The European Digital Economy: Drivers of Digital Transition and Economic Recovery

Lubacha, Judy a (Ed.); Mäihäniemi, Bea a (Ed.); Wisła, Ra ał (Ed.)
Book
The Eu opean Digi al Economy: D i e s o Digi al
T ansi ion and Economic Reco e y
Rou ledge Open Business and Economics
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Taylo & F ancis G oup
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Lubacha, Judy a (Ed.); Mäihäniemi, Bea a (Ed.); Wisła, Ra ał (Ed.) (2024) : The
Eu opean Digi al Economy: D i e s o Digi al T ansi ion and Economic Reco e y, Rou ledge Open
Business and Economics, ISBN 978-1-003-84539-3, Rou ledge, London,
h ps://doi.o g/10.4324/9781003450160
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The Eu opean Digi al Economy
The “digi al economy” is a concep ual umb ella e e ing o ma ke s,
o ganiza ions and hei ne wo ks ha a e based on digi al echnologies,
communica ion, da a p ocessing and e-comme ce. I is mul idimensional
and i s dynamic s uc u e mus be analysed om a ious dimensions, such
as economic – changes in he na u e o esou ces, p oduc ion ac o s and
economic p ocesses; echnological – echnological p og ess iewed om a
mac oeconomic pe spec i e s. echnological inno a ion iewed om a
mic oeconomic pe spec i e; egula o y – challenges acing egula o s, new
isks a ec ing he ins i u ional o de ; and sociological – changes in socie y’s
unc ioning p inciples, a i udes owa ds wo k and human ela ions.
The pu pose o his book is o analyse he e ec i eness o digi al echnologies
as well as he undamen al ac o s ha con ibu e o echnological p og ess
in he long un. I also examines s uc u al and quali a i e shi s in economies
and socie ies. I in es iga es many esea ch ques ions, such as he gap be ween
he le el o digi al economic de elopmen in Eu opean Union coun ies; digi al
ans o ma ion and i s impac on wo kplace skills de elopmen pa e ns;
and also he legal amewo k o da a as esou ce. The book app oaches
hese issues om a mul idisciplina y pe spec i e, om law o economics and
sociology. I ocuses on de ini ional discussions, he measu emen challenges,
d i e s o digi al ansi ion, he impac on labou ela ions, digi al skills and
educa ion, da a euse and da a ex ac i ism.
This is a comp ehensi e in oduc ion o he di e en con ex s om
which he digi al economy can be add essed, o e ing an inno a i e me hod
o s udying his complex phenomenon, and as such, i will be a aluable
esou ce o s uden s, schola s and esea che s ac oss a ange o disciplines.
Judy a Lubacha is an Assis an P o esso in he Depa men o Economics
and Inno a ion o he Jagiellonian Uni e si y, K akow, Poland.
Bea a Mäihäniemi is a Uni e si y Resea che , Facul y o Law, Uni e si y o
Lapland, Finland.
Ra ał Wisła is a P o esso o Economics in he Depa men o Economics and
Inno a ion o he Jagiellonian Uni e si y, K akow, Poland.
Rou ledge Open Business and Economics p o ides a pla o m o he open ac-
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and poli ical economy. Re lec ing ou commi men o suppo ing open ac-
cess publishing, his se ies p o ides a key eposi o y o academic esea ch in
business and economics.
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Managing Gene a ion Z
Mo i a ion, Engagemen and Loyal y
Edi ed by Joanna Nieżu awska-Zajac, Radosław An oni Kycia and
Agnieszka Niemczynowicz
Highe Educa ion Ins i u ions and Digi al T ans o ma ion
Building Uni e si y-En e p ise Collabo a i e Rela ionships
Ma cin Lis
O ganizing Sus ainable De elopmen
Edi ed by Ane a Kuźnia ska, Ka olina Mania and Monika Jedynak
The Eu opean Digi al Economy
D i e s o Digi al T ansi ion and Economic Reco e y
Edi ed by Judy a Lubacha, Bea a Mäihäniemi and Ra ał Wisła
Rou ledge Open Business and Economics
Fo mo e in o ma ion abou his se ies, please isi : Rou ledge Open
Business and Economics – Book Se ies – Rou ledge & CRC P ess
LONDON AND NEW YORK
The Eu opean Digi al Economy
D i e s o Digi al T ansi ion and
EconomicReco e y
Edi ed by
Judy a Lubacha, Bea a Mäihäniemi and
Ra ał Wisła

Fi s published 2024
by Rou ledge
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and by Rou ledge
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© 2024 selec ion and edi o ial ma e , Judy a Lubacha, Bea a
Mäihäniemi and Ra ał Wisła; indi idual chap e s, he con ibu o s
The igh o Judy a Lubacha, Bea a Mäihäniemi and Ra ał Wisła o be
iden i ied as he au ho s o he edi o ial ma e ial, and o he au ho s
o hei indi idual chap e s, has been asse ed in acco dance wi h
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Resea ch A ea Socie y o he Fu u e unde he p og amme “Excellence
Ini ia i e – Resea ch Uni e si y” a he Jagiellonian Uni e si y
in K akow.
T adema k no ice: P oduc o co po a e names may be adema ks
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explana ion wi hou in en o in inge.
B i ish Lib a y Ca aloguing-in-Publica ion Da a
A ca alogue eco d o his book is a ailable om he B i ish Lib a y
ISBN: 978-1-032-58459-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-58458-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-45016-0 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003450160
Typese in Sabon
by codeMan a
Lis o Figu es ii
Lis o Tables ix
Lis o Con ibu o s xi
In oduc ion 1
JUDYTA LUBACHA, BEATA MÄIHÄNIEMI AND RAFAŁ WISŁA
PART I
Measu ing he digi al economy 7
1 The dimensions o he digi al economy and socie y 9
JUDYTA LUBACHA, RAFAŁ WISŁA, MICHAŁ WŁODARCZYK AND
ANNA ZACHOROWSKA-MAZURKIEWICZ
2 Measu ing he digi al economy wi h “digi al economy” ools 27
ALEKSANDER ŻOŁNIERSKI
3 Di e en ia ion o he digi al economic de elopmen inEu ope 45
MATEUSZ BIERNACKI, AGATA LUŚTYK AND RAFAŁWISŁA
PART II
Sou ces o de eloping he digi al economy 61
4 Digi al inno a ion hubs as d i e s o digi al ansi ion
andeconomic eco e y: he case o he A c ic De elopmen
En i onmen s Clus e in Lapland 63
SILVIA GAIANI AND URSZULA ALA-KARVIA
Con en s
i Con en s
5 Digi aliza ion and he impac on he labou ela ions 83
ALEJANDRO DÍAZ MORENO, Mª DEL MILAGRO MARTÍN LÓPEZ,
MYRIAM GONZÁLEZ LIMÓN AND MANUEL RIVERA FERNÁNDEZ
6 Digi aliza ion and digi al skills de elopmen pa e ns.
E idence o Eu opean coun ies 101
HELENA ANACKA AND EWA LECHMAN
7 Vi ual eali y in legal educa ion. Challenges and possibili ies
o ans o m no ma i e knowledge 120
AMALIA VERDU SANMARTIN AND JOHANNA NIEMI
8 The pa en sys em and he p oblem o inno a ion di usion
in he digi al economy 141
MAŁGORZATA NIKLEWICZ-PIJACZYŃSKA
PART III
Na u e o esou ces 159
9 Behind he anspa ency o ‘da a euse’ 161
BEATA MÄIHÄNIEMI
10 Da a ex ac i ism: social pollu ion and eal-wo ld cos s 186
CHRISTOPHER W. CHAGNON AND SOPHIA E. HAGOLANI-ALBOV
11 FinTech u u e ends: seconda y da a e iew 204
YEVHENIIA POLISHCHUK
Index 221
Figu es
1.1 Numbe o publica ions o “digi al economy” que y om 1990 11
1.2 Sha e o esea ch a eas ep esen ed in he a icles o
“digi al economy” que y 12
1.3 Map o he keywo ds occu ence o “digi al economy”
que y in 1990–1999 13
1.4 Map o he keywo ds occu ence o “digi al economy”
que y in 2000–2009 13
1.5 Map o he keywo ds occu ence o “digi al economy”
que y in 2010–2019 14
1.6 Map o he keywo ds occu ence o “digi al economy”
que y in 2020–2022 15
1.7 Key digi al echnologies 17
2.1 Da a p ocessing p ocedu e: e ining uns uc u ed da a online 33
4.1 Digi al Economy and Socie y Index 2022 by he main
dimensions 65
4.2 Se ices deli e ed by DIHs o all EU coun ies 67
4.3 DIHs suppo ing selec ed echnologies o all small-and
medium-sized en e p ises 68
4.4 Fully ope a ional DIHs by selec ed echnologies hey p o ide 70
4.5 Fi e hema ic a eas o clus e s in Eas and No h Finland 75
6.1 ICT di usion ajec o ies. Mobile cellula elephony, ac i e
mobile subsc ibe s and IU. 1980–2021 109
6.2 Changes in ICT- ela ed inequali ies. Gini indices alues.
Mobile cellula elephony and IU. 1980–2021 112
6.3 Indi iduals wi h basic o abo e basic in o ma ion and da a
li e acy skills; indi iduals wi h online in o ma ion and
communica ion skills, and indi iduals wi h basic o abo e
basic o e all digi al skills. Yea 2021 114
6.A1 Digi al skills c oss-coun y dis ibu ion. Yea 2021 119
xi Con ibu o s
o jou nals indexed in Jou nal Ci a ion Repo and e iewe o pape s o
in e na ional con e ences and scien i ic jou nals. She is a membe o he
Asociación Lib e de Economía (AldE) and o he Asociación de Muje es
In es igado as y Tecnólogas (AMIT).
Mª del Milag o Ma ín López is a P o esso a he Uni e si y o Se ille,
PhD o Business Adminis a ion and Managemen , Vice Dean o Teaching
Inno a ion a he Facul y o Labou Sciences, Uni e si y o Se ille (2004–
2008), Dean o he Facul y o Labou Sciences om 2009 o 2017, expe
o he Economic and Social Ci y Council o Se ille om 2015 o da e,
P esiden o he Economic and Social Council o he Ci y Council o Se ille
om 2016 o da e, main coo dina o o P ojec No. VP / 2012/001/0068.
Depa men : DS EMPL.B.1. Eu opean Commission and en i led “Les
Rela ions p o essionnelles dans le con ex e du dé eloppemen de la Sous-
T i ance” and na ional coo dina o o he p ojec VP/2018/004/0006 (Call
o p oposals “Imp o ing expe ise in he ield o indus ial ela ions”.
Eu opean Commission). “The impac o he digi alisa ion o he economy on
p o essional compe ences and quali ica ions, and i s impac on wo king and
wo king condi ions” wi h inancial suppo om he Eu opean Union. She is
Mas e P og am Coo dina o in Managemen and De elopmen o Human
Resou ces.
Judy a Lubacha is a esea che and wo ks as an Assis an P o esso in he
Depa men o Economics and Inno a ion o he Jagiellonian Uni e si y in
K akow (Poland). He esea ch is ocused on inno a i e ac i i ies and egional
de elopmen . She ecei ed many na ional and in e na ional schola ships
and esea ch g an s: PRELUDIUM g an inanced by he Na ional Science
Cen e ; DAAD Resea ch G an o PhD s uden s and young scien is s; Polish
Na ional Bank Resea ch schola ship o PhD s uden s; and Special Awa d o
he Minis e o Regional De elopmen in he compe i ion o mas e ’s heses
“Now Poland P omo ion”. Cu en ly, she wo ks in he ield o sus ainable
de elopmen and ci cula economy. In 2023, she ecei ed h ee-yea g an o
he p ojec : Economic and ins i u ional ac o s in luencing he implemen a ion
o he ci cula economy model in en e p ises o he manu ac u ing sec o .
Aga a Luś yk is a PhD candida e in Economics and Finance a he Doc o al
School in he Social Sciences, Jagiellonian Uni e si y in K akow (Poland). She
is au ho and co-au ho o academic publica ions in he ield o inno a i e
po en ial and labou p oduc i i y, such as Assessmen o he inno a i e
po en ial o Polish oi odeships and he p obabili y o i s change (2022)
and De e minan s o spa ial di e en ia ion o labo p oduc i i y in Poland
(2022).
Bea a Mäihäniemi is a Uni e si y Resea che , Facul y o Law, Uni e si y o
Lapland and is also he au ho o he book Compe i ion Law and BigDa a.

Con ibu o s x
Imposing Access o In o ma ion in Digi al Ma ke s published in 2020. She
is an in e na ional expe in compe i ion law and has au ho ed o e 20
publica ions in his a ea. She has been eaching compe i ion law, Eu opean
law and In e ne Regula ion o o e en yea s. She has been in ol ed in wo
na ional p ojec s on AI ha in ol e elemen s o compe i ion law. She has
au ho ed ew na ional epo s on he ecen de elopmen s, and she ac i ely
pa icipa es as an expe in compe i ion law and da a go e nance in na ional
wo kshops and con e ences.
Alejand o Díaz Mo eno is a P o esso o he Depa men o Ci il and P i a e
In e na ional Law a he Uni e si y o Se ille. He is he au ho o mo e han
50 scien i ic a icles and mo e han 150 case law e iews. He ea ned his PhD
in P i a e Law om he Uni e si y o Se ille. He is he Dean o he Facul y
o Labo Sciences. He is he P esiden o he Associa ion o Cen e s and
Facul ies o Labo Rela ions and Human Resou ces (ARELCIT). The issues
ha he deals wi h a e in he ield o c edi p o ec ion and he sa is ac ion
o he c edi o ’s in e es , ju isdic ional compe ence as well as p oblems
a ising in p ac ice like he delay in comme cial ope a ions and i s impac
on he gua an ees and adi ional mechanisms o comme cial c edi and he
ea men o some o he mul iple p oblems aised by he ecen insol ency
e o ms. He is a pe manen collabo a o o he Jou nal o Pa imonial Ci il
Law. He is a coo dina o and Lead Resea che o he EC p ojec , The impac
o digi iza ion o he economy on he skills and p o essional quali ica ions
and labo ela ions, Call o p oposals: Imp o ing expe ise in he ield o
indus ial ela ions (GRANT_NUMBER: VP/2018/004/0006).
Johanna Niemi (Niemi-Kiesiläinen) is a P o esso and he Dean, Facul y
o Law, Uni e si y o Helsinki. Niemi has wo ked as a p o esso a he
Uni e si ies o Tu ku and Umeå and as a isi ing p o esso a Lund Uni e si y,
Sweden. She is a Doc o Hono is Causa a Uppsala Uni e si y and has been
Fulb igh Schola a he Uni e si y o Wisconsin, Madison Law School. She
was he membe o he Scien i ic Commi ee o he EU Fundamen al Righ s
Agency 2013–2018 and Academy o Finland Resea ch Council o Cul u e
and Socie y 2016–2018. He esea ch in e es s include c iminal p ocedu e,
consume insol ency, human igh s and he cons uc ion o gende in legal
discou ses.
Małgo za a Niklewicz-Pijaczyńska is a esea che and wo ks as an Assis an
P o esso in he Depa men o Gene al Theo y o Economics, Facul y o
Law, Adminis a ion and Economics, Uni e si y o W ocław. She is he
au ho o nume ous publica ions in he ield o economic and legal p oblems
o indus ial and in ellec ual p ope y, he unc ioning o pa en sys ems,
in en i eness and inno a ion in economic de elopmen and he asks o he
knowledge-based economy. In 2020, she ecei ed he Awa d o he Polish
Minis e o Educa ion and Science. The awa d was g an ed wi hin he
x i Con ibu o s
compe i ion held by he Polish Pa en O ice o he monog aph Pa en sys em
in knowledge managemen : economics o codi ied echnical knowledge.
Ye heniia Polishchuk is a P o esso in he Co po a e Finance and Con olling
Depa men o Kyi Na ional Economic Uni e si y named a e Vadym
He man (Uk aine) and is he au ho and co-au ho o o e 100 academic
publica ions including Go e nmen ea ly policy esponses on COVID-19
challenges in cen al and eas e n Eu ope: SME suppo (2022), SMEs deb
inancing in he EU: On he e e o he co onac isis (2020), Sma -con ac s
ia blockchain as he inno a ion ool o SMEs de elopmen (2019), Fin ech
pla o ms in SME’s inancing: EU expe ience and ways o hei applica ion in
Uk aine (2018) and Ba ie s and oppo uni ies o hi- ech inno a i e small
and medium en e p ises de elopmen in he 4 h indus ial e olu ion e a
(2017). He esea ch in e es s a e FinTech de elopmen , economic shocks
and c isis, egional de elopmen and sma specializa ion. In 2015, she was
ewa ded wi h P esiden P ize o Young Schola s in Uk aine. She is he
Bachelo P og am Coo dina o in In es men Managemen (2019–2022)
and Uni ed Na ion De elopmen P og am expe in SMEs de elopmen and
COVID-19 impac .
Amalia Ve du Sanma in is a Pos doc o al Resea che a he Tu ku Ins i u ion
o Ad ance S udies (TIAS). She does in e disciplina y esea ch wi h a ocus
on disc imina ion, eaching me hods, legal knowledge and legal subjec s. She
is cu en ly wo king in a p ojec called The Pe son on he Edge: Dis up ing
No ma i e Legal Knowledge in he Digi al Age wi h a ocus in he in a-
ac ions be ween he digi al and physical space h ough blended educa ion.
Ra ał Wisła is a P o esso o Economics in he Depa men o Economics
and Inno a ion o he Jagiellonian Uni e si y in K akow (Poland) and is
also he au ho and co-au ho o o e 80 academic publica ions such as
Inno a ion in he Pha maceu ical and Medical Technology Indus ies o
Poland (2018), De elopmen al Di e si ica ion o Con empo a y Eu ope
(2016) and Regional Pa e ns o Technology Accumula ion in Cen al and
Eas e n Eu ope Coun ies (2014). Recen ly, he has co-edi ed and con ibu ed
o Economic T ans o ma ion in Poland and Uk aine (Rou ledge, 2020),
The Socioeconomic Impac o COVID-19 on Eas e n Eu opean Coun ies
(Rou ledge, 2022) and The Solow Model o Economic G ow h (2023). He
is he Head o he Depa men o Economics and Inno a ion a he Ins i u e
o Economics, Finance and Managemen , Jagiellonian Uni e si y in K akow
and also Doc o al P og am Coo dina o in Economics and Finance a
Jagiellonian Uni e si y (2019–2023). The issues ha he deals wi h a e he
di e en ia ion o spa ial economic de elopmen in Eu ope and inno a ion
ac i i y om a egional pe spec i e.
Con ibu o s x ii
Michał Włoda czyk is a doc o al s uden a he Facul y o Managemen
and Social Communica ion, Jagiellonian Uni e si y (K akow, Poland). He
is he au ho and co-au ho o academic publica ions in he ield o inancial
inno a ions, new echnologies and he in ech sec o , such as Be ween Social
Responsibili y and Po en ial P o i . The Technological Gian s’ Dilemma
(2018) and Financial Clus e s and Fin ech Agglome a ions – Loca ion
Fac o s (2020). He is also a co- ounde o S aćMnie, a scien i ic YouTube
channel ocused on inancial educa ion and popula izing economics among
young people.
Anna Zacho owska-Mazu kiewicz is an Associa e P o esso a he Ins i u e o
Economics, Finance and Managemen and a Di ec o o he Doc o al School
o Social Sciences a Jagiellonian Uni e si y in K akow, Poland. She holds a
PhD in Economics. He esea ch in e es s ocus on he e odox economics. She
is he au ho and co-au ho o mo e han 80 academic publica ions, including
he mos ecen Women’s wo k and i s concep ualiza ion in Pos -Keyensian
Ins i u ionalism, [in:] Ch. J. Whalen (ed.) (2022) A Mode n Guide o Pos -
Keynesian Ins i u ional Economics, London: Edwa d Elga , pp. 339–358. In
yea s 2013–2016, she was a leading esea che in he p ojec Innogend –
Inno a i e Gende as a New Sou ce o P og ess.
Aleksande Żołnie ski is an Assis an P o esso in he Depa men o
Mic oeconomics, Ins i u e o Economics o he Polish Academy o Sciences.
He is he au ho and co-au ho o o e 50 publica ions on inno a ion,
in o ma ion managemen , o ganiza ional cul u e and SMEs sec o . Nex o
academic and esea ch ac i i y, he is in ol ed in ad iso y p ojec s, using in
p ac ice he knowledge om esea ch on inno a ion, communica ion and
social capi al. He is also engaged in business- ela ed o ganiza ions and
success ully applied academic and R&D knowledge in economic p ac ice.
DOI: 10.4324/9781003450160-1
Socie ies and economies a e no digi ally neu al. Technological p og ess is a
dis up i e p ocess ha s imula es he eme gence o a new s a us quo. Tech-
nology and echnological change en ich and eshape socio-economic sys-
ems, aising hei esponsi eness and adap abili y o u he echnological
de elopmen .
The “digi al economy” is a mul idisciplina y concep ual “umb ella” e e -
ing o ma ke s, o ganiza ions and hei ne wo ks ha a e based on digi al
echnologies, communica ion, da a p ocessing and e-comme ce. The digi al
economy is mul idimensional, and i s dynamic s uc u e mus be analysed
conside ing i s a ious aspec s: economic (changes in he na u e o esou ces,
p oduc ion ac o s and economic p ocesses), echnological ( echnological
p og ess iewed om a mac oeconomic pe spec i e s. echnological inno a-
ion iewed om a mic oeconomic pe spec i e), egula o y (challenges ac-
ing egula o s and new isks a ec ing he ins i u ional o de ) and sociological
(changes in socie y unc ioning p inciples, a i udes owa ds wo k and hu-
man ela ions).
The pu pose o his book is o analyse he e ec i eness o he implemen ed
digi al echnologies as well as undamen al ac o s ha con ibu e o ech-
nological p og ess in he long un. I also analyses s uc u al and quali a i e
shi s in economies and socie ies. The ollowing esea ch opics a e in es-
iga ed and discussed: he gap be ween he le el o digi al economic de el-
opmen in he EU coun ies, digi al ans o ma ion and i s impac on he
de elopmen pa e ns o labou skills and he legal amewo k o using da a
as a esou ce.
