Editorial: Impact of Information and Communication Technology to the Competitiveness of European Countries - Cluster Analysis Approach

Abstract

IntroductionInformation and communication technology (ICT) has been recognized as a key factor in the economic development and growth of countries, especially in the last decades [3], [16], [19], [30]. Development of ICT contributes to higher productivity, efficiency, gross domestic product, and a higher level of innovation activity [17], [20], [29]. According to the European Commission, ICT drives 20% of productivity growth in the European Union countries [7].The development of ICT impacts higher overall competitiveness in numerous ways. A positive impact of ICT usage can be found in many areas: the financial sector, health organizations, education and science, and public organizations [14]. The usage of ICT increases development of e-skills and the quality of education systems, changes the structure of business processes, encourages employment and collaboration among individuals and facilitates everyday activities [2], [27].Usage and application of the information and communication technology (ICT) differs in particular countries, which lead to the digital divide among countries [22], [29], which has a negative impact on the overall development of the information society [13], [15], [28]. The digital divide does not present only the difference between using and not using ICT, but also the difference in the level of knowledge and skills which are necessary for using ICT [1].According to numerous researches, digital divide is present in European countries. For example, Piatkowski [21] showed that ICT led to higher growth of productivity at macro and micro level in several post-transition countries which became EU members in 2004. He highlighted that the highest efforts were made by several countries such as: the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovenia, followed by Romania. On the other hand, Slovakia and Bulgaria lag behind regarding economic development and ICT usage. This indicates that European leaders should invest more efforts in decreasing the digital divide [4], especially taking into account that EU countries are thriving to become the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy and society [25]. In order to maintain a competitive position on the market in the next several years, European countries should enhance development of ICT and e-skills, since educated employees with such skills are a crucial factor for competitiveness, growth and employment [5], [10].In this paper, we investigate how ICT influences competitiveness of European countries through four areas (elearning, personal usage of the Internet, e-commerce, e-government). We attempt to determine if there are differences in the economic development of those countries and how ICT affects them. In order to attain this goal, we have conducted a two-stage analysis. In the first stage, the cluster analysis using K-means was used to organize European countries into sensible groupings for the year 2011, according to their usage of ICT. Defined clusters are compared using Anova analysis according to their competitiveness indices, using the Global Competitiveness Report.The paper is organized as follows. The first section provides an introduction. In the second section data and the model specification are explained. Results of the cluster and the Anova analysis are described in the third section. At the end, a discussion and conclusion close the paper.MethodologyIn the following section, the methodological approach to the research will be presented: measuring ICT usage, measuring competitiveness, and statistical two-stage methodology.Measuring ICT UsageICT usage was measured using four dimensions: e-learning, personal usage of the Internet, e-commerce, egovernment.Indicators of the e-learning usage are: (i) purchase of e-learning courses/materials, (ii) search of information on education and training, (iii) usage of the Internet for education and training and (iv) usage of the Internet for decisionmaking on learning. …