Assessing the level of digitalization and robotization in the enterprises of the European Union Member States

PLoS One. 2021 Jul 22;16(7):e0254993. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254993. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

One of the main reasons for the dynamic global economic development observed in recent years is the process of digitalization, referred to as Industry 4.0. The significance of digitalization for this development is appreciated by the EU-27. In order for these actions to be effective, it is necessary to diagnose the current level of digitalization in the EU-27countries. The article presents the results of the assessment of the level of digitalization of enterprises in the EU-27 countries. An empirical analysis was conducted using 16 determinants which describe the digitalization in a sample of 27 EU countries. Based on the adopted criteria and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution method, these countries were divided into four classes in terms of the level of digitalization. The analysis looked at the size of enterprises and was performed independently for small, medium and large enterprises. The adopted indicators allowed for the analysis of similarity between the EU-27 countries in terms of digitalization, using the Kohonen's networks. The result of this research was the division of the EU-27 countries into groups, also taking into account the size of studied enterprises. Due to the immensely diverse EU-27 economy, such a huge undertaking as the digital transformation process requires building logical internal "digital coalitions". The designated assessment and similarity between countries creates such opportunities, also in terms of building an effective policy to support these processes by the EU. This increases the chances of success of joint ventures and building a sustainable European community based on the latest technologies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • European Union / economics*
  • Industry / economics*
  • Robotics / education*

Grants and funding

This publication was funded by the statutory research performed at Silesian University of Technology, Department of Production Engineering, Faculty of Organization and Management (BK-273/ROZ3/2021) and by the statutory research performed at Department of Safety Engineering, Faculty of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation (BKM-500/RG3/2021).