The book is he esul o in e disciplina y wo kshops, namely, (1) “Digi-
al Economy”, o ganized a he Jagiellonian Uni e si y in K aków, 23 June
2022, and (2) The In e disciplina y Insigh s in o Digi al Economy, o ganized
a he Uni e si y o Helsinki on 1 Decembe 2022. Du ing he wo kshops,
we had he chance o p esen ou esea ch o schola s ep esen ing o he dis-
ciplines in a way unde s andable o specialis s om ou side ou own esea ch
o bi . This app oach is also isible in he esul , ha is, he monog aph i sel :
he edi o s, who conduc esea ch in wo di e en disciplines, p epa ed he
olume in he spi i o in e disciplina i y. Selec ed chap e s a e pee - e iewed
In oduc ion
Judy a Lubacha, Bea a Mäihäniemi
and Ra ał Wisła
This chap e has been made a ailable unde a CC-BY-NC-ND license

2 Judy a Lubacha e al.
by schola s om o he disciplines. This in e disciplina y coope a ion has
been one o he mos ewa ding endea ou s we ha e ecen ly unde aken.
The book aims a app oaching he opics discussed om a mul idis-
ciplina y pe spec i e, anging om law o economy and sociology. The
monog aph con i ms ha , on he one hand, digi aliza ion is a complex phe-
nomenon which al e s he economy and socie y while law does no always
keep up wi h hese changes. On he o he hand, changes in legisla ion shape
he en i onmen in which companies ope a e, and new o amended laws may
ei he s imula e o inhibi he de elopmen o an economic sec o .
In ou monog aph, we ocus on de ini ional discussions, he p oblems o
measu emen , d i e s o digi al ansi ion, changing labou ela ions, digi al
skills and educa ion, da a euse and da a ex ac i ism. We closely conside
selec ed aspec s o he digi al economy, many o which a e ho opics. The
s eng h o he monog aph also lies in he ich backg ound o he eam o
au ho s ha consis s o esea che s om eigh Eu opean academic cen es.
The book is di ided in o h ee pa s: Measu ing he Digi al Economy,
Sou ces o De eloping he Digi al Economy and Na u e o Resou ces.
In Chap e 1 “The dimensions o he digi al economy and socie y”, Ju-
dy a Lubacha, Ra ał Wisła, Michał Włoda czyk and Anna Zacho owska-
Mazu kiewicz p esen and discuss di e en dimensions and he ex en o he
impac o digi al ans o ma ion on he economy. The au ho s also look in o
oppo uni ies and isks a ising om he digi aliza ion o economic and social
p ocesses.
Chap e 2 “Measu ing he digi al economy wi h ‘digi al economy’ ools”
by Aleksande Żołnie ski p esen s eme ging me hods o moni o ing he use
o digi al economy ha include no only a i icial in elligence o big da a
analysis bu also a wide ange o echnologies o he digi al economy i sel .
The desc ibed me hodology is inc easingly employed in a numbe o esea ch
p ojec s bu has no been used on a la ge scale o da e. I can elimina e many
impe ec ions o commonly used quan i a i e me hods. The chap e analyses
he po en ial o e ed by h ee o hem: (1) big da a analysis o uns uc u ed
da a, (2) analysis based on Google T ends used in many scien i ic s udies and
(3) beacon echnology which has new applica ions, e.g., in moni o ing he
wo k en i onmen in Indus y 4.0.
The main objec i e o Chap e 3 “Di e en ia ion o he digi al economic
de elopmen in Eu ope” (Ma eusz Bie nacki, Aga a Luś yk and Ra ał Wisła)
is o examine he a ia ion in he digi al economic de elopmen in Eu ope.
The i s sec ion o his chap e con ains a e iew o p oposals aimed o
measu e he digi al economy, conside ing a ious app oaches o i s de ini-
ion. The second sec ion discusses wo me hods designed o iden i y changes
in he digi al economy om a mac o pe spec i e and gi es he cha ac e is ics
o da a used in he ollowing sec ions. The hi d sec ion p esen s esea ch
esul s wi h a discussion o hei limi a ions and downsides.
In Chap e 4 “Digi al inno a ion hubs as d i e s o digi al ansi ion
and economic eco e y: he case o he A c ic De elopmen En i onmen s
In oduc ion 3
Clus e in Lapland ”, Sil ia Gaiani and U szula Ala-Ka ia desc ibe he in-
c easingly impo an ole ha Digi al Inno a ion Hubs (DIHs) play in he
Eu opean digi al economy whe e supply chains a e sys ema ically digi al-
ized, adi ional business models a e ans o ming, companies wo k in an
in eg a ed way and sma dis ibu ed p oduc ion has become a new s and-
a d. This chap e i s adds o he gene al discussion on DIHs as suppo i e
ecosys ems and unde lines hei ole as d i e s o egional compe i i eness,
inno a ion capaci y and digi al ansi ion. Second, i ocuses on Finland, he
coun y wi h he highes IT skills in he wo ld, and speci ically on he A c ic
De elopmen En i onmen s Clus e which has ecen ly been app o ed by he
Eu opean Commission as he i s o icial DIH in Lapland.
The analysis conduc ed in Chap e 5 by Alejand o Díaz Mo eno, Mª
del Milag o Ma ín López, My iam González Limón and Manuel Ri e a
Fe nández conce ns digi al ans o ma ion and i s impac on labou ela-
ions. Digi al ans o ma ion is o such magni ude and is happening so as
in ecen yea s ha i is ha ing a majo e ec on he compe i i eness and
g ow h o companies. Digi al ans o ma ion is changing he na u e o wo k
and he s uc u e o he labou ma ke . Digi al echnologies, on he one
hand, minimize p oduc ion cos s by eplacing wo ke s wi h compu e s and
obo s and, on he o he hand, a e ela ed o he balance in he labou ma -
ke . Digi aliza ion o he economy is a social p ocess ha is s ill unde con-
s uc ion and has accele a ed in ecen yea s as a esul o he pandemic. I
in ol es a new way o unde s anding he o ms o wo king and he o gani-
za ion o wo k i sel , and he e o e has an impac on he complex wo ld o
labou ela ions.
The s udy con ained in Chap e 6 by Helena Anacka and Ewa Lechman
conce ns he digi aliza ion and digi al skills de elopmen pa e ns. I aims
o shed ligh on digi aliza ion and digi al skills dynamics in Eu ope be ween
1980 and 2022. The au ho s ha e iden i ied h ee esea ch goals: (1) o iden-
i y digi aliza ion ajec o ies in Eu opean coun ies, (2) o iden i y digi al
skills de elopmen pa e ns in Eu opean coun ies and (3) o examine dig-
i aliza ion and digi al skills inequali ies ac oss coun ies in Eu ope. Thei
empi ical sample comp ises 27 Eu opean economies, and he ime span o
he analysis is se o he pe iod be ween 1980 and 2022. S a is ical da a
on digi aliza ion and digi al skills a e ex ac ed om he ITU and Eu os a
da abases.
In Chap e 7 “Vi ual eali y in legal educa ion. Challenges and possi-
bili ies o ans o m no ma i e knowledge”, Amalia Ve du Sanma in and
Johanna Niemi explo e he in e sec ion be ween digi al educa ion and law,
explaining how hey challenge each o he while coming oge he in a con-
inuous becoming p ocess a ec ing he subs ance o he law, he legal p o es-
sion and educa ion. The chap e is o ganized so ha Pa 2 in oduces i ual
eali y, and Pa 3 discusses how VR is ans o ming he class oom in o a
sma lea ning en i onmen . Pa 4 explo es he possibili ies o using i ual
eali y in legal educa ion.
4 Judy a Lubacha e al.
The aim o Chap e 8 “The pa en sys em and he p oblem o inno a ion
di usion in he digi al economy” (Małgo za a Niklewicz-Pijaczyńska) is o
indica e he mos p oblema ic, om he pe spec i e o digi al managemen ,
a eas ha de e mine he unc ioning o pa en sys ems. I also analyses a new
unc ion which, once implemen ed, will make pa en egula ions an impo -
an playe in he global p ocess o inno a ion di usion. The chap e is based
on a c i ical analysis o he sou ce li e a u e in he ield o economics and law.
The main conclusions o he chap e s a e ha wi h he in o ma ion unc ion
implemen ed, pa en sys ems show a signi ican po en ial o a wide spec um
o applica ions in he p ocess o inno a ion di usion. Howe e , in o de o
his ole o be pe o med in an op imal way, i is necessa y o u gen ly e i y
he applicable pa en ules and ho oughly imp o e he IT in as uc u e so
ha hey espond o he challenges o he digi al economy o a g ea e ex en
han be o e.
In Chap e 9 “Behind he anspa ency o ‘da a euse’”, Bea a Mäihäniemi
assesses he amewo k o he euse o pe sonal da a by ga ekeepe s, cu -
en ly being shaped in he EU. The s a ing poin is p o ided by he ques-
ion whe he da a should be seen as p ope y o commons. Cu en EU-wide
egula ions such as he Gene al Da a P o ec ion Regula ion do no c ea e a
p ope y igh as ega ds da a, al hough some, such as compe i ion law, a e
based on he idea ha da a is an economic good ha can be e-ma e ialized
and commodi ied. Mo eo e , how does he abundance o da a a ec possible
da a sha ing? I seems ha in o ma ion on he o igin o da ase s mus only
be p o ided when sha ing sensi i e da a. Howe e , he ecen ly in oduced
EU-wide p oposals o he Da a Ac and he Digi al Ma ke s Ac a e oo ed
in he idea o “da a al uism”. The Da a Ac also aims a empowe ing use s,
while he Digi al Ma ke s Ac imposes se e al obliga ions on ga ekeepe s.
The chap e analyses in- o ce and upcoming egula ions in he ligh o he
da a as p ope y, commodi y/commons di ide. Wha is he legal amewo k
o acili a ing he euse o pe sonal da a by ga ekeepe s? Which pieces o he
puzzle a e missing?
Chap e 10 “Da a ex ac i ism: social pollu ion and eal-wo ld cos s”
(Ch is ophe W. Chagnon and Sophia E. Hagolani-Albo ) u ilizes he con-
cep o ex ac i ism o highligh he socio-cul u al damage done by da a ex-
ac i e sys ems in Eu ope and a ound he wo ld. Jus as p e ious indus ial
e olu ions elied on esou ces like coal and oil, he digi al e olu ion has
spa ked an insa iable demand o i s own esou ce—pe sonal da a. Ra he
han using open-pi mines, da a ex ac ion depends on p oli e a ing de ices
ha do hei digging by embedding hemsel es e e deepe in o ou li es
and socie ies. This desi e o da a has led o modes o ex ac ion ha cause
en i onmen al pollu ion and wha could be e med “social pollu ion”, which
causes damage o socie ies and indi idual li es.
In Chap e 11 “FinTech u u e ends: seconda y da a e iew”, Ye heniia
Polishchuk analyses how he phenomenon o digi aliza ion has also a ec ed
he inancial sec o , how he eme gence o such an indus y as FinTech has
In oduc ion 5
o ced inancial in e media ies o adop he changes we a e wi nessing now.
Cu en ly, in es men s in FinTech a e an in eg al pa o he de elopmen
s a egy o banking ins i u ions and la ge companies ope a ing ou side he
ma ke o inancial se ices. Despi e he apid de elopmen o he FinTech
indus y, i aces challenges such as he COVID-19 shock, inno a ions in Fin-
Tech egula ion, compe i ion om banks, as well as a lack o specialis s wi h
he skills ha a e equi ed in he FinTech indus y. In addi ion, he image o
consume s o inancial se ices is changing, and he ole o socially signi ican
p ojec s is g owing. The need o iden i y signals ha indica e u u e de el-
opmen s a ises on he pa o businesses om he FinTech indus y when
o mula ing hei s a egies. The seconda y da a e iew me hod is used o
summa ize he epo s om a ious eliable o ganiza ions, he main ends
in u u e de elopmen o he FinTech indus y, p o iding use ul e idence o
he decision-making p ocess. The DEEP so wa e has become he main me h-
odological ool o iden i ying and s udying a ious sec o s ela ed o he
FinTech indus y, ac o s de e mining o ecas de elopmen ends ha b ing
bo h oppo uni ies and isks.
Acknowledgemen s
The publica ion has been suppo ed by a g an om he Facul y o Manage-
men and Social Communica ion unde he S a egic P og amme Excellence
Ini ia i e a Jagiellonian Uni e si y.
We would like o hank he Jagiellonian Uni e si y o unding open ac-
cess and p oo eading o he monog aph. We also app ecia e UNA Eu opa
Ne wo k o acili a ing he exchange o esea che s among uni e si ies in
ne wo k. We would like o exp ess ou hanks o M . Alexande Mö elius-
Wul om he Legal Tech Lab, Uni e si y o Helsinki, o his assis ance in
edi ing he book and o M . Wojciech Rynduch-Walecki o copy edi ing.
Ou wa m hanks go o Ms. K is ina Abbo s om Rou ledge o ensu ing
smoo h coope a ion on he publishe ’s pa , o he Jagiellonian Uni e si y o
sponso ing ou wo kshop in K aków and pa ly ha in Helsinki and o he
Uni e si y o Helsinki Legal Tech Lab o unding he Helsinki wo kshop.
12 Judy a Lubacha e al.
Figu e 1.2 Sha e o esea ch a eas ep esen ed in he a icles o “digi al economy”
que y.
Sou ce: Own calcula ions based on Web o Science (2022).
his opic has inc eased by 30%–60% yea by yea . In 2022, un il Sep embe
o ha yea , as many as 674 pape s on he digi al economy we e published.
F om 1990 o Sep embe 2022, he Web o Science da abase collec ed
3,950 pape s wi h “digi al economy” as hei keywo d. The la ges se in-
cludes pape s dedica ed o he a eas o Business and Economics (27%) and
Communica ion (12%). Such esea ch ields a e ound wi hin he ange be-
ween 2% and 4% as Go e nmen and Law, En i onmen al Science and
Ecology and Sociology and Educa ion. This indica es he in e disciplina y
na u e o he subjec discussed (Figu e 1.2).
In he i s wo decades o esea ch on he digi al economy (Figu es 1.3
and 1.4), he s udies ocused mainly on echnology opics and he use o he
In e ne and ICT. Such concep s as e-comme ce, e-go e nmen o in o ma-
ion socie y we e in oduced in 2000–2009.
An analysis o keywo ds occu ing join ly in 2010–2019 (Figu e 1.5) com-
pa ed o p io yea s shows a signi ican inc ease in associa ing he concep
o digi al economy wi h o he a eas o he social sys em, no limi ed o i s
economic aspec s. Se e al ields o esea ch de eloped in 2010–2019: (1) he
digi al economy combined wi h collabo a i e economy and sha ing econ-
omy; (2) in o ma ion socie y, he use o digi al ools in eaching and digi al
skills; (3) p ope y igh s, in ellec ual p ope y and pi acy; (4) social media

The dimensions o he digi al economy and socie y 13
Figu e 1.3 Map o he keywo ds occu ence o “digi al economy” que y in
1990–1999.
Sou ce: Own elabo a ion based on Web o Science (2022), p epa ed in VOS iewe .
Figu e 1.4 Map o he keywo ds occu ence o “digi al economy” que y in
2000–2009.
Sou ce: Own elabo a ion based on Web o Science (2022), p epa ed in VOS iewe .
and hei use in ad e ising, and he ques ion o pe sonal da a p o ec ion;
and (5) big da a and digi al ools used in egula ion.
The yea s a e 2020 we e a ec ed by he COVID-19 pandemic as he
i us cha ac e is ics limi ed socie y’s ac i i y in he eal wo ld and caused
a ans e o nume ous asks in o he i ual wo ld. The e o e, many
s udies on he digi al economy also discussed he COVID-19 pandemic
14 Judy a Lubacha e al.
Figu e 1.5 Map o he keywo ds occu ence o “digi al economy” que y in
2010–2019.
Sou ce: Own elabo a ion based on Web o Science (2022), p epa ed in VOS iewe .
(Figu e 1.6). The COVID-19 pandemic caused accele a ed implemen a ion
o nume ous digi al solu ions in he economy, managemen , inance and
educa ion. O he impo an ields o esea ch appea ed in 2020–2022: (1)
changes o he labou ma ke – pla o m economy, gig economy, c owd-
sou cing and p eca i y; (2) changes in digi al p oduc s and se ices – digi al
ade, in ech, mobile money, e-go e nmen and associa ed emo ions; (3)
necessa y amendmen s o legisla ion on pe sonal da a and p i acy p o ec-
ion, on algo i hm use and on imp o ing secu i y in using In e ne applica-
ions; (4) he ise o c yp ocu encies; and (5) he de elopmen o Economy
4.0 combined wi h he opics o a ci cula economy and a sus ainable busi-
ness model.
The dimensions o he digi al economy and socie y 15
1.4 A compa ison o app oaches o de ining he digi al economy
The conduc ed e iew o he main esea ch opics in he a ea o digi al
economy gi es i s pic u e as a mul i-dimensional and dynamic s uc u e ha
should be analysed conside ing i s economic, echnological, egula o y and
social aspec s. All hose aspec s a e discussed in he u he chap e s o he
book.
F om an economic pe spec i e, he digi al economy is ounded on a digi al
o m o ade (Teo, 2001). Digi al in o ma ion ans e s ha e d ama ically
changed he na u e o managemen p ocesses in en e p ises (D’Ippoli o e al.,
2019). Gi en his obse a ion, Cheon and Kim (2003) de ine he sphe e o
digi al economy as an economy in which he p oduc ion, sales, and consump-
ion o goods and se ices depend on he ne wo k o elec onic means based
on an in e media y in o ma ion low. Thus, digi al echnologies and b oad-
band ne wo k access can be iden i ied as he co e o he digi al economy
(Banning, 2016). In his app oach, he digi al economy is an economic o m
o p oduc ion in he digi al echnology sec o . I is d i en by he de elopmen
Figu e 1.6 Map o he keywo ds occu ence o “digi al economy” que y in
2020–2022.
Sou ce: Own elabo a ion based on Web o Science (2022), p epa ed in VOS iewe .
16 Judy a Lubacha e al.
o he in o ma ion and communica ion indus y, which di ec ly ansla es
in o g ow h in elec onic comme ce (Lane, 1999).
The digi al economy can be unde s ood as a kind o umb ella concep
desc ibing digi al ma ke s, echnologies and communica ion, da a p ocessing
and e-comme ce (Na han e al., 2013). The g owing numbe o in e ela ions
be ween he adi ional (o line) and he digi al economy makes he bounda y
be ween hem inc easingly di icul o de ine. The di icul y becomes g ea e
as he in luence o he digi al economy g ows beyond business, o include he
a ea o li es yles in socie y (e.g., he sha ing economy, algo i hms and big
da a) (Capobianco & Nyeso, 2018). The digi al economy wi h i s mul iple
dimensions and in e nal dynamics equi es a lexible app oach o i s de ini-
ion (Ba e oo e al., 2018). Howe e , an excessi ely gene al and easy- o-
modi y desc ip ion o he digi al economy can p esen p oblems in analysis
and obse a ion due o he bounda ies o he esea ch subjec being blu ed
and changing in ime.
The ma e ial basis o he digi al economy is p o ided by he p ocesses and
p oduc s o e ed by he ICT sec o ha pe ade all a eas o he economy and
socie y in a majo i y o de eloped coun ies (Lazanyuk & Re ino a, 2019):
he banking sys em – mobile and online banking and elec onic paymen ;
ade– auc ion and sales pla o ms; ene gy – coo dina ing uel supplies, ene gy
pu chase and emo e eading o consump ion me e s; anspo – ad anced
logis ics, eal- ime ehicle acking and au onomous ehicles; educa ion –
emo e eaching/lea ning; heal h – eleconsul a ion, eleope a ions, su gical
obo s and pa ien eco ds (e.g., In e ne pa ien accoun in heal h se ice);
o ices – online access o da a, documen s and eques s.
The s uc u e o he digi al economy can be analysed a i s h ee le els
(UNCTAD, 2017). The co e e e s o he ICT and IT sec o s. I includes el-
ecommunica ions, so wa e de elopmen , compu e ha dwa e manu ac u e
and o e ing IT se ices. This le el is conside ed om he pe spec i e ocusing
on speci ic echnologies, such as 3D p in ing, blockchain, 5G o he In e ne
o Things. The na ow scope includes digi al pla o ms, he sha ing economy
and digi al se ices (e.g., Facebook and Google). This le el employs speci ic
echnologies o c ea e inno a i e p ocesses, new me hods o dis ibu ion o
o change he app oach o undamen al concep s in economics, like u ili y
and owne ship. The b oad scope o he concep o digi al economy ex ends
beyond ad anced echnology indus ies (e-ag icul u e, e-adminis a ion, e-
business and Indus y 4.0). I includes he sphe e o inance ( in ech and open
banking), e-comme ce and he labou ma ke (gig economy) (Figu e 1.7).
The digi al economy is dis inguished om he adi ional economy by Va-
lenduc and Vend amin (2016) as he diminishing ole o geog aphical loca-
ion, no longe p o iding a compe i i e ad an age; he key ole played by
digi al pla o ms; he g ea impo ance o ne wo k e ec s; and he use o
big da a. Digi al ans o ma ion also ini ia ed he ou h indus ial e olu-
ion, concep ualized by Klaus Schwab (2017). I is based on digi al da a,
he combina ion o senso s and da a wa ehouse analysis made by a i icial
The dimensions o he digi al economy and socie y 17
in elligence (Indus y 4.0). Adap a ion o digi al echnologies in p oduc ion
and se ices causes changes in he p oduc ion p ocess. The digi al economy
de e mines he quali y o economic g ow h and de elopmen . Digi al ans-
o ma ion o a adi ional economy is su icien o p oduce desi able e ec s
(Zhao e al., 2020). ICTs p o ide ounda ions o he digi al economy. The e-
o e, i is impo an o iden i y a ious ypes o digi al echnologies (Na han
e al., 2019), namely, IT ha dwa e (e.g., d ones, indus ial obo s and wea a-
bles) and digi al con en (so wa e, online ad e ising, design, online media
and online business).
The digi al economy is now eplacing he economy based on na u al e-
sou ces. An eno mous challenge is posed by es ablishing adequa e o mal in-
s i u ions (a egula o y in as uc u e) designed o lay down ules o ma ke
play, a new deal, e.g., o he digi al da a ma ke . Wiebe (2017) emphasizes
he need o egula ing he igh o ade in indus ial da a and i s p o ec ion
in he digi al age. Conside ing ha big da a, which in ol es collec ing and
p ocessing la ge da a se s, ep esen s an essen ial componen o he digi al
economy, immedia e decisi e ac ions a e indispensable. Du ing he ollowing
yea s, he ise o indus ial obo s, au onomous ehicles he g owing au o-
ma ion o nume ous p ocesses will cause an inc ease in he numbe o da a
p oduce s.
