Digitalization Clusters within the European Union

Abstract:

 Digitization is strategic investment for states, as well as, for enterprises, to boost the development by increasing efficiency and productivity and generating substantial savings. The aim of this research is to identify the digitalization clusters and to analyze the factors and impacts of digitalization within the European Union. Our research is based on 10 indicators from 29 European countries. We used the EUROSTAT database for the year 2018. The selected indicators are processed using the k-means algorithm to obtain five clusters. The results of the research show significant differences between the EU member states and clusters. Based on the selected indicators and key parameters, the authors characterize digitalization in the EU countries and made an original processing using the k-mean algorithm. This is the first approach of this type, if we refer to the literature. According to the latest report published by the European Commission, Romania and Bulgaria, which form one cluster, show the fewest changes in the digital domain, while the Nordic countries, which all belong to another cluster, are on the opposite end of the spectrum.