 |
8 |
28 |
24 |
Sweden |
97 |
48 |
12 |
31 |
29 |
Estonia |
95 |
23 |
12 |
28 |
16 |
Japan |
91 |
47 |
5 |
... |
24 |
91–100 | 76–90 | 61–75 | 46–60 | 31–45 | 5–30 |
In foreign countries, the lowest demand for abovementioned technologies was noted for e-commerce (on average just 17% of companies used it), and RFID technology (14%). The highest differentiation was found for use of RFID technology and cloud services (8.4 and 8.3 times, respectively). Interestingly, different countries have the highest values of each of these indicators. E.g. Ireland is the leader in e-commerce (30%); RFID technology is most actively used in the Republic of Korea (42%); ERP systems – in Belgium (54%); and cloud services – in Finland (66% of companies). 100% of companies in Denmark, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Finland have broadband internet access.
Sources:
HSE (2018) Digital Economy Indicators: 2018. Statistical databook. M: HSE.
HSE (2019) Digital Economy. Brief databook M: HSE.
HSE ISSEK calculations based on Rosstat data, conducted in the scope of the project 'Development of Methodologies, Information and Analytical Materials for Digital Economy Indicators' carried out in the framework of the Thematic Plan for HSE Research.
By Marina Kevesh and Daria Filatova
Previous issue: 'Benchmarking National Innovation Systems: European Innovation Scoreboard 2018'
All issues of the 'Science, Technology, and Innovation' and 'Digital Economy' series