The OECD (2020) iden i ies many a eas whe e digi aliza ion and inno a-
ion based on digi al da a will a ec compe i i eness. The digi al economy
was selec ed as a s a egic heme o he OECD Compe i ion Commi ee,
wi h a ocus on ou sub-s eams (Capobianco & Nyeso, 2018): (1) he e-
la ionship be ween he digi al economy, law and inno a ion; (2) challenges
posed o an i us ools and app oaches; (3) p ac ical challenges o compe i-
ion en o cemen ; and (4) de elopmen and e olu ion o speci ic indus ies.
By using ICT and i ual esou ces (so wa e and algo i hms), businesses
can easily expand hei ope a ions ( his is e med lexible scalabili y o
Figu e 1.7 Key digi al echnologies.
Sou ce: UNCTAD (2017).

18 Judy a Lubacha e al.
ac i i y). This capabili y is desc ibed as a c oss-ju isdic ional scale wi h-
ou mass. The echnology companies ac i ely pa icipa e in he econo-
mies o nume ous coun ies, in luencing social p ocesses and decisions
made by people. They igno e cons ain s imposed by local (na ional) laws
(Śledziewska & Włoch, 2020). This gi es easons o in oducing a digi al
ax payable by he “digi al gian s” in he membe s a es o he EU. No
wai ing o a join ini ia i e o in oduce a “digi al ax” and aiming o
p o ec hei domes ic ma ke s om being monopolized by Ame ican and
Chinese co po a ions, Spain imposed a 3% ax on “digi al e enue” gene -
a ed in he Spanish ma ke , and G ea B i ain imposed a simila 2% ax.
Such measu es a e aken o achie e he communi y objec i e o c ea ing a
single digi al ma ke in he Eu opean Economic A ea and hus acili a ing
he ee mo emen o digi al goods, inc easing p oduc i i y and imp o ing
access o in o ma ion.
The solu ions used o egula e he digi al economy include egula o y
es en i onmen s known as egula o y sandboxes. Thei concep consis s
o c ea ing special and isola ed a eas o es ing he po en ial consequences
o a new echnical solu ion o be in oduced. Such sandboxes acili a e
pe o ming an “expe imen ” in a sa e manne , apid e i ica ion by he
egula o o he consequences o an inno a ion, educing he ba ie s o
en y aced by inno a o s and accele a ing he pace o implemen a ion o
a solu ion.
This is done in he spi i o mi iga ing isks o consume s o digi al se -
ices. Cu en ly, egula o y sandboxes a e ope a ing in mo e han 20 coun-
ies. A egula o y sandbox has been ope a ed by he Financial Supe ision
Au ho i y in Poland since 2018. The Eu opean leade and pionee is he
B i ish egula o y body he Financial Conduc Au ho i y (FCA) ha has im-
p o ed he egula ion p ocess, making G ea B i ain an inspi ing example o
in ech de elopmen . On a e age, one- hi d o he applica ions o pa icipa -
ing in he FCA sandbox a e app o ed and admi ed o es ing (Ma chewka-
Ba kowiak, 2019).
The de elopmen o he digi al economy is also cha ac e ized by signi i-
can changes in wo k o ganiza ion. A new global di ision o labou ac oss
alue chains, he new business model o online pla o ms, e lec ing he in-
c easing capaci y o ex ac alue om big da a, and he digi al enewal o
he in o mal economy a e os e ing new o ms o wo k and employmen
(Valenduc, 2019, p. 79). The e is ICT-based nomadic wo k wi h digi al
nomads cha ac e ized by wo speci ic wo k p ac ices: hey make ex ensi e
use o compu e s, sma phones, cloud se ices and he In e ne , and hei
wo king ime is no spen solely on he p emises o he employe (p. 68).
Ano he change is linked o online pla o ms ha ha e enabled on-demand
wo k. Such wo k elies on he con inued employmen ela ionship wi h an
employe bu wi hou con inui y o job, p e-de ined wo king hou s o le el
o emune a ion. The employe calls on he wo ke only when needed (p.
70). The e is c owd wo king ha e e s o wo k ca ied ou h ough online
The dimensions o he digi al economy and socie y 19
pla o ms which allow o ganiza ions o indi iduals p epa ed o sol e speci ic
p oblems o supply speci ic se ices o p oduc s in exchange o paymen
(G een e al., 2013); in o he wo ds, wo k is “ex e nalized o he c owd”
(Valenduc, 2019, p. 71). And inally p osume s – indi iduals who bo h p o-
duce and consume digi ized in o ma ion – ca y ou wo k by supplying da a
and se ices wi hou being paid o i , bu o which sala ied employe s we e
p e iously pa ly esponsible (p. 73).
Pa icipa ion in he digi al economy appea s o be cha ac e ized by social
s a i ica ion. Acco ding o Eichho n e al. (2020, p. 396), digi al inequali y
esea ch has shown ha indi iduals canno simply be ca ego ized as use s
and non-use s o online se ices – o ha es and ha e-no s. Ra he , indi idu-
als can be dis inguished along a ious dimensions o access. The “digi al
di ide” desc ibes no only he di e ence be ween hose who a e connec ed
o he digi al wo ld and hose who a e no , o hose wi h “digi al eadiness
skills” and hose wi hou hem, bu also widening inequali y wi hin g oups
and places ha a e connec ed (S u geon, 2021, p. 50). No wi hs anding he
elimina ion o he classic elemen s o he digi al di ide, such as ba ie s o
ICT adap a ion, use o social media o he up ake o cu en e-go e nmen
se ices, new chasms ha e appea ed, e.g., ega ding p i acy, cybe secu i y o
he majo challenge o how o deal wi h ake news and o he o ms o cybe
manipula ion (Bánhidi e al., 2020, p. 43).
The idea ha he digi al economy will ad ance wi h g ea apidi y c ea es
wo y abou disloca ions, especially om apid educ ions in demand o
labou -in ensi e and ou ine jobs om au oma ion, au onomy and a i icial
in elligence (S u geon, 2021, p. 35). Acco ding o Heikki Hiilamo (2022,
p.2), wi h economic globaliza ion, echnological change will ha e an impac
ac oss he globe wi h po en ial poli ical epe cussions. An inc ease in p eca i-
ousness, unemploymen and inequali y may lead o widesp ead discon en
which is a b eeding g ound o xenophobia, populism and poli ical iolence
(Hiilamo, 2022). Thus, he ole o policy is c ucial. Policy make s ha e an
obliga ion o shape digi al echnologies in ways o p o ec ci izens and key
ins i u ions om abuse o damage and mi iga e ma ke concen a ion (S u -
geon, 2021, p. 50).
Knowledge, skills and compe encies desi ed in he labou ma ke change
o e ime. Today, he ollowing compe encies a e indica ed as pa icula ly
impo an : collabo a ion, communica ion, digi al li e acy, ci izenship, open-
ness, capabili y o p oblem sol ing and c i ical hinking (Voog & Roblin,
2012). The de elopmen o knowledge socie y has led o an accele a ed
g ow h in he impo ance o so skills. Howe e , ITC li e acy has become
equally essen ial (Lewin & McNicol, 2015). The abili y o e ec i ely unc-
ion in a echnology- ich socie y has become c ucial (Eshe -Alkalai, 2004).
Aiming o classi y he desi ed 21s -cen u y skills, Cla o e al. (2012) indica e
(1) he mas e y o ICT applica ions o sol e cogni i e asks a wo k, (2) skills
suppo ing highe o de hinking p ocesses and (3) skills ela ed o cogni i e
p ocesses a ou ing con inuous lea ning.
20 Judy a Lubacha e al.
1.5 The sphe e o in luence o an economy’s digi al ans o ma ion
The ou h indus ial e olu ion was igge ed mainly by he de elopmen
o he In e ne . I enabled global and ins an communica ion be ween peo-
ple, and be ween people and machines, using cybe -physical sys ems. The
ans o ma ion p ocess o he indus y is igge ed by social, economic and
poli ical changes (Lasi e al., 2014), in pa icula , by p essu e on sho ening
consecu i e phases o he inno a ion de elopmen p ocess. High inno a-
ion capabili y is becoming an essen ial success ac o o many en e p ises,
enabling hem o sho en “ ime o ma ke ”. Indi idualiza ion on demand
and a change om a selle ’s in o a buye ’s ma ke ha e been obse ed o
decades, due o ma ke sa u a ion. Buye s wish o de ine he condi ions
o ansac ions, and his equi es ha indi idualized p oduc s be o e ed.
Flexibili y means g owing lexibili y in p oduc de elopmen and manu-
ac u ing p ocesses. Decen aliza ion means ha o ganiza ional s uc u es
a e educed o in oduce as e decision-making p ocedu es in esponse o
sha p ma ke luc ua ions. Resou ce e iciency (inc ease in p ices o e-
sou ces) is caused by hei sho age. Ecological aspec s g ow in impo ance,
en ailing a ansi ion o manu ac u ing p ocesses owa ds a sus ainable in-
dus ial model.
Digi al ans o ma ion is based on he de elopmen o he In e ne and
ICT. They enable de eloping new p oduc s in a digi al o m, hei i ual dis-
ibu ion, and he eme gence o new en e p ise models and indus ies. ICT,
gene a ion by gene a ion, o e s an inc easing ange o unc ionali ies, also
educing he cos o hei pu chase which leads o hei g owing accessibili y.
The de elopmen o he In e ne has made i possible o p o ide se ices
h ough digi al channels (Table 1.2). Au oma ed se ices can be p o ided
emo ely and wi h a minimum pa icipa ion o humans. The ime o day
and geog aphical loca ion a e i ele an . The In e ne , mobile de ices (sma -
phones and able s) o sa elli e ele ision a e used o he pu poses o en-
e ainmen (music, ilms and games), educa ion ( emo e eaching, websi es,
magazines and ebooks), communica ion ( ideo con e encing, cha s, o ums
and social media), physical exe cise (online aining sessions wi h a coach)
and e en elewo k (call cen es and ho lines, consul ancy, eelancing and
inancial se ices). In es men in ad anced dis ibu ion ne wo ks o digi al
se ices became c ucial, especially in he imes o he COVID-19 pandemic
and lockdowns.
The de elopmen o ICT in ag icul u e has led o an imp o emen in he
s anda d o li ing in u al a eas, mo e e icien plan g owing and animal
b eeding me hods. Due o echnological p og ess, a me s a e p o ided wi h
p ecise and cu en in o ma ion o dedica ed se ices opening oppo uni ies
o mo e p o i able digi al ag icul u e (e-ag icul u e). The e m e-ag icul u e
e e s o he concep ualiza ion, design, de elopmen , e alua ion and appli-
ca ion o inno a i e ways o use ICT in u al a eas (Mahan e al., 2012).
As a esul , digi al echnologies make i possible o conduc p ecision and
The dimensions o he digi al economy and socie y 21
compu e -aided a ming. The da a collec ed ( om ag icul u al machine y,
e.g., on machine loca ions indica ed by he Global Posi ioning Sys em, analy-
sis o wea he and soil condi ions) acili a e p ecise planning o soil e iliza-
ion and plan p o ec ion om pes s, s o ms o d ough s. This inally esul s
in ge ing la ge olumes o quali y c ops while managing he cos s o ag i-
cul u al p oduce (Gozdowski e al., 2007).
Ano he indus y ha has unde gone a e olu ion due o echnological
p og ess is inance. Th ough he digi al ans o ma ion o inancial se ices,
a new sec o eme ged, known as in ech (a po man eau o “ inancial ech-
nology”). The e m in ech, as ega ds ma ke playe s, e e s o he en i ies
coming om he echnology indus y. They possess necessa y know-how and
echnical esou ces use ul in o e ing inno a i e inancial p oduc s. In his
na ow de ini ion, he in ech indus y includes only new echnology com-
panies cha ac e ized by a conside able deg ee o lexibili y, inno a ion and
hei ocus on a compe i i e ad an age o e adi ional banks, gained om
echnology. In a b oade de ini ion, in ech may also include he digi al gi-
an s ha o e inancial se ices and e en he adi ional banks ha in es in
digi al solu ions (Ha asim & Mi ęga-Nies ój, 2018).
Table 1.2 The mos impo an a eas o digi al se ices
Se ice Di ec ions o u he de elopmen
E-heal h The possibili y o emo e medical consul a ion, a anging online
a isi o a heal h cen e o ecei ing an e-p esc ip ion
E-wo k Using he In e ne o conduc emo e ec ui men o wo ke s,
o coope a e, comple e p ojec s and access co po a e da a
esou ces
E-lea ning Language cou ses, p o essional aining, e ia y educa ion,
emo e classes a schools, p i a e u o ing and elec onic
ex books
E-logis ics Se ices ha suppo he supply chain, coo dina ion o d i e s
and business pa ne s and eal- ime acking on a map o
cu en loca ions o speci ic shipmen s and pa cels
E- inance The possibili y o comple ing all asks in he a eas o inance,
banking, in es men and insu ance wi h he use o dedica ed
so wa e and In e ne access
E-comme ce Buying and selling p oduc s o e he In e ne , discussed in mo e
de ail in a dedica ed sec ion below
E-adminis a ion The p o ision o public se ices using ICT. This includes
he possibili y o iling applica ions wi h au ho i ies and
submi ing eques s by email, and e en o aking popula o e
o e he In e ne
E-cul u e Access o scanned pain ings and o o he wo ks o a in a digi al
o ma (also using augmen ed and i ual eali y). This gi es
people wi h disabili ies o hose li ing in he p o inces he
oppo uni y o expe ience cul u e
Sou ce: Flis e al. (2009).
28 Aleksande Żołnie ski
os ensi e de ini ion. In a wo d, i examines hose a eas o he socio-economic
spec um whe e he expec ed impac o digi aliza ion is disce nible. P esum-
ably, hese issues s em om he lack o a igo ous de ini ion o he ield o
esea ch and he ague desc ip ion o he digi al economy i sel .
The digi al economy is no a new concep . Some yea s ago we obse ed he
phenomena ela ed o economic applica ions o digi al echnologies, e med a
“new economy”. Technology-based economies eme ged, whe ein new digi al
echnologies acili a ing mo e ex ensi e and e icien business we e e e ed
o as he digi al economy, he knowledge economy o he da a economy. The
e m i sel , as used in he book “The Digi al Economy: P omise and Pe il in
he Age o Ne wo ked In elligence” and popula ized by Tapsco in 1995,
was s ill a om being unambiguous (Tapsco , 2015). Tapsco w o e abou
i in he con ex o he new in o ma ion medium:
A new medium o human communica ions is eme ging, one ha may
p o e o su pass all p e ious e olu ions […] in i s impac on ou
economic and social li e. The compu e is expanding om a ool o
in o ma ion managemen o a ool o communica ions. The in e ne
and Wo ld Wide Web a e enabling a new economy based on he ne -
wo king o human in elligence. In his digi al economy, indi iduals and
en e p ises c ea e weal h by applying knowledge, ne wo ked human
in elligence, and e o o manu ac u ing, ag icul u e, and se ices. In
he digi al on ie o his economy, he playe s, dynamics, ules and
equi emen s o su i al and success a e all changing.
(Tapsco , 2015, XXIII)
Tapsco a gues ha he sp ead o new p ac ices used by indus ies o ensu e
economic g ow h is becoming no iceable (Tapsco , 2015, 362). Howe e ,
all hese concep s e e o he knowledge-based economy o , o sho , he
knowledge economy, whe e in o ma ion becomes he basic ac o in c ea ing
a mode n and compe i i e p oduc .
Ini ially, he concep ualiza ion o cha ac e is ics desc ibing he digi al
economy p incipally ocused on i s social and economic aspec s (knowledge
managemen , ICT applica ions in en e p ises, educa ion o wo ke s in he
economy o he deg ee o in e na ionaliza ion), o e ol e in ime, wi h he
widesp ead use o he In e ne o Things (IoT) echnology and analysis o
big da a se s, wi h he de elopmen o da a p ocessing echnologies, in o an
app oach based a he on echnical sciences, compu e science and ma h-
ema ics. Despi e he inc easing use o he e m “digi al economy”, a p ecise
de ini ion o his phenomenon s ill lea es oom o discussion among sci-
en is s and heo is s, as well as business p ac i ione s. Thus, wi h he de-
elopmen o echnology, including da a collec ion echniques and big da a
analysis, he app oach o concep ualizing he digi al economy has changed
– beginning wi h knowledge managemen , o s uc u es and ne wo ks, end-
ing wi h secu i y issues and all ypes o c yp o and okeniza ion applica ions.

Measu ing he digi al economy wi h “digi al economy” ools 29
Th ee p ima y componen s o he concep o he digi al economy we e dis-
inguished by Mesenbou g (2001, 2), namely, he suppo ing in as uc u e,
elec onic business p ocesses (how business is conduc ed) and elec onic
comme ce ansac ions (selling o goods and se ices online). Con empo a y
concep s desc ibe he digi al economy as a ype o economy ocused on he
low o in angible goods wi h ze o ma ginal cos (Ri kin, 2014). The digi al
economy is also closely ela ed o he applica ions o digi al echnologies,
known o nea ly a decade as Indus y 4.0. Bukh and Heeks (2017) empha-
size, ha “de ini ions a e always a e lec ion o he imes and ends om
which hey eme ge”, and de ine he digi al economy as an economy o digi al
se ices and pla o ms, wi h i s co e o med by he digi al (IT/ICT) sec o
( ha consis s o ou componen s: ha dwa e manu ac u ing, so wa e and IT
consul ing, in o ma ion se ices and elecommunica ions). Bukh and Heeks
(2017) also dis inguish a b oad scope (digi alized economy) as a sum o he
abo e-men ioned i ems and e-business, e-comme ce, Indus y 4.0, p ecision
ag icul u e and algo i hmic economy, wi h he p esence o sha ing economy
and gig economy. The b oad scope is ela ed o he de elopmen o he Indus-
y 4.0 concep . I seems ha he concep o he digi al economy also e ol ed
om he ea lie concep s o he knowledge economy and he knowledge-
based economy, ollowing he de elopmen o digi al echnologies, especially
he applica ions o a i icial in elligence (AI) in economic p ac ice. Indus y
4.0 is a concep desc ibing alue c ea ion wi h he use o digi al echnologies
(Schwab, 2018). Indus y 4.0 is based on cybe -physical sys ems enabling
eal- ime connec ion o he physical and he i ual wo ld, suppo ed by in-
elligen da a analysis sys ems. Cybe -physical p oduc ion sys ems enable
such unc ions as condi ion moni o ing, p e en i e diagnos ics and main-
enance and au onomous machine con ol. On he one hand, Indus y 4.0
is used o managemen in dynamically changing en i onmen al condi ions;
on he o he hand, i is based on echnological changes, such as au oma ion,
digi iza ion and ne wo king wi hin machine and human and p oduc en i-
onmen s along he en i e alue chain. The main ends o de elopmen a e
big da a and analy ics, AI, augmen ed eali y, digi aliza ion o supply chains,
cybe secu i y and he IoT (Sweeney, 2018).
As men ioned abo e, he esea ch and analysis o he digi al economy is
mos ly based on quan i a i e s udies co e ing he scope o dissemina ion o
ICT in economic en i ies, households and among indi idual use s. This ap-
p oach is “boos ed” by social esea ch me hods (e.g., su eys) o analyse he
e ec s o ICT applica ions. I co e s he whole spec um, om social and
economic issues o social psychology, educa ion and employmen . Measu e-
men ools a e used bo h o c ea e an aid policy and o moni o he condi ion
o he economy, including he po en ial demand o high-skilled wo k o ce
(jobs) om he high- ech and IT indus ies in he nea and somewha mo e
dis an u u e.
The desc ibed ools a e eliable measu ing ins umen s and show a clea ,
al hough no mul idimensional eali y. Howe e , in iew o he dynamically
30 Aleksande Żołnie ski
changing socio- echnological aspec s o he digi al economy, hey lea e
much o be desi ed. Fi s o all, as ools ha ely on a speci ic me hod o
collec ing da a, on he one hand, hey gene a e p oblems esul ing om
ime delay; he e o e, hey a e no ideal o assessing he cu en si ua ion
o he digi al economy. On he o he hand, he da a used o s a is ics is
collec ed as pa o social esea ch (i.e., su eys) and hus may be dis o ed
by he in e iewe e o . The mos se ious issue, howe e , is ha in each
case, hey e lec he mindse conce ning he digi al economy o planne s and
poli icians, and e en i esea che s and p ac i ione s a e in ol ed in he ool
design p ocess– measu emen ools a e no app op ia e o an accu a e iden-
i ica ion o new phenomena ela ed o he digi al economy. In his espec ,
in o ma ion abou bo h new, as -g owing echnologies and compe encies
being de eloped is los .
The ools commonly used measu e wha in he digi al economy was al-
eady isible a yea o se e al yea s ago and a e un i o he iden i ica ion
and measu emen o new phenomena and con empo a y changes wi hin he
economy. An example is p o ided by many high-end echnology issues e-
la ed o Indus y 4.0. Despi e he ac ha he exis ing ools allow o iden i y
he scope o use o echnologies based on AI, blockchain, o obo ics and
au oma ion, and on implemen ing cybe -physical sys ems, hey do no sup-
po eliable measu emen o phenomena caused by he use o speci ic ypes
o hese echnologies (e.g., he scope o applica ion o ools ela ed o access
p o ec ion, moni o ing o e en eco echnology).
No only do su eys o s a is ical esea ch p o ide a measu emen ool
bu he da a used o analysis also comes om he in e ne o senso s and de-
ices o he IoT. An example is p o ided by ligh ing sys ems ha use a ious
senso s o op imize powe consump ion by o ice and manu ac u ing loo
ligh ing.1
An impo an poin is ha he dynamic digi aliza ion p ocesses aking
place oday make i di icul o esea ch and analyse he subjec o digi al
economy using he exis ing and mos common esea ch me hods. I seems
ha he applied measu emen ools and concep s igno e he wide spec um
o possibili ies o e ed by digi al echnologies hemsel es and by he me hods
using beha iou al analysis ha a e inc easingly popula in he ield o com-
me cial esea ch.
