DRIVING FACTORS OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY – HOW COUNTRIES CAN MANAGE THEIR DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The digital economy and technologies play a key role in increasing the competitiveness of countries. This study aims to quantify the impact of selected socioeconomic indicators on the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) and its dimensions to find driving factors of the digital economy. The literature review used an approach based on the bibliometric meta-analysis as visualization tool. Panel data regression modelling was used for the analysis. This study found socioeconomic indicators that can improve the position of a country in DESI. The most significant changes are in the case of research and development expenditure. The results point to the economic and social connections of improving digitalization as strategic managerial implications for policies. The novelty of the study is that it points to economic indicators that impact the improvement of the DESI index and positively affect the future development of the country's digital economy.