Business Digitization in Western Balkan Countries: Trends, Gaps and Convergence with the EU

Abstract

Digitization is one of the essential factor for economy prosperity in modern world. Increasingly rapid changes in technology contribute to the fact that digitization is becoming a condition for achieving better position on market for both companies and national economies. Digitization consists of the application of various technologies in everyday business. This is especially challenging for developing countries, including the countries of the Western Balkans. Paper analyses the level of business digitization in Western Balkans measured like dimension of DESI from 2020 to 2023. The results show that Western Balkan countries improved their business digitization indicators. However, indicators present that there is adoption of basic digital technology, while the application of more advanced technology is delayed. There are differences between individual economies in this region mostly due to different regulation frameworks. Nevertheless, the countries of this region have made progress in most of the analysed indicators. There is a lag between WB countries and EU member states especially in adoption of advanced digital tools. Therefore, greater investments in infrastructure and incentives for companies to apply these tools with appropriate legal regulations are needed.