The eme ging new me hods o moni o ing he echnological and socio-
economic en i onmen o digi al economies, in pa icula he me hods using
AI, business in elligence sys ems, big da a and in o ma ion e ining, a e in-
c easingly being used in many esea ch p ojec s, bu hei widesp ead use will
ake ime. On he one hand, o icial s a is ics g apple wi h a numbe o p ob-
lems which make he ask o moni o ing a dynamically changing en i on-
men pa icula ly di icul ; he complexi y o economic p ocesses inc eases
he weal h o da a o be analysed, and he analysis p ocess i sel becomes
mo e and mo e complica ed. On he o he hand, a each s age o ope a ion,
o ganiza ions gene a e in o ma ion whose bulk is placed in a ious o ms in
Measu ing he digi al economy wi h “digi al economy” ools 31
he i ual space. Iden i ying his in o ma ion, e ining and analysing i ap-
pea s o be he key o e ec i e moni o ing o changes in he economy.
In e ne da a esou ces p o ide ma e ial o quali a i e esea ch. The
use o big da a ools, in which in o ma ion om se e al o o e a dozen
million sou ces is analysed, allows o combine he ad an ages o quan i-
a i e and quali a i e me hods. So a , in esea ch ocusing on economic
opics, in pa icula on he subjec s o inno a ion, economy and ecology,
o in he analysis o s ock exchange ends whe e he collec ed in o ma ion
is quali a i e, ex ensi e social esea ch was used: su eys, in e iews e c.
This also applies o issues (no only o a quali a i e na u e) ela ing o he
digi al economy. The me hod based on he “digi al economy” app oach,
including he ools o e ining in o ma ion and big da a, elimina es any
impe ec ions o he abo e-men ioned ep esen a i e me hods – in p ac-
ice, analysing a million o 10 million eco ds does no a ec he cos o
he s udy. I u ns ou ha sys ema ic scanning o a ailable uns uc u ed
da a in he en i onmen may become a s a egically impo an ac i i y o
economic p ocess esea che s. This is especially so due o he g owing com-
plexi y o a ailable in o ma ion and business da a, p ima ily ela ed o
new echnologies.
The p ocess unde lying he analyses wi h he use o big da a e ining and
analysis ools is a mul i-s age p ocess. The i s s ep is o iden i y o line and
online digi al esou ces, including in e ne sou ces, objec da abases
and s eaming media. The nex s age is collec ing he iden i ied esou ces
by an online bo , which is a specialized ICT sys em o a ge ed moni o -
ing and da a collec ion om indica ed websi es o o he da a sou ces. Iden-
i ied and collec ed esou ces a e subjec o a que y in sea ch o selec ed
keywo ds– co es and sen imen s ha de ine a gi en keywo d. The nex s ep
is o ans o m co es o wo ds in o ma ices ( o ans o m hem as elemen s
o an “algeb aic s uc u e”). Ma ices a e used o compu e s a is ics. The
equency o occu ence o indi idual co es and sen imen s (o wo ds) in he
analysed co pus is calcula ed. The columns cons i u e a s a is ically e i ied
e e ence poin o he selec ion o sen imen s (wo ds and ph ases) o an
e alua i e na u e ha accompany he opics unde s udy.
The new app oach is use ul in analysing mul iple cha ac e is ics o he
digi al economy. I includes he analysis o keywo ds e e ing o new and
eme ging echnologies, he analysis o he con en (discussions) on social
ne wo ks ela ed o he economic and social aspec o digi aliza ion, o
discussion among bo h specialis s and scien is s, and manage s and use s –
in o ma ion echnology expe s e c. I is impo an ha big da a analy ical
ools a e al eady used by many ins i u ions (e.g., in he Uni ed S a es) o p e-
dic , in e alia, he inancial condi ion o s ock ma ke companies o e en he
likelihood o c imes.2 Wha can be achie ed by implemen ing “digi al econ-
omy” ools o measu e digi al economy issues is ge ing easy access o cu -
en da a on esea ch and de elopmen and inno a ion ac i i y wi hin digi al
economy a eas (in a geog aphic, egional, echnological and indus ial sense).
32 Aleksande Żołnie ski
Fu he possibili ies include moni o ing he si ua ion in e ms o human e-
sou ces in ol ed in digi al economy p ocesses and he si ua ion in e ms o
he compe i i eness o he digi al economy en i ies and indus ies.
2.2 Big da a analysis and he da a e ining me hod
As ega ds uns uc u ed da a se s analysis, a numbe o use ul me hods al-
eady exis , like ough se heo y, heo y o app oxima ion and uzzy ough
se s heo y (T an & Huh, 2022). In many cases, he in o ma ion analysing
sys em allows o in eg a e uns uc u ed da a wi h s uc u ed one (Balabin
e al., 2022). To moni o and analyse he digi al economy en i onmen o
high complexi y, a knowledge managemen sys em mus be buil . Such sys-
ems a e inc easingly based on AI, big da a analysis and in o ma ion e ining
as well as business in elligence echnologies (Ce e a e al., 2022).
Uns uc u ed da a analysis equi es e ec i e da a managemen me hods
also in he case o da abases de i ed om IoT sou ces (Azad e al., 2020).
The challenge is o “c ea e, ans e , pool, in eg a e and exploi knowledge
esou ces” (F ishamma & Rich né , 2008). Me hods based on digi al econ-
omy ools p incipally employ he da a acquisi ion echnology. The examples
o me hods o e ined da a and uns uc u ed da a analysis ound in he li e a-
u e a e ocused on unsupe ised ex p ocessing (Jain e al., 2021). The ex
mining echnology is widely used, om managemen and social sciences o
medicine and biomedical da a analysis.
The i s a emp s o explo e he online da a and big da a acqui ed om
s uc u ed scien i ic da a eposi o ies esul ed om he need o sho en he
ime o big da a p ocessing. The in o ma ion collec ed om he online “be-
ha iou al” sou ces is cha ac e ized by independence om he obse e and
i s g owing olume. One o he i s s eps in explo ing he online sou ces
is o dis inguish aluable sou ces o in o ma ion o iden i ying he issues
o be analysed. A da a p ocessing sys em is needed o acili a e au oma ic
collec ion o sou ce da a as well as s a is ical p ocessing. Collec ed and ana-
lysed da a is used o quan i a i e analysis and isualized o ob ain a be e
desc ip ion o esul s. A modula design o he da a p ocessing sys em is c e-
a ed o mee he equi emen s o scalabili y. Scalabili y applies o bo h he
in as uc u e o he sys em i sel and he use o dis ibu ed ask p ocessing.
The applica ion o a speci ic ool esul s om he needs o he esea ch a ea
and he ange o es s – each pa icula sea ch is heu is ic in i s na u e and is
p ac ically a sepa a e, unique s udy.
Iden i ying aluable in o ma ion sou ces elies on using me hods i ing
he analysed heo y and is always dic a ed by he esea ch p oblem. The key
issues a e ela ed o bo h he esea ch a ea and he ypes o da a sou ces.
Finally, a p ac ical me hod mus be wo ked ou o collec ing and explo ing
da a and selec ing ools used o in o ma ion e ining (see Figu e 2.1).
The use o big da a analysis begins wi h encoding plain ex in he UTF-8
s anda d. Da a con e ed o his o m and inpu in o ma ion p o ided in he
Measu ing he digi al economy wi h “digi al economy” ools 33
o m o URL links di ec ing o in e ne si es wi h da a needed a e collec ed
by au oma ed online ools. The da a p ocessing sys em con ains an analy ical
wa ehouse accep ing da a sou ces as RSS eeds. The u ili y p og am pe -
o ms da a ex ac ion and con e s he non- ex ile o a ex ile (in a UTF-8
o ma ). A esea ch p ojec gene a es a da abase o sou ces bo h om many
di e en se ices and in di e en o ma s. This c ea es a need o check he
sou ces o comple eness be o e s a ing compu a ions. The mos common
me hod is based on compa ing indi idual i ems om he lis o da a sou ces
in ended o analysis o he sou ces appea ing in he da abase (see Ce e a
e al., 2022).
The nex s ep is o launch analysis, and his is usually associa ed wi h us-
ing he R sc ip ing language (R Co e Team, 2021). I is impo an o c ea e
an au oma ic da a classi ie , enabling he necessa y use o supe ised lea n-
ing and na u al language p ocessing algo i hms as pa o he analysis be-
ing ca ied ou . To gua an ee he high quali y o analysis esul s, he sc ip
is s eng hened by in eg a ing measu es o i s e ec i eness. Finally, a con-
usion ma ix is c ea ed o e alua e he esul s o he model. The ained
machine lea ning model accu acy is abou 0.84. S uc u ed da a is subjec
o a s a is ical analysis. This includes he ollowing sequence o ope a ions:
okeniza ion, quan i a i e analysis, TF-IDF s a is ics, big am analysis, co -
ela ion analysis and clus e analysis. The equi ed high con idence le el is
Websi es, documen s, e-
books, e-jou nals, online
o ms, s eam, PDFe c.
Websc ape
/keywoeds,
ph asese c./
Da a e ined
Da a P ocessingSys em
s a
end
„Raw”da a
p epa ed o u u e
e e ence
Resul s
P epa a o yPhase
Analz ical Phase
Da a de e mining he scopeo
he s udy
inpu pa ame e s
opic o he s udy
ime in e al o he
esea ch
key wo ds de ining he
subjec o he s udy
p oposed da a sou ces
Selec ion and algo i hmisa ion o
he da a collec ing p ocedu e
Uns uc u ed da a collec ed
Lemma isa ion
Da a e ining p ocess
De ini iono ca ego ies o da a
(ca ego iesp ocessedby AI
algo i hms)
Selec ionand algo i hmisa ion o
he analysis p ocedu e
Con igu a ion o he es da a
selec ion
S a is icalanalysiso econome ic
models
Figu e 2.1 Da a p ocessing p ocedu e: e ining uns uc u ed da a online.
Sou ce: Own esea ch.

34 Aleksande Żołnie ski
de e mined no only by choosing adequa e s a is ical ools bu also indi ec ly
by he machine lea ning model. As men ioned abo e, he accu acy o he da a
p ocessing sys em is 0.84.
A good applica ion example o he model desc ibed abo e is a sys em o
iden i ying echnology ends (Ce e a e al., 2022). The sys em is designed o
iden i y echnological de elopmen wi hin speci ic a eas and o e alua e he
le el o echnological de elopmen . The ools iden i ying echnology ends
ep esen one o he i s applica ions o da a e ining and big da a analysis
in a coun y ha is no among he wo ld’s mos inno a i e economies. This
shows ha mode n analy ical ools o he digi al economy can also be suc-
cess ully used in places whe e he le el o ad ancemen and use o Indus y
4.0 echnology is no pa icula ly high.
2.3 Google T ends as a end p edic ion ool
The use o p edic i e capabili ies p o ided by da a om he in e ne is g ow-
ing in popula i y. Some s udies indica e ha Google T ends can be used as
an e ec i e sou ce o da a indica ing he in e es o s ock in es o s (Huang
e al., 2020). Google T ends is a se ice by Google ha allows use s o ob ain
in o ma ion on he numbe o all que ies in he Google sea ch engine o
a speci ic e m o ph ase in a selec ed pe iod and o a selec ed geog aphic
a ea. The selec ed pe iod can be eely de ined and hus he da a ob ained in
ime se ies (since 2004). Google T ends in a speci ic, selec ed pe iod o ime
e u ns in o ma ion abou he ela i e numbe o que ies.
Fo example, esea che s analysing da a om Google T ends use he
Kaplan- Meie es ima e o gauge ends in S&P 500 in a e m’s G ange
causali y. A co ela ion is obse ed be ween S&P 500 ends and dynamics
o que ies (indica ed in Google T ends). This depends on he speci ic e m
sea ched and, abo e all, he sen imen ela ed o he e m being sea ched.
Google T ends i sel is an indica o o in es o in e es , bu he dynamics o
changes in que ies abou indi idual alues depends on he e alua i e sen-
imen appea ing a ound he e m o ph ase sea ched (speci ic secu i ies,
sha es o s ock, bonds o o he inancial ins umen s; e.g., Baye , SAP, Apple
and Mic oso Co po a ion).
Google T ends can also be used o analyse he esponse o en i onmen al
c ises. Resea ches in his a ea e lec he e e wide and mo e complex pos-
sibili ies o analysing he communica ion ecosys em. The analysis o Google
T ends in his con ex indica es he consequences o in e ac ions ha occu
be ween social media, “ adi ional” mass media and que ies in he Google
sea ch engine (Ma ei e al., 2021). The analysis o que ies in he Google
sea ch engine, as “powe ed” in a kind o seconda y way by media use s’ e-
sponses o p ess and TV news and ac i i y on Twi e , indica es ha Google
T ends may also be a aluable sou ce o da a o p edic ing ends in he na -
u al en i onmen . In e ne use s, bo h indi idual and collec i e, inc easingly
c ea e da a wi hin new in o ma ion channels ou side o mains eam media.
Measu ing he digi al economy wi h “digi al economy” ools 35
This is especially ue in c isis si ua ions, when social media becomes one o
he main in o ma ion channels (due o he up- o-da e in o ma ion published
he e by use s). Fo example, by analysing he ime se ies, he co ela ion
be ween each pai o he ollowing a iables was in es iga ed – soil mois u e,
Twi e ac i i y, sea ch engine ends and media epo s on d ough . Based
on, in e alia, Au o eg essi e Mo ing A e age models, a s a is ically signi i-
can co ela ion was es ablished be ween geological condi ions and ac i i y
in he Google sea ch engine, media co e age and he numbe o wee s.
Resea che s also use Google T ends o p edic p ice ends in g ain u u es
(Gómez Ma ínez e al., 2021). Gómez Ma ínez e al. (2021) used da a om
soybean and co n u u es con ac s (a he Chicago Me can ile Exchange)
o e alua e he po en ial o a ool based on da a om a sea ch engine. The
esea che s p o ed ha he e was a po en ial in e ms o p ice o ecas ing
and p oposed ha he analysed possibili ies be used by indi idual ade s as
well as in es o s and ading companies. O e he yea s, mul iple in es men
s a egies ha e been de eloped o he analysis o aw ma e ials p ices in
he ag icul u al sec o , mainly based on he me hods o undamen al analy-
sis and on selec ed indica o s o echnical analysis. Gómez Ma ínez e al.
(2021) p opose me hods based on beha iou al inance, p ima ily analysing
in es o sen imen and indica o s based on big da a and social media. Beha -
iou al inance ocuses on he analysis o indi idual in es o beha iou and
on he psychological aspec s o beha iou ha in luence in es men decisions
in capi al ma ke s. Accu a e p edic ions o he p ice le el o soybeans and
co n based on online da a – p ima ily Google T ends – ha e become possi-
ble. Gómez Ma ínez e al. (2021) demons a e how indi idual in es o s and
ade s can p edic ma ke p ice luc ua ions by using he a ailable da a o
Google T ends as a ool o wo k ou hei own s a egy.
The use o online da a on in es o and consume sen imen s ins ead o
in o ma ion “ adi ionally” ob ained h ough su eys and pe sonal in e -
iews has become a common ool o ma ke e s and ma ke esea che s. I is
also use ul o mo e sophis ica ed analyses o economic and social issues. As
Google T ends con ains da a based on que ies, en e ed p ac ically om he
beginning o his ool’s exis ence, esea che s ha e used i as a kind o sub-
s i u e ool o opinion polls o sen imen su eys. Google T ends has p o ed
o ha e conside able po en ial o o ecas ing many economic and inancial
a iables. Resea che s ha e used i o explo e such issues as unemploymen ,
in la ion and luc ua ions in he s ock ma ke , as well as he alue o c yp-
ocu encies, he dynamics o exchange a es o – mo e han a decade ago –
consume sen imen and consump ion a es. Wilcoxson e al. (2020) examine
he possibili y o using Google T ends o analyse exchange a es and o ecas
a es o he US dolla and en o he cu encies. The s udy co e s he pe iod
om Janua y 2004 o Augus 2018 and shows ha Google T ends can also
be an impo an p edic ion ool in his case.
The e a e s udies showing ha analyses based on Google T ends da a can
p oduce mo e accu a e o ecas s han adi ional (and eliable) su eys (Zhu
36 Aleksande Żołnie ski
e al., 2012). Bu esea che s indica e ha he da a om Google T ends has
a ce ain limi a ion, namely, accessibili y o he in e ne . No e e yone who
has access o he in e ne and uses he global web will use he Google sea ch
engine. When using Google T ends, i should he e o e be emembe ed ha
he da a con ained he ein de ines “only” he ac i e popula ion o in e ne
use s who use he Google sea ch engine. Despi e hese limi a ions, da a om
Google T ends makes i possible o accu a ely p edic in es o beha iou and
p o ides good ma e ial o analysing he psychological aspec o cu ency
ma ke s. Some esea che s, including Zhu e al. (2012), ind no sys ema ic
di e ence in he opinions exp essed in s anda d polls be ween in e ne use s
and non-use s. I u ns ou ha public opinion – and he e o e also in es o s’
p e e ences – can be s udied based on he analysis o sea ch que ies in he
sea ch engine; howe e , i should be emembe ed ha he s eng h o he co -
ela ion be ween “opinion” and “que y” p obably depends on he analysed
p oblem.
Ano he esea ch eam analysed he po en ial o using Google T ends o
sales o ecas s (F i zsch e al., 2020). F i zsch e al. (2020) combined s and-
a d ime se ies models wi h Google T ends da a. Sales o ecas s, om he
p oduce ’s poin o iew, o m a basis o s a egic planning. I he da a used
is imp ecise o alse, he o ecas s can cause sho ages o supply ( he o ecas
demand alls below i s ac ual olume) on he one hand; on he o he hand,
hey can inc ease in en o y cos s ( he o ecas demand exceeds i s ac ual ol-
ume). T adi ional ime se ies models aimed a p edic ing sales end o ely on
his o ical da a. F i zsch e al. (2020) p o e ha his p oblem can be sol ed
by using (up- o-da e) da a om sea ch engines. This da a also desc ibes
business- ela ed issues and is a ailable online in eal ime. I should be no ed
ha Google T ends da a was i s used in econome ics in 2009 (Choi& Va -
ian, 2009; Choi & Va ian, 2012). The a ailable Google T ends da a ha can
be used o sales o ecas s (a a p oduc le el) mainly co e s online p oduc s.
This is because cus ome s en e he p oduc hey a e looking o in he sea ch
engine and hen go o he websi es o online s o es o manu ac u e s o e -
ing his p oduc o online sale. F i zsch e al. (2020) ocused on he da a o
wo (Sennheise ) p oduc s ha a e o e ed o sale in a adi ional ma ke .
The e o e, he esea che s had o demons a e a link be ween sales da a and
Google T ends da a. The esul s indica e ha he da a om Google T ends
may be help ul in ob aining a mo e p ecise sales o ecas .
The de elopmen o in e ne echnologies con ibu es o he apid inc ease
in he a ailabili y o online da a. Fo o e a decade, esea che s ha e had ac-
cess o new and ich da a se s which o some ime ha e been supplemen ed
by analyses o economic and social issues, made using “ adi ional” su ey
ools (Woo & Owen, 2019). Woo and Owen (2019) augmen ed he se o
da a om he Michigan Consume Sen imen Index (MCSI) and he Con e -
ence Boa d Consume Con idence Index (CCI) wi h da a om Google T ends
analyses. Thei esea ch ocused on he po en ial o online da a o economic
o ecas s. Unlike su eys, Google T ends da a indica es economic consume
Measu ing he digi al economy wi h “digi al economy” ools 37
beha iou (e.g., p e-pu chase ac i i y). They s udied da a on consump ion
o bo h du able and as -mo ing consume goods and se ices. The esea ch
p o ed he high use ulness o he da a om Google T ends and he high
quali y (accu acy) o he ends, exceeding he esul s o he MCSI and CCI
esea ch on p i a e consump ion o ecas s. Mo eo e , he use o da a om
Google T ends educes he cos o analyses – his da a is a ailable o i ually
e e y in e ne use , and also has ano he e y desi able alue – i is possible
o ob ain da a upda ed on a daily basis in a ela i ely long ime se ies. Woo
and Owen (2019) p o ed ha su eys (o consume sen imen ) as a basis o
p edic ing ac ual economic beha iou a e no he bes ool o consump ion
o ecas s. Such su eys gi e ela i ely i ial esul s and a e also c i icized o
hei opaci y in e ms o cause-and-e ec ela ionship (consume sen imen -
consump ion decisions) and high co ela ion wi h o he mac oeconomic in-
dica o s (i u ns ou ha mac oeconomic indica o s explain 70% o MCSI
a ia ion). In he case o Google T ends, a di ec co ela ion be ween sea ch
engine que ies and indi idual consump ion was demons a ed.
The de elopmen o analy ical me hods based on big da a and ad anced
IT ools esul s, on he one hand, om he inc ease in compu ing powe o IT
sys ems, and on he o he hand, i is ela ed o he gene a ion o massi e da a
se s by o ganiza ions and indi iduals in many economic sec o s. Big da a is
gene a ed by elecommunica ions, IT p oduce s, o ganiza ions ope a ing in
he ield o heal hca e, pha maceu ical companies and he inancial sec o . In
addi ion o hese sec o s, da a is gene a ed by in e ne use s and amassed by
ins i u ions in e es ed in (and able o use) big da a ela ed o use beha iou .
In ecen yea s, echnologies ha e been de eloped ha allow he analysis o
big da a “ex ac ed” om s eaming media. Al eady in 2015, i was es i-
ma ed (Tsui & Zhao, 2017) ha he a e age ne wo k use gene a es 2.5 il-
lion by es o da a pe day (beha iou al da a, such as wee s, likes, commen s,
blogs and media s eams, e.g., on YouTube). Beha iou al big da a (BBD)
con ains a la ge amoun o in o ma ion e ealing indi idual beha iou , sen-
imen and mul iple in e ac ions. Resea che s de ine BBD as e y la ge and
ich mul idimensional da a se s on human beha iou , ac ions and in e ac-
ions ha ha e become a ailable o companies, go e nmen s and scien is s.
BBDs a e gene a ed (and o en sha ed) in p ocesses ela ed o managemen in
public heal h ins i u ions, ma ke ing and ma ke esea ch, business moni o -
ing o in Recency, F equency and Mone a y Value analysis and Cus ome
Rela ionship Managemen me hods e c. In he Uni ed S a es, BBD is used by
go e nmen agencies o imp o e he decision-making p ocess. In la ge ci ies
a ound he wo ld, came as and senso s a e used o eco d a ic and human
ac i i y – he da a is used no only o manage u ban a ic bu also o de ec
and p e en c ime. In some coun ies, o example, in China, ex eme moni-
o ing measu es a e adop ed o iden i y people who may pose a h ea in he
eyes o a o ali a ian egime, mainly due o hei ac ual o po en ial ini ia-
i es o democ acy and human igh s. Fo se e al yea s, his ype o da a has
been used o iden i y and moni o he sp ead o a ious ypes o epidemics.
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So ensy (2022). Wha Is Beacon Technology and How o Use I in You App. h ps://
so ensy.com/wha -is-beacon- echnology-and-how- o-use-i -in-you -app/.
Wo ds eam (2021, 25 No embe ). 5 Things You Need o Know abou Beacon Tech-
nology. h ps://www.wo ds eam.com/blog/ws/2018/10/04/beacon- echnology.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003450160-5
3.1 In oduc ion
The digi al economy is a concep ual “umb ella” e e ing o ma ke s, o -
ganiza ions and hei ne wo ks ha a e based on digi al echnologies, com-
munica ion, da a p ocessing and e-comme ce (see Na han e al., 2013). The
e m deno es a mul idimensional, dynamic s uc u e ha mus be analysed
conside ing i s a ious dimensions, such as economic aspec s (changes in he
na u e o esou ces, p oduc ion ac o s and economic p ocesses), he a ea o
echnology ( echnological p og ess iewed om a mac oeconomic pe spec-
i e s. echnological inno a ion iewed om a mic oeconomic pe spec i e),
egula o y measu es (challenges acing egula o s, new isks a ec ing he in-
s i u ional o de ) and sociological phenomena (changes in socie y unc ion-
ing p inciples, a i udes owa ds wo k and human ela ions).
The O ganisa ion o Economic Co-ope a ion and De elopmen (OECD,
2020) de ines he digi al economy as an economic sys em whe ein da a is
used as a ac o o p oduc ion. Businesses ope a ing in his ype o economy
use o p ocess digi al in o ma ion aiming o inc ease i s alue (c ea e alue
added). The en e p ises adop new business models enabled by new ma -
ke condi ions (digi al se ices, digi al dis ibu ion channels and digi al ne -
wo ks) (OECD, 2020).
The digi al componen s (digi al esou ces and IT in as uc u e) d i e he
digi al economy alue chain; new indus y sec o s and new business models
eme ge. The new alue chain opens new spaces and p omo es he consolida-
ion o g ow h a eas and job c ea ion (Zhenlong, 2021). Digi aliza ion d a-
ma ically modi ies he e y na u e o p oduc s, he alue c ea ion p ocess and
he compe i i e en i onmen in business. Based on he ne wo k-cen ic iew,
he i ms may achie e a compe i i e ad an age by ac i ely shaping he digi-
al en i onmen and by in e connec ing in he digi al en i onmen (Koch&
Windspe ge , 2017).
Ca lsson (2004) emphasizes ha he digi al economy is mo e abou new ac-
i i ies and p oduc s han abou highe p oduc i i y. I s key esou ces include
in o ma ion and a se ies o economic and social ac i i ies ha people ca y ou
using he In e ne and ela ed echnologies (Tu can e al., 2014). Con inual
3 Di e en ia ion o he digi al
economic de elopmen
inEu ope
Ma eusz Bie nacki, Aga a Luś yk and
Ra ałWisła
This chap e has been made a ailable unde a CC-BY-NC-ND license
46 Ma eusz Bie nacki e al.
echnological p og ess and g owing da a eposi o ies and lows can be indi-
ca ed as he key ends shaping digi al ans o ma ion on a global scale.
The e minological con ex ou lined abo e and in Chap e 1 gi es ise o
a undamen al ques ion abou a me hod sui able o quan i ying he dynam-
ics o hese changes a a ious le els o economic analysis. The In e na ional
Mone a y Fund (IMF, 2018, pp. 2–6) indica es he lack o gene ally ag eed
unde s anding and de ini ion o he digi al economy as a majo hu dle o
eliable measu emen s o changes associa ed wi h ha economy. The IMF
(2018) dis inguishes he concep o he digi al sec o and ha o he digi-
al economy. The concep o he digi al sec o is limi ed o he co e ac i i-
ies o digi aliza ion, such as ICT goods and se ices, online pla o ms and
pla o m-enabled digi al se ices, including he sha ing economy. Conside -
ing eno mous di icul ies in quan i ying he dynamics o changes in he digi-
al economy en i onmen , in e dependencies obse ed in ha economy and
hei cha ac e is ics, he IMF (2018) p oposes o ocus measu emen e o s
on a conc e e ange o economic ac i i ies a he co e o digi aliza ion.
In his chap e , we will no ollow his ecommenda ion. Ins ead, we
p opose an o iginal me hod o a quan i a i e desc ip ion o changes in he
digi al economy om a mac oeconomic pe spec i e. Fo his pu pose, he
axonomic analysis will be used. The i s sec ion o his chap e con ains a
e iew o p oposals aimed o measu e he digi al economy, conside ing a i-
ous app oaches o i s de ini ions. The second sec ion discusses wo me hods
designed o iden i y changes in he digi al economy om a mac o pe spec i e
and gi es he cha ac e is ics o da a used in he ollowing sec ions. The hi d
sec ion p esen s esea ch esul s wi h a discussion o hei limi a ions and
downsides. The las sec ion con ains a summa y.
3.2 A e iew o p oposed me hods o measu ing he
digi aleconomy
The cu en app oach o measu ing he digi al economy, adop ed by in e -
na ional o ganiza ions (G20, 2018; IMF, 2018; OECD, 2020), is b oad and
add esses i s a ious aspec s: in as uc u e, employmen , applica ions, social
change and inno a ion.
The in as uc u al con ex consis s o physical, se ice and secu i y in a-
s uc u e. The measu emen me hods use such indica o s as access o mobile
and landline elephone ne wo ks, he de elopmen o nex -gene a ion access,
he numbe o b oadband se ice subsc ibe s and he numbe o ac i e mo-
bile In e ne subsc ibe s. Bu in addi ion o accessibili y and a o dabili y,
such ac o s as he connec ion quali y and In e ne ansmission speed (bo h
in mobile and DSL echnologies) play an impo an ole in measu ing he
indi iduals’ and en e p ises’ capabili y o pa icipa ing in he de elopmen o
he digi al economy. The OECD (2020) also discusses he concep o In e -
ne o Things (IoT), i.e., an ecosys em o applica ions and de ices ha con-
nec and exchange da a wi h hei en i onmen and wi h each o he wi hou
Di e en ia ion o he digi al economic de elopmen in Eu ope 47
human in e en ion. The OECD (2020, p. 21) expec s ha he IoT will be-
come a cen al elemen o he digi al economy in G-20 coun ies.
The aspec o employmen , digi al compe encies and labou ma ke is op-
e a ionalized using he ollowing indica o s (OECD, 2020, pp. 72–73):
• he numbe o jobs in he ICT sec o ,
• he p opo ion o en e p ises ha employ ICT specialis s,
• he numbe o indi iduals elewo king om home,
• Eu os a Digi al Skills Indica o ,
• ICT usage in schools,
• he numbe o e ia y g adua es in na u al sciences and enginee ing,
• alue added by in o ma ion indus ies,
• in o ma ion indus y- ela ed domes ic alue added,
• labou p oduc i i y in in o ma ion indus ies,
• ICT con ibu ion o labou p oduc i i y g ow h,
• ICT goods expo s and impo s,
• ICT se ices expo s and impo s.
The ca ego y o eme ging applica ions, i.e., echnological inno a ion, is
quan i ied in e ms o e-comme ce o obo iza ion in manu ac u ing ( obo
in ensi y) (OECD, 2020, pp. 28–34).
The social dimension o he digi al economy is unde s ood as using digi-
al echnologies o imp o e gene al well-being and he quali y o li e and o
enhance communica ion capabili ies. The p incipal quan i ie s o changes in-
clude he e he pe cen age o In e ne use s and he pe cen age o indi iduals
using he In e ne o in e ac wi h public au ho i ies. The digi aliza ion and
au oma ion o p ocedu es a e aimed o simpli y hose in e ac ions and p o-
ide easy access o a ious o icial o ms and means o e icien comple ion o
go e nmen p ocedu es (OECD, 2020, pp. 23–26).
The In e na ional Telecommunica ion Union (ITU, 2020, p. 4) desc ibes
access by indi iduals and households o ICT in as uc u e as a ac o ac-
cele a ing social de elopmen and s imula ing economic changes. The con-
cep o he digi al economy is unde s ood as a ailable digi al in as uc u e,
digi al p oduc s, hei accessibili y and socie y’s digi al skills. The ITU (2020,
pp.47–49) p oposes a lis o ICT household equipmen indica o s. These
indica o s include, e.g., he p opo ion o households wi h mul ichannel el-
e ision, he p opo ion o households wi h In e ne , household expendi u e
on ICT, he p opo ion o indi iduals using he In e ne , he p opo ion o in-
di iduals who pu chased goods o se ices online, he numbe o indi iduals
wi h ICT skills and o al household expendi u e on ICT. The ITU adop s he
ollowing p incipal indica o s o ICT in as uc u e de elopmen and access
o ha in as uc u e (2020, p. 235)
• ixed- elephone subsc ip ions pe 100 inhabi an s,
• mobile cellula elephone subsc ip ions pe 100 inhabi an s,
48 Ma eusz Bie nacki e al.
• ixed b oadband In e ne subsc ip ions pe 100 inhabi an s (b oken down
by speed),
• ac i e b oadband In e ne subsc ip ions pe 100 inhabi an s,
• In e ne h oughpu pe inhabi an (bi s/second/inhabi an ),
• ixed b oadband In e ne p ices pe mon h,
• mobile cellula elephone p ices and TV b oadcas ing subsc ip ions pe
100 inhabi an s.
Bukh and Heeks (2017) indica e empo al changes in concep ualizing he
digi al economy. They esul om he de elopmen o in as uc u e and i s
use ( he In e ne as a leading echnology, mobile ne wo ks and cloud com-
pu ing). Kling and Lamb (2000, pp. 295–324) iden i y ou a eas o he digi-
al economy: highly digi al goods and se ices (e.g., online educa ion), mixed
digi al goods and se ices (e.g., books), IT-in ensi e se ices o goods p o-
duc ion (e.g., accoun ing) and he segmen s o he IT indus y ha suppo
hese h ee segmen s o he digi al economy (e.g., he compu e ne wo king
indus y). Bukh and Heeks (2017) also emphasize he impo ance o meas-
u ing he digi al economy. They p opose such measu es as alue added by he
ICT sec o , employmen in he IT/ICT sec o and compa ing labou p oduc-
i i y in highly digi al sec o s wi h ha in he adi ional economy. Simila ly,
ITU (2020, pp. 236–237) uses a mac o pe spec i e o p opose he p opo ion
o ICT specialis s in o al employmen , ICT sec o sha e o g oss alue added,
ICT goods impo s as a pe cen age o o al impo s and ICT goods expo s as
a pe cen age o o al expo s.
The G20 DETF (2018) indica es ha sound measu emen is c ucial o
policymaking, as i helps o p oduce p ecise diagnos ics, assess he po en ial
impac , moni o p og ess and e alua e he e iciency and e icacy o imple-
men ed ac ions. The digi al economy is belie ed o ha e a g ea po en ial
o ans o ming jobs, hence he apidly g owing demand o measu emen
ools and indica o s. The G-20 membe s a es a e encou aged o disclose
measu emen s cha ac e izing he digi al economy in hei na ional s a is ics,
using a ious me hods o moni o ing he digi aliza ion le el. 30 key indi-
ca o s a e ecommended, di ided in o ou main hema ic a eas: (1) in a-
s uc u e, (2) empowe ing socie y, (3) inno a ion and echnology adop ion
and (4) jobs and g ow h. In addi ion o hese ou a eas, he epo au ho s
emphasize he impo ance o measu ing such indica o s as expendi u e on
esea ch and de elopmen (R&D), machine lea ning, AI- ela ed echnolo-
gies and cloud compu ing se ices used by en e p ises (G20 DETF, 2018,
pp. 37–41, 48).
Cu en ly (G20 DETF, 2018, pp. 4–8), mul iple hu dles a e iden i-
ied o he sys ema ic collec ion o compa able s a is ical da a in he
discussed a ea. Main obs acles include di e ences in da a collec ion
me hodologies and app oaches and a limi ed ange o su eys. The me h-
odological di e ences a e e iden in he cu en ly used indica o s aimed
Di e en ia ion o he digi al economic de elopmen in Eu ope 49
o measu e he digi al economy. I is no enough o imp o e he exis ing
indica o s; new measu es and da a collec ion me hods mus be iden i ied.
The e a e a eas wi h in e na ionally ecognized s anda ds o s a is ical
da a collec ion, bu s a es ha e insu icien capabili ies and esou ces o
sys ema ically implemen hose s anda ds and hen dis ibu e he igu es
ob ained.
The ecommenda ions p oposed by he au ho s o he G20 DETF epo
(2018) include:
• expe imen ing wi h concep s and da a ga he ing wi hin exis ing measu e-
men amewo ks,
• exploi ing he po en ial o exis ing su ey and adminis a i e da a,
• adding ques ions o exis ing su eys,
• augmen ing exis ing su eys wi h opic-speci ic modules,
• de eloping sho u na ound su eys o mee speci ic needs,
• de ining policy needs and, in coope a ion wi h o he s akeholde s, se ing
p io i ies o in e na ionally compa able measu emen ,
• using he po en ial o big da a o de eloping indica o s o measu e he
digi al economy.
The au ho s o he abo e ecommenda ions (G20 DETF, 2018, p. 10) in-
dica e a se ies o c ucial ac ions aimed o imp o e he quali y o p esen ed
measu emen s.
The In e na ional S anda d Indus ial Classi ica ion, like he Cen al
P oduc Classi ica ion, adop s a de ini ion o he digi al economy unde -
s ood as he ICT, media and en e ainmen sec o s. In gene al, ypically
o an ini ial phase in de ining new ca ego ies, nume ous app oaches a e
obse ed o he concep ualiza ion o he digi al economy. Howe e , e en
he imp essi e numbe o p oposed de ini ions and hei a ia ions a e in-
su icien o emb ace he dynamic g ow h in digi al p oduc s and se ices.
Those de ini ions equen ly ail o include new ca ego ies, leading o an
unde es ima ed alue o economic ac i i ies based on digi al p oduc s. The
a ia ion and elas ici y o de ini ions pose an obs acle in esea ch, which
equi es accu a e measu emen s o empo al and spa ial compa isons. The
challenges include (1) cap u ing he as -changing quali y o digi al se ices,
(2) dis inguishing be ween e olu iona y and e olu iona y de eloped digi al
p oduc s, (3) measu ing e-comme ce and (4) measu ing he sha ing economy
(IMF, 2018, pp. 7, 17).
3.3 Da a
Mos o he ci ed au ho s ag ee ha in measu ing he global economy, he
mos use ul in o ma ion is p o ided by ICT1 and IC2 sec o da a, being
bo h globally applicable and compa able. Consequen ly, se en a iables a e

50 Ma eusz Bie nacki e al.
p oposed o cons uc a axonomic indica o o he de elopmen o s a es’
digi al economy. These include:
X1 – pe cen age o he ICT pe sonnel on o al employmen in he coun y
X2 – pe cen age o alue added (a ac o cos ) in he ICT sec o on GDP,
X3 – he alue o he impo s eam o IC sec o p oduc s,
X4 – he alue o he expo s eam o IC sec o p oduc s,
X5 – pe cen age o en e p ises ha employ ICT specialis s,
X6 – business expendi u e on R&D (BERD) in ICT sec o as pe cen age o
o al R&D expendi u e,
X7 – pe cen age o en e p ises’ o al u no e om e-comme ce sales; wi hou
inancial sec o .
The ICT and IC sec o s a e dis inguished in line wi h he cu en ly applicable
S a is ical classi ica ion o economic ac i i ies in he Eu opean Communi y
(Eu os a , 2008, pp. 164–170, 224, 252–255, 308). Impo s and expo s o
IC p oduc s a e calcula ed as he alue o o eign ade in p oduc s manu ac-
u ed by he in o ma ion and communica ion sec o (IC: 58–63). The igu es
a e collec ed om he da abases published by he Eu opean S a is ical O ice
(Eu os a ) and co e he yea s 2012–2019. This is he la ges ime in e al
o which igu es a e a ailable in all o he selec ed ca ego ies. The ollowing
me hod was employed in impu ing missing da a o indi idual yea s:
• i he alue is una ailable a a pe iod endpoin , i.e., o he yea 2012 o
2019, i is eplaced wi h he alue o he nea es yea ,
• i he alue is una ailable in be ween he endpoin s, i is eplaced wi h he
mean om adjacen yea s,
• i mo e han one alue a e missing in a sequence, all subsequen eplace-
men alues a e equal and impu ed as abo e.
Sepa a e axonomic indica o s a e cons uc ed in ou selec ed g oups o
s a es. These include:
• EU15+1 – membe s a es o he Eu opean Union p io o i s enla gemen
in 2004 plus No way,
• EU15 – membe s a es o he Eu opean Union p io o i s enla gemen in
2004,
• EU13 – he s a es ha joined he Eu opean Union a e 2003,
• EU28 – all membe s a es o he Eu opean Union in 2019.
Ce ain s a es a e excluded om he EU15+1 and EU15 g oups, due o he ab-
sence o igu es, namely, I eland, Luxembou g, Po ugal and Sweden (hence,
he same omissions in he EU28 g oup). Cyp us was excluded om he EU13
index o he same eason. The EU28 index co e ing he en i e Eu opean
Union does no include he i e indica ed s a es bu includes he Uni ed King-
dom ( ha did no wi hd aw om he Eu opean Union un il 2020).
Di e en ia ion o he digi al economic de elopmen in Eu ope 51
3.4 P esen a ion o analysis esul s
3.4.1 Desc ip i e s a is ics
The i s p oposed a iable desc ibes he p opo ion o employmen in he
ICT sec o in he o al s a e’s employmen le el. The economies ha a e cha -
ac e ized by a high indica o o echnological and digi al de elopmen should
epo a high pe cen age o employmen in ha sec o . In all coun ies co -
e ed by he s udy, he p opo ion anged on a e age3 om 1.4% in G eece
o 4.4% in Mal a. Almos all coun ies disclosed in he analysed pe iod an
inc ease in he indica o , anging om abou 0–0.1 pe cen age poin s (he e-
ina e : pp) ( he Ne he lands, Finland and Hunga y) o 1.3–1.6pp (Es onia
and La ia). The only excep ion is p o ided by Denma k, wi h a d op in ICT
pe sonnel a io by 0.5pp. A subs an ial majo i y o he EU s a es we e cha -
ac e ized by a mode a e bu s able inc ease in ICT pe sonnel, eaching an an-
nual a e age o 0.06pp and 0.5pp o e he analysed pe iod o eigh yea s. No
co ela ion was obse ed be ween he a e o inc ease in employmen a io
and i s alue o he i s yea analysed, i.e., a high o low base le el had no
e ec on u u e ises in employmen .
The second discussed a iable desc ibes he p opo ion o ICT alue added
in he s a e’s GDP. Va ia ion in his a iable is conside ably g ea e han ha
in ICT pe sonnel pe cen age and anges on a e age om 2.1% in G eece o
7.4% in Mal a. The emaining coun ies mos ly all wi hin he in e al 3%–
5%, disclosing a e age annual g ow h o abou 0.1pp. Falls in ha p opo -
ion we e obse ed in i e coun ies o e he pe iod o eigh yea s: Spain, I aly,
Denma k, Slo akia and Mal a ( om −0.1pp o −0.8pp). The emaining s a es
achie ed a g ow h eaching on a e age 0.5pp, wi h i s la ges alue obse ed
in Bulga ia and La ia (2pp). The pe cen age o ICT sec o employmen and
ICT alue added on GDP a e co ela ed. A subs an ial majo i y o coun ies
cha ac e ized by op ICT pe sonnel p opo ions also belong o he g oup o
leade s in c ea ing ICT alue added on GDP, and he coun ies cha ac e ized
by he lowes ICT pe sonnel indica o s disclose a small ICT alue added on
GDP. Howe e , excep ions a e iden i ied, such as Bulga ia. A an imp essi ely
high ICT alue added on GDP, eaching 5.4% on a e age ( he ou h highes
esul ), he coun y is cha ac e ized by one o he lowes pe cen ages o ICT
pe sonnel (2.5%, he eigh h wo s esul ). This may indica e an eno mous di -
e ence be ween p oduc i i y in he ICT sec o and in o he indus ies.
Table 3.1 con ains mean alues o ICT alue added on GDP, mean alues
o he pe cen age o ICT sec o employmen on o al employmen and he
quo ien s o hose indica o s. The hi d column is desc ibed as p oduc i i y
o he ICT sec o in an economy. I ha indica o is g ea e han 1, p oduc-
i i y in he sec o is highe han in o he economy sec o s. Values less han
1 would indica e lowe p oduc i i y in he ICT sec o han in he emaining
economy. O e he analysed yea s, he ICT p oduc i i y indica o in all coun-
ies su eyed was g ea e han he a e age in hei economies, exceeding 2
in Bulga ia whe e only 2.5% o employees gene a ed mo e han 5% o GDP.
52 Ma eusz Bie nacki e al.
A s udy in o he pe cen age o impo s and expo s o IC p oduc s on he
o al coun y’s impo s and expo s leads o simila conclusions ega ding
he dynamics and di ec ion o changes o e ime. In impo s, he p opo -
ion o IC p oduc s equalled on a e age 1.17% o he o al impo s alue.
The highes a e age p opo ions we e obse ed in he Ne he lands and he
Uni ed Kingdom (3% and 2.5%, espec i ely), and he lowes – in Mal a and
Czechia (0.43% each). An inc ease in he discussed p opo ion was obse ed
only in eigh s a es, he emaining economies disclosed alls. In expo s, he
p opo ion o IC p oduc s equalled on a e age 0.4% o he o al expo
alue. The coun ies cha ac e ized by op a e age p opo ions included he
Uni ed Kingdom and Ne he lands (1.32% and 0.98%, espec i ely) while
Mal a and I aly disclosed he lowes p opo ions (0.06% and 0.14%, e-
spec i ely). Like in nominal alues, mo e coun ies disclosed an inc ease in
he p opo ion o IC p oduc expo s in o al expo s; IC impo s compa ed
o o al impo s inc eased in 12 s a es, ep esen ing one-hal o he analysed
g oup. The la ges inc ease be ween 2012 and 2019 was obse ed in Slo e-
nia: by 0.69pp.
Table 3.1 Values o a iables X1 – pe cen ages o employmen in he ICT sec o on o-
al coun y’s employmen , X2 – pe cen ages o alue added in he ICT sec o
on GDP and ICT sec o p oduc i i y indica o s in he na ional economies
Coun y Pe cen age o alue
added in he ICT
sec o on GDP
Pe cen age o he
ICT pe sonnel on
o al employmen
ICT sec o
p oduc i i y indica o
Bulga ia 5.36 2.48 2.16
C oa ia 4.17 2.36 1.77
Uni ed Kingdom 5.85 3.42 1.71
Mal a 7.37 4.42 1.67
Hunga y 5.80 3.55 1.63
Ne he lands 4.90 3.06 1.60
Romania 3.45 2.17 1.59
Ge many 4.19 2.74 1.53
G eece 2.14 1.42 1.50
Czechia 4.39 2.95 1.49
Poland 3.27 2.24 1.46
Belgium 3.94 2.72 1.45
Slo akia 4.30 3.03 1.42
Spain 3.27 2.33 1.41
Slo enia 3.61 2.61 1.38
I aly 3.30 2.40 1.38
F ance 4.09 2.99 1.37
Aus ia 3.41 2.53 1.35
Es onia 5.04 3.86 1.30
La ia 4.33 3.39 1.28
Finland 4.63 3.75 1.24
Denma k 4.57 3.80 1.20
Li huania 2.87 2.39 1.20
No way 3.39 3.00 1.13
Sou ce: Eu os a and own calcula ions.
Di e en ia ion o he digi al economic de elopmen in Eu ope 53
The i h p oposed a iable is he pe cen age o en e p ises ha employ
ICT specialis s. The alue o his indica o is compa able in mos s a es and
equals abou 20% on a e age. The coun ies cha ac e ized by op alues a e
Belgium and Finland (27% each), and he lowes alues a e obse ed in Ro-
mania and Poland (10% and 13%, espec i ely). Impo an ly, his p opo ion
has d opped in almos all analysed coun ies o yea s. The mean indica o
alue in all hose coun ies equalled 23.2% in 2012 and 20.6% in 2019,
showing an a e age annual d op by −0.4pp. An inc ease was obse ed o e
he analysed pe iod only in se en coun ies (Romania, Poland, I aly, F ance,
Bulga ia, Mal a and Denma k) – be ween 1pp and 9pp. Conside ing he dis-
cussed inc ease in he pe cen age o ICT pe sonnel on o al employmen , a
hypo hesis can be p oposed: he educ ion was no caused by dismissing ICT
specialis s, bu a he by a la ge numbe o newly es ablished businesses ha
could no a o d hi ing his ype o pe sonnel in hei ini ial phase o ope a-
ion. Howe e , his canno be con i med due o he absence o da a.
Ano he a iable is he BERD in ICT sec o as a pe cen age o o al R&D
expendi u e. This indica o d ama ically a ied no only om one coun y
o ano he bu also in indi idual coun ies o e he analysed eigh yea s. The
lowes a e age p opo ions we e cha ac e is ic o Slo enia and he Ne he -
lands (10% each), and he highes – o Mal a and Es onia (50% and 44%,
espec i ely). The mean alue o all coun ies equalled 18% in he i s and
21% in he las analysed yea , showing an a e age annual inc ease by 0.5pp.
A d op in he p opo ion o expendi u e was obse ed in eigh coun ies and
anged om −1.5pp o −6.5pp. The inc ease a es we e highe , eaching e en
18pp in Es onia and 33pp in Bulga ia.
The las p oposed a iable is he pe cen age o en e p ises’ u no e om
e-comme ce sales on hei o al u no e , wi hou he inancial sec o . This
indica o e lec s, in addi ion o he de elopmen le el o he digi al economy,
such aspec s as In e ne access o compu e use in socie y. The mean indica-
o alue anges om a modes 3% o an imp essi e 29%. The lowes alues
we e obse ed in G eece (3.3%), Bulga ia (4%) and Romania (6.9%), he
highes – in Czechia (29%), Belgium (24.7%) and No way (21.5%). An in-
c ease in his indica o was obse ed in all s a es, excep Ge many, o e he
analysed yea s – he g ea es in Belgium (an inc ease om 14% in 2012 o
33% in 2019). The indica o ose annually in all discussed s a es by 0.6pp on
a e age (a o al inc ease in he mean alue om 13% o 17.4%).
3.4.2 Taxonomic analysis esul s
The i s me hod used o assess he de elopmen o he digi al economy in he
Eu opean coun ies consis s o he de e mina ion o a axonomic indica o .
All a iables p oposed abo e a e unde s ood as measu es (bu also s imu-
lan s) o he digi al economic de elopmen . Following hei no maliza ion,
he axonomic app oach was adop ed, based on he maximum alue o he
o al o Pea son co ela ion coe icien s be ween he axonomic indica o
Sk
i
and s anda dized a iables
Xi,j
.
60 Ma eusz Bie nacki e al.
Re e ences
Bukh , R. & Heeks, R. (2017). De ining, concep ualising and measu ing he digi al
economy. In e na ional O ganisa ions Resea ch Jou nal, 13(2), 143–172. h ps://
doi.o g/10.17323/1996-7845-2018-02-07.
Ca lsson, B. (2004). The digi al economy: Wha is new and wha is no ? S uc u al
Change and Economic Dynamics, 15(3), 245–264. h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.
s ueco.2004.02.001.
Eu os a (2008). NACE Re . 2, S a is ical Classi ica ion o Economic Ac i i ies in
he Eu opean Communi y. Eu opean Communi ies. ISBN: 978-92-79-04741-1.
A ailable a : h ps://ec.eu opa.eu/eu os a /web/p oduc s-manuals-and-guidelines/-/
ks- a-07-015.
G20 Digi al Economy Task Fo ce (DETF) (2018). Toolki o Measu ing he Digi-
al Economy. A ailable a : h ps://www.oecd.o g/g20/summi s/buenos-ai es/G20-
Toolki - o -measu ing-digi al-economy.pd .
IMF (2018). Measu ing he Digi al Economy. Policy Pape , Washing on, DC.
A ailable a : h ps://www.im .o g/en/Publica ions/Policy-Pape s/Issues/2018/04/
03/022818-measu ing- he-digi al-economy.
ITU (2020). Manual o Measu ing ICT Access and Use by Households and Indi-
iduals. ISBN: 978-92-61-30861-2. A ailable a : h ps://www.i u.in /en/ITU-D/
S a is ics/Pages/publica ions/manual.aspx.
Kling, R. & Lamb, R. (2000). IT and o ganiza ional change in digi al economies.
In E. B ynjol sson & B. Kahin (Eds.), Unde s anding he Digi al Economy
(pp. 295–324). MIT P ess. h ps://doi.o g/10.7551/mi p ess/6986.001.0001.
Koch, T. & Windspe ge , J. (2017). Seeing h ough he ne wo k: Compe i i e ad an-
age in he digi al economy. Jou nal o O ganiza ion Design, 6(1), 1–30. h ps://
doi.o g/10.1186/s41469-017-0016-z.
Na han, M., Rosso, A., Ga en, T., Majmuda , P. & Mi chell, A. (2013). Measu ing
he UK’s Digi al Economy wi h Big Da a. Na ional Ins i u e o Economic and So-
cial Resea ch. A ailable a : h ps://www.nies .ac.uk/wp-con en /uploads/2021/10/
SI024_GI_NIESR_Google_Repo 12.pd .
OECD (2020). A Roadmap owa d a Common F amewo k o Measu ing he Digi al
Economy: Repo o he G20 Digi al Economy Task Fo ce. OECD Publishing.
A ailable a : h ps://www.oecd.o g/s i/ oadmap- owa d-a-common- amewo k-
o -measu ing- he-digi al-economy.pd .
Tu can, V., G ibincea, A. & Bi ca, I. (2014). Digi al economy – A p emise o economic
de elopmen in he 20 h cen u y. Economy & Sociology: Theo e ical & Scien i ical
Jou nal, 2, 109–115. A ailable a : h ps://ince.md/uploads/ iles/1455540156_14.
u can109_115.pd .
Zhenlong, M. (2021). Digi al economy alue chain: Concep , model s uc u e, and
mechanism. Applied Economics, 53(37), 4342–4357. h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/
00036846.2021.1899121.

Pa II
Sou ces o de eloping he
digi al economy
DOI: 10.4324/9781003450160-7
4.1 In oduc ion
The chap e aims o de ec he inc easingly impo an ole ha Digi al In-
no a ion Hubs (DIHs) play in he Eu opean digi al economy whe e supply
chains a e inc easingly digi alised, adi ional business models a e ans o m-
ing, companies wo k in an in eg a ed way, and sma dis ibu ed p oduc ion
a e he new no m.
I s a s by depic ing he cu en Eu opean amewo k whe e DIHs a e
undamen ally changing he pa adigm o indus ial de elopmen by blu ing
he bounda ies among companies, sec o s, and egions, by acili a ing he
ans e o knowledge and he de elopmen o coope a ion be ween science
and business.
I a gues ha DIHs can be bo h subjec s o a single digi al space and a
he same ime objec s o he use o digi al ools: hei aim is o accele a e he
digi alisa ion o small-and medium-sized en e p ises (SMEs) and he public
sec o – mos ly h ough aining, es ing and ial se ices, inancial ad ice,
and suppo o ne wo king – and o b ing abou subs an ial economic ben-
e i s. They a e pilla s in he Eu opean Commission’s Digi ising Eu opean
Indus y (DEI) s a egy which aims o p omo e he compe i i eness o Eu o-
pean indus y and he con inen ’s ca bon neu ali y goals.
The chap e hen ocuses on Finland, a long- ime o e unne in he de el-
opmen and up ake o digi alisa ion and speci ically on he Lapland egion
whe e in 2021 he A c ic De elopmen En i onmen s Clus e was app o ed
by he Eu opean Commission as he i s o icial DIH in Lapland. The A ic
De elopmen En i onmen s Clus e is p esen ed by explaining i s unc ion-
ing, s uc u e, aims, and ac i i ies.
Da a o he case s udy we e collec ed h ough a sys ema ic mapping o
seconda y ma e ial, p ima ily om he Regional Inno a ion Moni o , he
Eu opean Inno a ion Sco eboa d, and a wide ange o policy documen s,
such as sma specialisa ion (S3) s a egies, Digi al Inno a ion Sco eboa d,
and Digi al Economy and Socie al Index.
4 Digi al inno a ion hubs as
d i e s o digi al ansi ion
andeconomic eco e y
The case o he A c ic
De elopmen En i onmen s
Clus e in Lapland
Sil ia Gaiani and U szula Ala-Ka ia
This chap e has been made a ailable unde a CC-BY-NC-ND license
64 Sil ia Gaiani and U szula Ala-Ka ia
P ima y da a we e collec ed h ough coope a ion wi h he A ic De el-
opmen En i onmen s Clus e manage , M . Raimo Pyyny om Lapland
Uni e si y o Applied Sciences. The p ocess was semi-s uc u ed; alongside
quan i a i e da a, he aim was o collec quali a i e da a based on pe sonal
e lec ions in e ms o he ole o he clus e in he egion.
4.2 The Eu opean dimension o he digi al economy
The e m ‘digi al economy’ has been used ex ensi ely in ecen yea s o desc ibe
he unc ioning o ha pa o he economy which is linked o in o ma ion and
communica ion echnologies (ICTs). The mos impo an aspec o he cu en
end is no he shi o high- ech indus ies, bu he way ha IT can imp o e
he e iciency o all pa s o he economy, especially old-economy i ms.
The digi al economy may be cha ac e ised by h ee main ac o s (OECD,
2020):
• e wo k e ec s’ ha lead o conside able spillo e s, and hese con ibu e o
highe economic g ow h. The mo e pa icipan s use a ne wo k, he g ea e
is i s alue o all who use i . The powe o a ne wo k inc eases in p opo -
ion o he squa e o he numbe o access poin s o he ne wo k.
• a change in he business cycle since ICT in combina ion wi h globalisa-
ion may lowe he non-accele a ing in la ion a e o unemploymen and
change he sho - un ade-o be ween in la ion and unemploymen . As a
esul , he economy can expand o a longe pe iod o ime accompanied
by low in la ion a es.
• mo e e icien business me hods linked o he use o new echnologies ha
lead o highe end g ow h.
Digi alisa ion has become widesp ead in he second hal o he 1990s and i
has no ye ealised i s ull impac on agg ega e p oduc i i y.
The Eu opean Commission has ecen ly published he esul s o he 2022
Digi al Economy and Socie y Index (DESI) (Eu opean Commission, 2022d),
which acks he p og ess made in EU Membe S a es in digi alisa ion. DESI
measu es he p og ess o EU Membe S a es owa ds a digi al economy and
socie y, on he basis o bo h Eu os a da a and specialised s udies and col-
lec ion me hods. I suppo s EU Membe S a es by iden i ying p io i y a eas
equi ing a ge ed in es men and ac ion.
Based on DESI Index, i seems ha du ing he COVID pandemic, Membe
S a es ha e been ad ancing in hei digi alisa ion e o s bu s ill s uggle o
close he gaps in digi al skills, he digi al ans o ma ion o SMEs, and he
es ablishmen o ad anced 5G ne wo ks. The indings, also p esen ed in Fig-
u e 4.1, show ha mos o he Membe S a es a e making p og ess in hei
digi al ans o ma ion, bu he adop ion o key digi al echnologies by busi-
nesses, such as A i icial In elligence (AI) and Big Da a emains low – a 8%
and 14% espec i ely.
Digi al inno a ion hubs as d i e s 65
The posi i e end is ha he EU con inues o imp o e i s le el o digi-
alisa ion, and Membe S a es ha s a ed om lowe le els a e g adually
ca ching up, by g owing a a as e a e. In pa icula , I aly, Poland, and
G eece a e subs an ially imp o ing hei DESI sco es o e he pas i e yea s,
implemen ing sus ained in es men s wi h a ein o ced poli ical ocus on digi-
alisa ion. Th ee Scandina ian coun ies (Finland, Denma k, Sweden) and
he Ne he lands emain he EU on unne s. Howe e , hey a e aced wi h
gaps in key a eas: he up ake o ad anced digi al echnologies such as AI and
Big Da a emains below 30% and he e is a widesp ead skill sho age, which
a e slowing down o e all p og ess and lead o digi al exclusion.
Rega ding he up ake o key echnologies, du ing he COVID-19 pan-
demic, businesses ha e pushed he use o digi al solu ions, bu only 55% o
EU SMEs ha e a basic knowledge o digi al ools indica ing ha almos hal
o SMEs a e no a ailing o he oppo uni ies c ea ed by digi alisa ion.
In 2021, in Eu ope, he gigabi connec i i y g ew u he (Eu opean Com-
mission, 2022b). The co e age o ne wo ks connec ing buildings wi h glass
ib e eached 50% o households, d i ing o e all ixed e y high capaci y
ne wo k (VHCN) co e age up o 70%. 5G co e age also wen up las yea
01020304050607
080
Finland
Denma k
Ne he lands
Sweden
I eland
Mal a
Spain
Luxembou g
Es onia
Aus ia
Slo enia
F ance
Ge many
Li huania
Eu
opean Union
Po ugal
Belgium
La ia
I aly
Czechia
Cyp us
C oaa
Hunga y
Slo akia
Poland
G eece
Bulga ia
Romania
Digi alEconomy and Socie y Index 2022, by Main Dimensions o heDESI
HumanCapi al Connec i yIn eg aon o Digi al Technology Digi alPublicSe ices
Figu e 4.1 Digi al Economy and Socie y Index 2022 by he main dimensions.
Sou ce: Eu opean Commission (2022d).

66 Sil ia Gaiani and U szula Ala-Ka ia
o 66% o popula ed a eas in he EU. Howe e , an impo an p econdi ion
o he comme cial launch o 5G is said as no comple e by EC (2022a): only
56% o he o al 5G ha monised spec um has been assigned in he as ma-
jo i y o Membe S a es (Es onia and Poland a e he excep ions).
In o de o inc ease he le el o digi alisa ion, he Digi al Decade Policy
P og amme (Eu opean Commission, 2021), which will en e in o o ce in
Eu ope by he end o 2022, will se ou a ge s o ganised unde ou ca dinal
poin s: a digi ally skilled popula ion and highly skilled digi al p o essionals,
secu e and sus ainable digi al in as uc u es, he digi al ans o ma ion o
businesses, and he digi alisa ion o public se ices.
Acco ding o he Digi al Decade Policy P og amme, by 2030, a leas 80%
o he Eu opean popula ion aged be ween 16 and 74 should ha e basic digi-
al skills (cu en ly we a e a 54%) and 20 million o ICT specialis s should
en e he labou ma ke . The cu en sho ages in illing ICT specialis acan-
cies ep esen a signi ican obs acle o he eco e y and compe i i eness o
EU en e p ises.
To ill in he gaps, he EU has pu on he able signi ican esou ces o sup-
po he digi al ans o ma ion. €127 billion a e dedica ed o digi al ela ed
e o ms and in es men s in he 25 na ional Reco e y and Resilience Plans
(RRPs) (Eu opean Union, 2022) ha ha e so a been app o ed by he Coun-
cil. Membe S a es dedica e on a e age 26% o hei Reco e y and Resilience
Facili y (RRF) alloca ion o he digi al ans o ma ion, abo e he compulso y
20% h eshold. Membe S a es ha chose o in es mo e han 30% o hei
RRF alloca ion o digi al a e Aus ia, Ge many, Luxembou g, I eland, and
Li huania.
4.3 The ole o digi al inno a ion hubs in he Eu opean
digi aleconomy
Cu en ly he main EU p og amme on digi alisa ion is he Digi al Single Ma -
ke package (h ps://eu o digi al.eu/disco e -eu/eu-digi al-single- ma ke /),
launched on 19 Ap il 2016. Building on and complemen ing he a ious na-
ional ini ia i es o digi izing indus y, he Commission aims h ough i o
c ea e be e amewo k condi ions o he digi al indus ial e olu ion. One
o he mos impo an pilla s o he Digi al Single Ma ke package is he ac-
i i y o de elop a ne wo k o DIHs.
DIHs a e said o be ‘one-s op-shops’ ha suppo companies o become
mo e compe i i e wi h ega d o hei business, p ocesses, p oduc s, o se -
ices using digi al echnologies (Eu opean Commission, 2022a). DIHs a e
based upon echnology in as uc u e (Compe ence Cen e – CC) and p o-
ide access o he la es knowledge, expe ise, and echnology o suppo
cus ome s wi h nume ous p ocesses including pilo ing, es ing, and expe i-
men ing wi h digi al inno a ions. DIHs may also p o ide business and i-
nancing suppo o implemen inno a ions and IT solu ions, i needed ac oss
he alue chain. Thei aim is o acili a e he expe imen a ion and up ake
Digi al inno a ion hubs as d i e s 67
o echnologies coming om six main a eas: Big Da a and AI, In e ne o
Things, Manu ac u ing/Indus y 4.0, Robo ics, HPC, and Pho onics.
As p oximi y is conside ed c ucial, i ac s as a doo way and s eng hens
he inno a ion ecosys em. A DIH is a egional mul i-pa ne coope a ion
(including o ganisa ions like uni e si ies, indus y associa ions, chambe s o
comme ce, incuba o s/accele a o s, egional de elopmen agencies and e en
go e nmen s) and he o ganisa ional o m is usually adap ed o egional con-
di ions and con ex s.
A DIH can be o med om exis ing o ganisa ions aking on he i le and/
o eb anding hemsel es, om exis ing p ojec s unde Ho izon 2020 p o-
g amme, by b inging oge he se e al exis ing ac o s in a (new) i ual o -
ganisa ion o by c ea ing an en i ely new o ganisa ion om sc a ch. I should
ha e o de elop a dedica ed expe ise, based on he a ailable local s eng hs
and he cu en and eme ging needs o he local indus y o public sec o .
The geog aphical scale o a DIH’s ocus is also a a ying ac o . Mos
DIHs a e clea ly egional in hei o iginal scope bu ecognise he need o
a ac expe ise and expe ience om ou side he egion. A success ul imple-
men a ion o he DIH concep could lead in some cases o he DIH playing a
p ominen ole o digi alisa ion a a na ional le el. Excep ionally he e a e
cases whe e he high le el o compe ences allows in e na ionalisa ion and
success in a global scale bu he impac on he egional scale emains mos ly
he no m.
Depending on he s uc u e and needs o he egion, his may mean special-
ising in one echnology and one sec o , bu o en a combina ion o di e en
opics is mo e he case. In addi ion o specialis s wi h sound knowledge o a
echnology, gene alis s and change manage s may also be equi ed o p o ide
digi al ans o ma ion expe ise. This means ha in he subsequen ad ice ol-
lowing a digi al ma u i y assessmen , he expe can e alua e he echnological
possibili ies, knowing he cu en ends and ma ke de elopmen s and p o ide
0% 10%20% 30%40% 50%60% 70%80% 90%100%
Voice o he cus ome / p oduc conso i
Comme cial in as uc u e
P e-compe i i e se ies p oduc ion
Digi al ma u i y assessmen
Ma ke in elligence
Access o unding and in es o eadiness, e c.
Men o ing
Visioning and s a egy de elopmen , e c.
Incuba o /accele a o suppo
Tes ing and alida ion
Concep alida ion and p o o yping
Educa ion and skills de elopmen
Awa eness c ea ion
Collabo a i e esea ches
Ec
osys em building, scou ing, b oke ag, ne wo king
Figu e 4.2 Se ices deli e ed by DIHs o all EU coun ies.
Sou ce: Eu opean In es men Bank (2020).
68 Sil ia Gaiani and U szula Ala-Ka ia
access o he app op ia e echnical expe s. The ocus should always be on how
bes o se e he egional economy wi h an app op ia e ma ix o sec o s and
echnologies. Figu e 4.2 lis s he se ices cu en ly being deli e ed by he ully
ope a ional DIHs o all EU coun ies, acco ding o he EU ca alogue a he
ime o w i ing. Figu e 4.3 illus a es he pe cen age o DIHs which suppo
he mos p omising echnologies o all small- and medium-sized en e p ises.
Only be ween 2016 and 2020, mo e han 150 DIHs ha e aken pa in
370 di e en inno a ion ials es ing digi al inno a ions in collabo a ion
wi h DIHs. In 2020, app oxima ely 2,000 inno a i e SMEs ac oss Eu ope
ha e ecei ed he EU suppo h ough he DIHs o comple e hei digi al
ans o ma ion.
0% 10%20% 30%40% 50%60% 70%80% 90%
Cybe secu i y (including biome ics)
Cloud compu ing
Augmen ed eali y / Vi
ual eali y / Visualisa ion
A i icial in elligence & cogni i e sys ems
In e ne o hings
Figu e 4.3 DIHs suppo ing selec ed echnologies o all small-and medium-sized
en e p ises.
Sou ce: Eu opean In es men Bank (2020).
Box 4.1 Digi al inno a ion hubs, clus e s, esea ch and
echnology o ganisa ions (RTOs)
DIHs, clus e s, and ecosys ems a e mo e han buzz wo ds in economic
de elopmen , hey a e engines o g ow h o ci ies and egions ha ac-
cele a e inno a ion bu he e a e some di e ences among hem.
– Digi al Inno a ion Hubs ocus on de eloping inno a i e digi al
p oduc s, se ices, and aining in a speci ic a ea o hei communi y,
aking a ge ed ac ions o help o e come key challenges in ha ield.
Each hub ope a es wi h i s own managemen , legal s uc u e, and
business plan and has clea , measu able objec i es o deli e alue o
i s pa ne s.
– RTOs a e o en men ioned as DIHs. In many DIHs, he RTOs a e
one o he c i ical pa ne s, bu hey usually do no ha e he capaci y
Digi al inno a ion hubs as d i e s 69
o o e all he needed se ices o SMEs. E en hough many RTOs
also ha e ne wo k/business se ice capaci ies, hei main unc ion/
mission is ela ed o echnology de elopmen (CC). Also, hey a e
mos ly ne wo ks, wi h depa men s ha ha e a speci ic indus y/
echnology o ien a ion wi h ela ed echnological in as uc u es/
expe ise. So, i can be said ha an RTO is a key pa ne and can
suppo many DIHs, ac ing as he CCs wi hin he DIH o ganisa ion.
RTOs a e o en an ini ia o o a DIH.
– Clus e s a e ma ke -d i en phenomena. Clus e s eme ge wi hou
he help o any speci ic policy, as a esul ei he o he spon ane-
ous accumula ion o compe i i e ad an age o by chance. Clus e /
ne wo k o ganisa ions a e o en sugges ed as DIHs. As he mission
o hese o ganisa ions is o c ea e (indus ial) inno a ion ne wo ks
i is no a su p ise ha hey a e highly ela ed o he DIHs. In
many cases, hese ypes o o ganisa ions ac as he o ches a o
o a DIH, as hey ha e high-quali y capaci ies o o ganise he in-
no a ion ecosys em communi y. Howe e , ypically hese clus e s/
ne wo ks do no ha e he echnological in as uc u e, as well as
(some o he) business se ice expe ise. The e o e, hey need o
pa ne wi h Compe ence Cen es (RTOs, Uni e si ies, e c.) and
in some cases o he s akeholde s o p o ide a mixed po olio o
se ices. This coope a ion in a mul i-pa ne en i y o en o ms he
DIH concep .
Sou ce: Adap ed om: Bu e e al. (2020).
The high in e es o he Eu opean Commission in DIHs has been seen o e
he las yea s in la ge in es men s o hei de elopmen s. Only om Ho izon
2020 p og amme, 500M€ has been de o ed o suppo hei de elopmen
(Eu opean Commission, 2022a). I is he Commission’s aim ha all compa-
nies ha e access o a egional DIH, allowing hem o access compe ences and
o digi ise hei o ganisa ions, p oduc s, and se ices. Fu he mo e, in 2021,
he Commission decided o c ea e Eu opean DIH ne wo k wi h o e 300
candida e DIHs, pan-Eu opean ne wo k o DIHs wi h designa ed DIHs om
all he membe s a es.
In Augus 2022, 416 ully ope a ional DIHs, 218 in p epa a ion, and 70
po en ial DIHs om H2020 we e egis e ed and lis ed a he EC’s S3 Pla -
o m (Eu opean Commission, 2023). As p esen ed in Figu e 4.4, DIHs di e
s ongly in he p o ided echnologies. The highes numbe o DIHs 353 being
85% o all ully ope a ing DIHs p o ide he In e ne o Things suppo , ol-
lowing by he AI, Big Da a, and obo ics (77%, 69% and 67% espec i ely).
Cloud compu ing is a ocus o hal o he DIHs, and cybe secu i y echnol-
ogy is suppo ed by 44% o he DIHs.
76 Sil ia Gaiani and U szula Ala-Ka ia
EU. These egions ha e been chosen as one o Eu opean Commission’s pilo
a eas o de elop new app oaches and a S3 s a egy o he pe iod 2019–2023
has been de eloped.
A mapping was ca ied ou in he ENF a ea du ing 2019 in he p io i y a -
eas o he s a egy in o de o iden i y he exis ing compe encies and ne wo ks
in he egions. As a esul o he mapping, i e hema ic a eas we e iden i-
ied as p esen ed in Figu e 4.5: clean echnologies and low-ca bon solu ions,
indus ial ci cula economy, ICT and digi alisa ion, inno a i e echnologies,
and p oduc ion p ocesses. The indus ies o he ENF a ea a e s ongly o-
cused on he u ilisa ion o na u al esou ces and condi ions and he ENF a ea
is al eady a pionee in he de elopmen o solu ions o an indus ial ci cula
economy, one o he mos c ucial g ow h sec o s in he egion.
A se ies o ne wo king e en s and aining in he ENF we e conduc ed
du ing 2020 o acili a e clus e de elopmen and o enable c oss- egional
clus e ne wo king. One o he main goals was o suppo be e u ilisa ion
o he esea ch, de elopmen and inno a ion (RDI) se ices o e ed by in-
no a ion pla o ms ha ha e been sys ema ically inanced and c ea ed in
he egion in ecen yea s. C ea ing new businesses and suppo ing SMEs
in p oducing new o imp o ed p oduc s, p ocesses and se ices ha e been
common goals.
4.7 A case s udy: A c ic De elopmen En i onmen s Clus e – he
hea o A c ic Sma ness Clus e s
Looking close o he ENF, Lapland is he no he nmos egion (NUTS3) o
he coun y and Eu opean Union. In 2021, he egional popula ion was a
bi o e 175 housand ci izens li ing in a spa sely popula ed u al a ea wi h
densi y o less han wo pe sons pe squa e kilome e. A he same ime, Lap-
land’s ich na u al esou ces ha e made i a a ou able indus ial des ina ion
blooming in o es y, mining, me allu gy, and ou ism.
Lapland is one o he i s Finnish egions ha adop ed a S3 ha is cen ed
on inno a ion-d i en socio-economic de elopmen o e i o ies, h ough in-
no a i e mul i-le el and mul i-s akeholde go e nance. An in e ac i e p o-
cess o public–p i a e coope a ion is de ined as an en ep eneu ial disco e y
p ocess ha helps o iden i y in es men p io i ies – i.e., en ep eneu s wi h
scien i ic, echnological, and enginee ing expe ise and ma ke knowledge
join ly p oduce and sha e in o ma ion on new economic ac i i y domains in
which he egion excels o has he po en ial o excel in he u u e.
Lapland’s S3 ocuses on he sus ainable u ilisa ion and comme cialisa ion
o A c ic na u al esou ces and condi ions s a ed in 2013 h ough a s a-
egic s ep-by-s ep implemen a ion app oach. In he app oach, he Regional
Council o Lapland cla i ied he s eng hs, alue chains, and new o ms o
coope a ion in he Lapland egion and launched he A c ic Specialisa ion
Implemen a ion P ojec . As a pa o he p ojec , 650 p ojec s we e ana-
lysed, and such analysis was used as he basis o he cons uc ion o i e

Digi al inno a ion hubs as d i e s 77
clus e s. Clus e ing s a ed in 2015 wi h he A c ic Sma ness po olio p o-
jec (Jokelainen & Jänkälä, 2017), which wo ks like an ecosys em, whe e he
ac o s sha e common goals o de elop Lapland.
A c ic Sma ness Clus e s ac as engines o he egional de elopmen and
a e implemen ing new local and Eu opean ini ia i es and p ojec s c ea ing a
b eeding g ound o g ow h in he egional economy. As o 2022, he e a e
six es ablished A c ic Sma ness Clus e s – A c ic Sma Ru al Communi-
ies, A c ic De elopmen En i onmen s, A c ic Design, A c ic Sa e y, Sma
and Sus ainable A c ic Tou ism, and A c ic Indus y and Ci cula Economy.
Acco ding o he da a p o ided by Lapland Uni e si y o Applied Sciences,
he unding in- low o Lapland in yea s 2020 and 2021 om na ional and
in e na ional p ojec s ia he A c ic Sma Clus e s exceeded EUR 22.3 Mil-
lion (Table 4.2).
Table 4.2 A c ic Sma ness Clus e s and hei aims
A c ic Sma ness Clus e s In a nu shell
The A c ic Sma Ru al
Communi y The clus e ’s main ole is o p e en capi al ou low om
u al Lapland and o p omo e he egion as p ospe ous
as i o e s a su plus o aw ma e ials o a wide ange
o sma esou ce-in ensi e businesses. Ano he ocus
is on u he p ocessing o ood and he p omo ion o
enewable ene gy. This clus e , managed by P oAg ia
Lapland, is buil upon ne wo k o 100 en ep eneu s
and 200 de elope s: municipali ies, inancie s,
poli icians, p ojec s (including in e na ional ones),
esea ch ins i u es, and business ad iso s
The A c ic De elopmen
En i onmen s Clus e The A c ic De elopmen En i onmen s Clus e se es as
a suppo ing ne wo k o all A c ic Sma ness Clus e s
by, e.g., enabling echnologies o all indus ies and
especially SMEs. This clus e , managed by Lapland
Uni e si y o Applied Sciences, is hough ully
add essed u he in 4.7
The A c ic Design Clus e The clus e aims a making Lapland’s businesses,
p oduc s, and se ices na ionally and in e na ionally
ecognisable and compe i i e by u ilising sma
specialisa ion ocusing on esea ch, a , and design.
The co e p ocesses a e based on he knowledge and
esea ch o a c ic designing including se ice design,
p oduc design, in e ac ion design, and applied isual
a s. The clus e is managed by he acul y o a a he
Uni e si y o Lapland
The A c ic Sa e y Clus e The clus e aims a s eng hening in e egional ne wo ks
and sa e y, bo h o he ci izens and o he business.
I is composed o he sa e y o ou ism and e e yday
li e and i s bene icia ies a e local businesses, esiden s,
a elle s, indus ies, and he en i onmen . Lapland
Uni e si y o Applied Sciences is managing his clus e
(Con inued)
78 Sil ia Gaiani and U szula Ala-Ka ia
The Sma and Sus ainable
A c ic Tou ism Clus e The clus e aims a Lapland’s ou ism g owing sma ly:
by 2030, he clus e wishes o inc ease ou ism income
up o EUR 1.5 billion (e.g., by de eloping yea - ound
ou ism). The bigges challenge and aim is o each
he g ow h esponsibly, wi hou comp omising he
sa e y and quali y o he indus y. The clus e includes
a ne wo k o en ep eneu s, Des ina ion Managemen
O ganiza ions, esea ch and educa ion ins i u es,
de elopmen o ganisa ions, municipali ies, and ou ism
p ojec s managed by he Lapland Regional Council
I. The A c ic Indus y
and Ci cula Economy
Clus e
The clus e suppo s Lapland as a on unne in
sus ainable u ilisa ion o na u al esou ces, sus ainable
indus y, and ci cula economy. A mix o indus ial
expe ise and commi men o sus ainable de elopmen
a e a he co e o e ining na u al esou ces in he
Lapland egion. The p ocess indus y ac i ely sea ches
o new, eco-inno a i e ways o mode nise i s p ocesses
while he managemen o by-p oduc p ocesses o
indus ies and p ocess op imisa ion is also a p io i ised
issue. The clus e is being managed by Digipolis
Sou ce: a c icsma ness.eu.
The A c ic De elopmen En i onmen s Clus e was app o ed by he EC
in Feb ua y 2021 as Lapland’s i s o icial DIH (A c ic Sma ness, 2018)
wi h i s objec i e o b ing oge he he RDI en i onmen s and expe se ices
ope a ing sepa a ely in he egion. Ye , he collabo a ion as pa o Lapland’s
S3 s a egy s a ed in 2013. The aim was o o m a uni o m body o se e
and boos Lapland’s business li e and business in es men s in p oduc de-
elopmen as well as in e na ionalisa ion. In con as o o he clus e s om
he A c ic Sma ness, he A c ic De elopmen En i onmen s Clus e is no a
hema ic clus e and ac s as an umb ella suppo o he o he clus e s.
The clus e p oduces se ices o he egion’s businesses ia i s 50 en i-
onmen s and 700 specialis s. A c ic De elopmen En i onmen s a e bo h
physical and i ual en i onmen s p o iding lea ning oppo uni ies and ig-
ge ing inno a ion, such as labo a o ies, s udios, wo kshops, and simula ion
en i onmen s. The unding is p elimina y public – ia he Regional Council
o Lapland, Business Finland, and he EU.
The main pa ne s in his clus e a e mul idisciplina y esea ch commu-
ni ies om Uni e si y o Lapland, Lapland Uni e si y o Applied Sciences
( he manage ), Na u al Resou ces Ins i u e Finland, Geological Su ey o
Finland, Voca ional College Lappia, and Lapland Voca ional College. Ye ,
wo h men ioning a e also A ic Powe – Cold clima e es ing, A c ic S eel,
and Mining as he s ong indus y pa ne s ha ha e bene i ed by inc eased
capaci y and ma u i y o hei ac ions and p ocesses. The de elopmen wo k
has been enabled ia di e en p ojec s, p ima ily inanced om he Eu opean
Regional De elopmen Fund.
Table 4.2 (Con inued)
Digi al inno a ion hubs as d i e s 79
Box 4.3 A c ic De elopmen En i onmen s Clus e – se ice
model, compe ences, and se ices
Se ice model in s eps
• The business (clien ) con ac s he clus e .
• The clus e p epa es a equi emen speci ica ion based on he clien ’s
need.
• The clien ecei es a ende p esen ing he ee and schedule o he
se ice.
• I he ende is accep ed, a se ice con ac is d awn be ween he cli-
en and he clus e . The ee is based on he ac ual cos s o he se ice.
• A g oup o expe s o be in ol ed is selec ed, and he coope a ion is
coo dina ed by he clus e .
• The clus e assis s he clien wi h iden i ying and applying o sui -
able R&D unding.
• The clus e epo s he inal esul s o he company.
Sec o s o suppo
• Ag icul u e and ood
• Communi y, social, and pe sonal se ice ac i i ies
• Cons uc ion
• Educa ion
• Ene gy and u ili ies
• Li e sciences and heal hca e
• Manu ac u e o basic me als and ab ica ed me al p oduc s
• Manu ac u e o ood p oduc s, be e ages, and obacco
• Manu ac u e o ex iles and ex ile p oduc s
• Ma i ime and ishe y
• Mining and qua ying
• O he Manu ac u ing
• Tou ism (including es au an s and hospi ali y)
• T anspo and logis ic
Technical compe ences
• Addi i e manu ac u ing
• A i icial in elligence
• Cybe -physical sys ems
• Gami ica ion
• In e ac ion echnologies
• In e ne o hings
• In e ne se ices
80 Sil ia Gaiani and U szula Ala-Ka ia
Du ing he COVID-19 pandemic, he demand o he clus e ’s se ices
inc eased. On one hand, local businesses ha e ied o adap o pandemic-
ela ed es ic ions o de elop b and new p oduc s o se ices suppo ing dis-
an wo king and emo e li ing. An addi ional challenge has been o up ake
he p e-pandemic le el o in e na ional pa ne s due o closu e o he bo de s
and a elling es ic ions.
The e alua ion o he A c ic De elopmen En i onmen s Clus e is ongo-
ing. Among he challenges, he clus e aces a e he iden i ica ion o inno a-
ion gaps and he de elopmen o be e moni o ing and e alua ion p ac ises
o he nex p og amming pe iod. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an im-
pac on he clus e s ac i i ies and has c ea ed new p io i isa ion. The low le -
els o hie a chy and low bo de s be ween o ganisa ions ha e helped Lapland
• Logis ics
• Mic o/nano elec onics
• New media echnologies
• O ganic and la ge-a ea elec onics
• Senso y sys ems
• Simula ion, modelling, and digi al wins
• So wa e as a se ice and se ice a chi ec u es
• Vi ual, augmen ed, and ex ended eali y
Se ices p o ided
• Awa eness c ea ion
• Collabo a i e Resea ch
• Concep alida ion and p o o yping
• Ecosys em building, scou ing, b oke age, and ne wo king
• Tes ing and alida ion
• Visioning and S a egy De elopmen o Businesses
Sou ce: Sma Specialisa ion Pla o m (Eu opean Commission, 2023).
The A c ic De elopmen En i onmen s Clus e is one o only wo
Finnish DIHs ha o e he se ices up o he highes echnology eadi-
ness le els (TRL9 – Ac ual sys em p o en h ough success ul mission
ope a ions). The clus e , ope a ing on non-p o i e ms, o e s se e al
solu ions and se ices o he clien s ( ha ep esen al eady exis ing
companies, mos ly SMEs o mic o businesses). Depending on he speed
o he se ices and he le el o expe engagemen , he clus e is able
o o e se ices ee o cha ge p o ided by local s uden s. Paymen in
inno a ion ouche s by Business Finland (accoun ing o EUR 5,000
o 100% aid) a e one o he mos common paymen op ions by SMEs.
Digi al inno a ion hubs as d i e s 81
o gain a compe i i e ad an age on o he EU clus e s and ha e allowed he
ongoing ac i i ies o be pe sis en and e ec i e.
4.8 Conclusion
DIHs comp ise ep esen a se o ecosys ems cha ac e ised by high digi i-
sa ion capaci y building, wide ad anced digi al se ice o e ing, and s ong
linkages o Eu opean coun e pa s. Thei impo ance in pos -pandemic eco-
nomic eco e y is unques ionable. Finland has adi ionally a s ong coop-
e a ion cul u e ac oss public and p i a e o ganisa ions and s ong digi al
inno a ion ini ia i es ope a e in he a ious egions ac oss he coun y, in-
cluding spa sely popula ed no he n egions. In addi ion, Finland has Finnish
s eng hs – nume ous ib an inno a ion and business ecosys ems o na ional
economic impo ance in which he public sec o plays an impo an ole.
Digi al ans o ma ion is no only abou echnology bu equi es also a deep
con ex -speci ic unde s anding o how digi al echnologies can c ea e bene i .
A c ic Sma ness Clus e s, and especially he A c ic De elopmen En i on-
men s Clus e , a e excellen examples o how o endo se echnology de el-
opmen bu also he local compe encies and know-how o sol e signi ican
economic o socie al challenges in which digi isa ion plays a c ucial ole.
Re e ences
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and Inno a ions. Re ie ed Sep embe 10, 2022, om: h ps://a c icsma ness.eu/
wp-con en /uploads/2018/03/a c ic_de elopmen _en i onmen s.pd .
Bo ges, L. A., Nilsson, K., Tuns öm, M., Dis, A. T., Pe jo, L.; Be lina, A., Cos a, S.
O., F ed icsson, C., G un elde , J., Johnsen, I., K is ensen, I., Randall, L., Smas, L.,
Webe , R. (2017) Whi e Pape on No dic Sus ainable Ci ies. No d egio.
Bu e , M., Ka anikolo a, K., Gijsbe s, G., Guilloud, G. & Sanchez, B. (2020). De-
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uploads/2020/06/DIHNET-De ining- he-DIH-in-i s-con ex -FINAL.pd .
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[Powe Poin Slides]. Re ie ed Feb ua y 21, 2023, om: h ps://www2.deloi e.com/
con en /dam/Deloi e/global/Documen s/Technology-Media- Telecommunica ions/
deloi e-digi al-ma u i y-model.pd .
Eu opean Commission (2023). Sma Specialisa ion Pla o m. Digi al Inno a-
ion Hubs. A ailable a : h ps://eu opean-digi al-inno a ion-hubs.ec.eu opa.eu/
edih-ca alogue? %5B0%5D=edih_soe%3Aedih& %5B1%5D=edih_soe%3Asoe.
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embe 10, 2022, om: h ps://digi al-s a egy.ec.eu opa.eu/en/policies/eu opes-
digi al-decade.
Eu opean Commission (2022a). Eu opean Digi al Inno a ion Hubs [Ac i i ies]. Re-
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Eu opean Commission (2022b, July 28). Digi al Economy and Socie y Index 2022:
O e all P og ess Bu Digi al Skills, SMEs and 5G Ne wo ks Lag Behind [P ess
Release]. Re ie ed Sep embe 10, 2022, om: h ps://ec.eu opa.eu/commission/
p essco ne /api/ iles/documen /p in /en/ip_22_4560/IP_22_4560_EN.pd .
Eu opean Commission (2022c). Digi al Economy and Socie y Index (DESI) 2022:
Finland. Re ie ed Feb ua y 21, 2023, om: h ps://ec.eu opa.eu/news oom/dae/
edi ec ion/documen /88700.
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A ailable a : h ps://digi al-s a egy.ec.eu opa.eu/en/policies/desi.
Eu opean Commission (2022e). Finland’s Na ional Reco e y and Resilience Plan
La es S a e o Play. Re ie ed Feb ua y 21, 2023, om: h ps://www.eu opa l.
eu opa.eu/RegDa a/e udes/BRIE/2022/729279/EPRS_BRI(2022)729279_EN.pd .
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Jobs Pla o m. Re ie ed Sep embe 10, 2022, om: h ps://digi al-skills-jobs.
eu opa.eu/en/ac ions/na ional-ini ia i es/na ional- eco e y-plans.
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suomen-suu alue/alykase ikois uminen#.WMZm_E00OUl
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DOI: 10.4324/9781003450160-8
5.1 In oduc ion
P og ess in he digi al ans o ma ion p ocess, which is la gely insepa able
om globaliza ion and changes adi ional economic and social o ganiza-
ion pa e ns and balances, is eaching such magni ude and speed ha i is
cu en ly aking a leading ole in he discussions on compe i i eness and eco-
nomic g ow h in he Eu opean Union (EU). Such digi al ans o ma ion has
been enhanced by he impac s o he c isis caused by he COVID19.
Digi al skills a e no only leading o new quali ica ion and compe ence e-
qui emen s in all occupa ions bu a e also c ea ing new jobs. One o he mos
ele an sec o s is he ICT indus y, whe e da a e eal a signi ican inc ease
in employmen o e he las decade. In spi e o such inc ease, he e is al eady
an excess demand, wi h a numbe o acancies in he EU28 ha would ise
o almos 800,000 by 2020. The OECD (2016) es ima es ha on a e age,
a ound 25% o he jobs will expe ience signi ican changes in he compe-
ences hey p esen ly equi e, and some 9% will be displaced by au oma ion
o wo kplaces. Conce ning he challenges and oppo uni ies a ising om he
digi al shi in employmen , i is necessa y o add ess changes in he speci ic
cha ac e is ics o he di e en jobs, and ways o adjus he compe ences ac-
qui ed by wo ke s o he u u e supply and demand o labou .
Digi al echnologies minimize he cos o ans e ing ideas, knowledge,
know-how and echnology o anywhe e in he wo ld and educe he cos
o coo dina ing geog aphically sepa a ed complex ac i i ies. In a con ex o
in e na ional economic libe aliza ion and educ ion o anspo a ion cos s,
hey allow companies o u he agmen p oduc i e p ocesses and eloca e
he di e en s ages down o he ask le el and ge he mos ou o in e na-
ional di e ences in cos s and wages. Thus, he global economy ends o es
on long global alue chains o la ge mul ina ional companies, whe e i ms
and wo ke s om all o e he wo ld compe e wi h each o he o in eg a ion
(Baldwin, 2016).
This s uc u al ans o ma ion has subs an ial dis ibu i e implica ions
and poses majo challenges o he economic policies o di e en coun ies.
The digi al economy goes beyond na ional ju isdic ions and in ensi ies
5 Digi aliza ion and he impac on
he labou ela ions1
Alejand o Díaz Mo eno, Mª del Milag o
Ma ín López, My iam González Limón
and Manuel Ri e a Fe nández
This chap e has been made a ailable unde a CC-BY-NC-ND license
84 Alejand o Díaz Mo eno e al.
economic in e dependence among a ious e i o ies, which leads o he need
o e o mula ing and ein o cing sup ana ional go e nance s uc u es, i p o-
ec ionis esponses a e o be a oided.
The EU is well awa e o he ac ha he digi al shi is changing he na-
u e o wo k and he s uc u e o he labou ma ke . EU ins i u ions ha e
launched a ious employmen ini ia i es in he ield o e-skills, educa ion and
aining, bu he e is clea e idence o a de ici in digi al skills o abili ies.
Mo eo e , he p ocess is slow and i mus be ealized ha he e a e signi ican
di e ences among he membe s a es. In 2015, he Eu opean Commission
app o ed he Digi al Single Ma ke s a egy wi h he aim o o e coming he
agmen a ion o he Eu opean Digi al ma ke , and p o iding a common ap-
p oach o guide na ional s a egies. Howe e , in p ac ice, his s a egy has
no been e y success ul, since he Eu opean Commission has p oposed jus a
ew ini ia i es, and hey ha e no esul ed in ag eemen s by he Council and
he Pa liamen o d a egula ions allowing o i s e ec i e implemen a ion
(Council o he Eu opean Union, 2015). The Commission has de eloped he
Eu opean Digi al Compe ence F amewo k o Ci izens (DigComp).
Digi aliza ion o he economy has mul iple implica ions and e ec s on he
o ms o wo king and o ganizing wo k, and he e o e, on employmen ela-
ions and on he condi ions in which wo k is pe o med. Digi aliza ion o he
p oduc ion o goods and se ices may a ec , among o he ele an aspec s:
labou ela ions o employees; applica ion o employmen con ac s; o ms
o employmen ; e ms o employmen p o ision; exe cise o managemen ’s
di ec ion and con ol powe s; ime and place whe e wo k is pe o med; on-
he-job aining; occupa ional heal h and sa e y; o a collec i e le el, collec-
i e ep esen a ion and ba gaining ins umen s. Digi aliza ion and i s impac
on employmen ela ions gene a e new challenges esul ing om changes in
business models, he eme gence o new o ms o employmen based on he
online economy, and he inc ease in capaci ies b ough abou by he inc eas-
ing connec i i y. Expe s belie e ha he e will be changes in employmen
ela ions, esul ing om he changes in he uni o mi y ha was ypical o
he p o ision o subo dina ed wo k, and ma e ialized in he agmen a ion
o p oduc ion p ocesses and hei g owing decen aliza ion, among o he s.
Digi al echnologies allow speci ically, in some cases, o he eplacemen
o employees by compu e s o obo s in all kinds o wo ks and asks, ei-
he manual o in ellec ual, ha no ma e how complex hey a e can be
exp essed by p og ammable ules (algo i hms), i.e. ha a e ou inized, which
may a ec ho izon ally, o a g ea e o lesse ex en , all p oduc ion sec o s
(Eu opean Commission, 2020).
This has led o p oposing he idea o a new di ision o labou (Le y &
Mu nane, 2004), be ween digi al wo k and human wo k, whe e he la e
would ocus on pe o ming wo ks o asks equi ing p oblem-sol ing, in ui-
ion, c ea i i y, pe suasion, adap a ion o new si ua ions, imp o isa ion in
changing en i onmen s, sensi i i y, a ec ion and empa hy, skills ha a e di -
icul o eplica e by machines.
Digi aliza ion and he impac on he labou ela ions 85
Successi e indus ial e olu ions ha e caused mo emen s in he opposi e
di ec ion; al hough hey ha e elimina ed jobs h ough he des uc ion o ce -
ain o ms o employmen , hey ha e also gene a ed new ypes o employ-
men . The digi al e olu ion, also called he ou h indus ial e olu ion, will
p oduce simila e ec s, al hough i may gene a e imbalances leading o pay
gaps be ween quali ied and non-quali ied employees, and e en gende pay
gaps.
Digi aliza ion is also gene a ing majo challenges in e ms o quali y o
employmen . I ein o ces he end owa ds he p oli e a ion o a ypical em-
ploymen ela ions and new o ms o sel -employmen , which a e associa ed
wi h mo e insecu e and less p omising p o essional ca ee s, because such
wo ke s ha e ewe oppo uni ies o access aining p og ammes, he social
p o ec ion sys em, o ms o T ade Union ep esen a ion and collec i e ba -
gaining p ocesses. In addi ion o os e ing echnological inno a ion and i s
posi i e impac s, na ional digi aliza ion s a egies should include policies o
minimize and balance ou i s nega i e impac s, as well as he ends owa ds
ma ke powe concen a ion and inc ease o inequali y. Go e nance o hese
policies should also ocus on pa icipa ion and in ol emen o he social
pa ne s. In e ms o o ganiza ion o wo k, digi aliza ion will lead o g ea e
lexibili y, which will a ec many aspec s o he o ganiza ion o wo k; he
imes and places whe e asks a e pe o med a e mo e and mo e lexible, like
he ypes o wo k. This may c ea e an ad an age o bo h employe s and
employees, in he o m o mo e au onomy and p oduc i i y, a be e balance
be ween wo k and pe sonal li e, and cos educ ion. In u n, i may also en-
ail isks, o example, in e ms o ce ain y o income. Mo eo e , lexibili y
equi es and esul s in new o ms o managemen and new ypes o skills.
The e o e, legisla ion and collec i e ag eemen s mus ake in o accoun he
need o lexibili y conce ning wo king imes and wo kplaces.
5.2 Basic aspec s o digi aliza ion. The digi al
ans o ma ionp ocess
Manu ac u ing p ocesses a e unde going a digi al ans o ma ion p ocess,
igge ed by he ad ances in digi al in o ma ion echnologies and, mainly, by
he de elopmen o compu e s and so wa e. The ou h indus ial e olu ion
has come abou h ough he applica ion o digi al echnologies o he indus-
y’s business models – in o he wo ds, o he p oduc ion models – leading
o a new concep o ac o y, e med “in elligen ”, which is domina ed by he
digi al aspec s applied o i s p oduc ion. “The in elligence o he new ac o y
is he esul o he con e gence o in o ma ion echnologies; hei union in a
‘digi al ecosys em’ wi h o he indus ial echnologies, and he de elopmen
o new o ganiza ional p ocesses” (Del Val, 2016, p. 4).
This digi al ans o ma ion may bene i he localiza ion p ocess, a ou ing
na ional p oduc ion and indus ies, and open he possibili y ha hese will
eco e all he alue p ocesses (“bo sou cing”), which will lead o an inc ease
92 Alejand o Díaz Mo eno e al.
o he concep o elewo king, which is al eady well es ablished among us, a
co esponding e m should be coined: ele-unionism.
Indi idualiza ion, agmen a ion and he absence o employmen and/o
con ac ual ela ions imply a educ ion in he capaci y o ade unions o
ep esen and p o ec wo ke s. In ac , no only is i di icul o de e mine
ba gaining uni s, bu wo king o di e en pla o ms would, in p inciple,
make i di icul o wo ke s o be co e ed by a collec i e ag eemen (Todolí
Signes, 2015).
Indi idualism, disa ec ion and dese ion om p o ec ing collec i e igh s:
we obse e a s ongly “ ola ile” wo k o ce, wi h dis inc in e es s, di icul
o econcile wi h uni a y and sha ed objec i es. I is an indispu able ac
ha he eloca ion o a wo ke ha in ol es i ual wo k, o wo k ou side
he wo kplace, causes him o he o become de ached, and a he same ime
isola ed, om o he colleagues; and in addi ion, whe e app op ia e, om he
company’s ade union ep esen a ion.
How can we o ganize wo ke s in he company when he company i sel
is dilu ed, as a esul o he p ocesses o agmen a ion ha hey ca y
ou ? How can we o ganize nomadic wo ke s who change wo kplaces?
How can we o ganize wo ke s on digi al pla o ms who ha e no wo k-
place o company?
(Gu ié ez & Pueyo, 2017, p. 231)
These o ms o wo k (casual wo k, c owdwo king, collabo a i e wo k, e c.)
a e de icien om he poin o iew o collec i e ep esen a ion and nego ia-
ion (Eu o ound, 2015).
As he e a e only pa icula in e es s, i is logical ha membe ship o ade
union o ganiza ions in Spain should be e en lowe , as well as he in e es in
holding posi ions in employee ep esen a ion. In his si ua ion, i is di icul
o con ince wo ke s ha collec i e ba gaining is a sui able me hod o sol -
ing hei speci ic p oblems, le alone he possibili y o collec i e ac ion o
exe p essu e o main aining o exe cising ce ain igh s.
Fo hese easons, majo p oblems a e encoun e ed in adop ing/in oducing
egula ions, uni ied o some deg ee, o wo ke s who lack p ecisely he quali-
ies o cha ac e is ics o employees. The di e si y and agmen a ion o his
g oup makes i di icul o p o ide egula ion ha is unspeci ic, bu a leas
adequa e o hei needs. The di e si y we a e alking abou ansla es no only
in o he plu ali y o ac i i ies o jobs hey ca y ou bu also in o he objec i es
o pu poses pu sued. Thus, he e a e wo ke s who combine sel -employmen
wi h ano he sala ied job hey al eady ha e, o supplemen hei income o sim-
ply o hedge agains g owing unemploymen in Spain (Molina & Pas o , 2018).
Rep esen a ion o collec i e in e es s is also unde h ea , as s uc u es o
wo ke ep esen a ion and social dialogue a e la gely absen in he wo ld o
on-demand wo k and collec i e labou . Howe e , some p oposals and ex-
pe imen s a e c ea ing new in e nal s uc u es wi hin he ade unions, aimed

Digi aliza ion and he impac on he labou ela ions 93
a a ac ing economically dependen sel -employed wo ke s, as hey a e
called in Spain, and p o iding his o mula o collec i e assis ance, i.e. ea -
ing hem collec i ely as a class o wo ke s wi h he same igh s as employed
wo ke s (Deg yse, 2016).
An example o his is pla o m wo k which no only leads o a educ ion
in ba gaining powe bu p ac ically excludes his possibili y. All hese cases
when he wo ke is alone – in o he wo ds, when he wo ke is unp o ec ed,
isola ed om collec i e suppo – gene a e an imbalance be ween he powe s
o he wo ke and he employe . Today, we can see how, despi e a e y un a-
ou able en i onmen , in some cases, hese wo ke s and ade unions ha e
o ganized hemsel es o encou age collec i e ac ion.
Al hough he cou s ha e inally ecognized many pla o m wo ke s as
sala ied employees, he speci ic na u e o his wo k equi es ha exis ing
labou legisla ion be upda ed. The speci ici y o pla o m wo k equi es new
special labou egula ions.
In Spain, he go e nmen has chosen o egula e elewo king h ough leg-
isla ion, speci ically h ough he Law 10/2021 o 9 July on emo e wo k, ha
seeks o mi iga e abuse o incon eniences ha may a ise om de egula ion.
In pa icula , he aim is o p e en companies om passing on p oduc ion
cos s o wo ke s wi hou o e ing any kind o compensa ion.
The aim is o ensu e ha elewo king does no lead o a dec ease in wage
bene i s, o a loss o weakening o labou igh s. This is based on he basic
p emise ha elewo king should be an op ion ha is accep ed by wo ke s
olun a ily, and unde no ci cums ances can i be imposed by he company.
I would he e o e be a wo king modali y which would depend on he wo k-
e ’s own wishes, and which would be e e sible; in o he wo ds, he possibil-
i y would always emain open o he wo ke o e oke his o he consen
and e u n o a ace- o- ace ac i i y.
Among he mos impo an issues a ising om elewo king a e hose ela -
ing o he exe cise o collec i e igh s. This b ings us p ecisely o he ole o
ade unions in he u u e amewo k o labou ela ions. In addi ion, we will
add ess he ques ion o equal ea men , no only wi h ega d o gende and
wage o sala y gaps bu also e y especially wi h ega d o p omo ion and
p o essional aining.
Digi aliza ion linked o he pe o mance o wo k ou side he company
aises eno mous doub s ega ding employe con ol o wo ke s’ p i a e
li es, ei he in a di ec and in asi e way, o in an indi ec way, dep i ing he
wo ke o p i acy e en du ing hou s ou side he wo kplace.
5.7 Digi aliza ion and quali y o employmen . New o ms o
employmen linkage
The inco po a ion o new echnologies in o he wo ld o wo k, o he digi-
aliza ion o employmen , equi es a dynamic and lexible labou law, capa-
ble o being adap ed o successi e inno a ions o his ype. This labou law
94 Alejand o Díaz Mo eno e al.
should pe mi and gua an ee, as es ablished in a . 38 o he Spanish Cons i-
u ion (1978), he company’s planning and de ence o p oduc i i y.
A he same ime, he law ca ies ou i s adi ional unc ion o p o ec -
ing he wo ke . In his sense, ou ules mus allow he in eg a ion o new
echnologies in o he company wi h he aim o inc easing and op imizing i s
p oduc i i y. Howe e , he implemen a ion o new echnologies b ings wi h
i he esponsibili y o he employe owa ds his s a . This is wha has be-
come known as a “ echnologically esponsible company” (Me cade Uguina,
2017). Thus, ou Spanish legisla u e ecognizes he igh o he wo ke “ o
p omo ion and oca ional aining a wo k, including aining aimed a
adap ing o changes in he wo kplace, as well as he de elopmen o aining
plans in ended o p omo e inc eased employabili y” [a . 4.2(b), Wo ke ’s
S a u e Law]. Fu he mo e, A icle 23.1(d) o he Wo ke ’s S a u e Law p o-
ides o he speci ic igh o wo ke s o aining necessa y o hei adap a-
ion o changes in he wo kplace. On he one hand, i s esses ha aining is
he company’s esponsibili y, “wi hou p ejudice o he possibili y o ob ain-
ing inancing in ended o he aining pu poses”; and, on he o he hand,
ha “ he ime alloca ed o aining shall in all cases be conside ed e ec i e
wo king ime”. In sho , in oday’s global wo ld, wo ke s need he compe-
ence o lea ning o lea n o li elong lea ning, unde s ood as he con inuous
de elopmen o knowledge and skills ha people a e o e ed, subsequen o
o mal educa ion, h oughou hei li es.
The legisla u e is making gian s ides in he case o Spain, wi h such s a -
u es as he ecen Law 10/2021 o July 9 on emo e wo k which has es ab-
lished he la es legal egula ions o dis ance wo king in Spain. In addi ion,
O ganic law 3/2018 on he p o ec ion o pe sonal da a and he gua an ee
o digi al igh s esponds o he p ocessing o pe sonal da a and, mo e im-
po an ly, o he use o ce ain elec onic o compu e -based de ices in he
wo kplace, and con ains a ela i ely de ailed egula ion di ec ly applicable o
he employmen con ac , deployed unde he gene al heading o “gua an ee
o digi al igh s” (A icles 87 o 91, O ganic Law 3/2018).
Digi aliza ion and wo king ime: The impac o new echnologies is e i-
den in a model o labou ela ions in which i is inc easingly di icul o de-
e mine when he wo king day begins, and when i ends. The wo ld o wo k,
in his new e a o digi aliza ion, is imme sed in he sea ch o lexibili y poli-
cies conce ning he wo king day, called “ lexiwo king”. This is a new way o
wo king in which each employee can manage his o he schedule and wo k
acco ding o his o he needs. The aim is o ind a simple , mo e e icien , and
mo e lexible way o wo king. The si ua ion desc ibed would undoub edly
allow he wo ke o make wo k compa ible wi h o he ypes o pe sonal o
amily occupa ions o aspi a ions. Bu , a he same ime, new echnologies
can gene a e new ies and se i udes in he pe o mance o wage-ea ning
wo k. We should conside , abo e all, he wo ke ’s connec ion h ough digi al
means wi h he company’s managemen and decision-making bodies. The e
is only one s ep om lexibili y o wo king ime acco ding o p oduc ion
Digi aliza ion and he impac on he labou ela ions 95
o he pe manen a ailabili y o he wo ke , as he main ool o dis ance
wo k. Technology elimina es he coo dina es o ime and place and blu s he
bounda ies be ween wo k and es , o he poin o pe pe ual connec ion.
Howe e , he use o elec onic media in he wo kplace is undoub edly
linked o g ea e a ailabili y o he wo ke o company business. Wi hin his
amewo k, we un he isk o iden i ying ou sel es wi h he pe manen ly
connec ed p o essional who consequen ly cons an ly wo ks. The p esence
o new echnologies in he ield o labou , expanding he possibili ies o pe -
manen and uncon olled connec i i y, also leads o legal unce ain y abou
which egula ions a e applicable o hese new si ua ions. The e o e, o main-
ain an unchanged numbe o hou s wo ked, he exis ence o e ec i e egula-
ions is necessa y, es ablishing he igh o digi al disconnec ion (in Spain, he
O ganic Law 3/2018 o 5 Decembe on he p o ec ion o pe sonal da a and
he gua an ee o digi al igh s and he Law 10/2021 o 9 July on emo e wo k
in oduce o he i s ime he igh o digi al disconnec ion in he sphe e o
employmen ).
The new digi al pla o ms: The issue ha has undoub edly ecei ed he
mos a en ion is he si ua ion o wo ke s who p o ide hei p o essional se -
ices h ough digi al pla o ms. The pla o ms do no conside hemsel es as
employe s, no do hey conside he p o essionals who p o ide hei se ices
as employees. This si ua ion does no i in wi h ei he sel -employmen o
paid employmen . The e o e, au ho i a i e oices ha e p oposed he c ea ion
o a new in e media e igu e called he “independen wo ke ”.
This ype o wo ke would ha e he majo i y o he employed wo ke ’s
ecognized labou igh s, since he o ganiza ion o wo k h ough digi al pla -
o ms is conside ed, in mos cases, a de ac o ela ionship o subo dina ion
and labou dependence. The a ious legal ulings lacking a uni a y solu ion
do no help o cla i y he issue.2
Bu , apa om he legal ecogni ion ha employmen ela ionships gen-
e a ed on digi al pla o ms dese e, he wo king condi ions o he p o es-
sionals who p o ide hei se ices h ough hese pla o ms a e undoub edly
cha ac e ized by (1) low emune a ion which depends on he numbe o se -
ices p o ided; (2) con usion abou access o social secu i y bene i s; (3) isks
o occupa ional heal h and sa e y, iden i ied, o example, wi h pe manen
a ailabili y; and (4) he unila e al es ablishmen o wo king condi ions by
he pla o m, which may e en make emune a ion, o s abili y o he se ice
i sel , dependen on su eys, in which he wo k ca ied ou by he p o es-
sional is a ed; hese a e p epa ed by he pla o m i sel . Fo all hese easons,
measu es need o be in oduced ha p omo e decen wo k, in all he aspec s
men ioned (sala y, social secu i y, wo king condi ions, occupa ional heal h),
o p o essionals who wo k in his ield.
Telewo king, A new pa h in labou ela ions in Spain: The pandemic
ha we ha e su e ed has decisi ely p omo ed a speci ic o m o wo k: el-
ewo king. Telewo k is one o he ace s o companies’ digi aliza ion ( he
mos isible one a p esen ), and e en hough all physical wo k canno be
96 Alejand o Díaz Mo eno e al.
con e ed o elewo king ia elema ics, ce ain cha ac e is ics, modes and
ways o wo king online a e going o be ans e ed o he majo i y o se ices
p o ided, me ging (which was al eady happening p e iously) physical and
emo e wo k. Telewo k is cu en ly no co e ed by any in e na ional s a is i-
cal s anda ds. Coun ies ha e used sligh ly di e en ope a ional de ini ions,
which a e ypically based on wo di e en componen s (Eu o ound & ILO,
2017, p. 5):
I The wo k is ully o pa ly ca ied ou a an al e na i e loca ion o he han
he de aul place o wo k. This c i e ion is based on he p e ious de ini ion
o emo e wo k.
II The use o pe sonal elec onic de ices such as a compu e , able o el-
ephone (mobile o landline) o pe o m he wo k: The use o pe sonal
elec onic de ices needs o be an essen ial pa o ca ying ou speci ic job-
ela ed asks wi hou being di ec ly in con ac wi h o he pe sons.
This phenomenon his o ically ca ied li le weigh in he o ganiza ion and
wo k cul u e o mos companies in Spain bu has achie ed a sudden and
in ense g ow h due o he need o main ain economic ac i i y and gua an ee
social dis ance du ing he pandemic.
As o 9 July 2021, he Law 10/2021 on emo e wo k has in oduced new
egula ions on elewo k in Spain, applicable o any wo k pe o med in he
wo ke ’s home, o a leas 30% o he wo king day du ing a e e ence pe iod
o h ee mon hs, o an equi alen pe cen age depending on he du a ion o
he employmen con ac (A icle 13 o he Wo ke s’ S a u e).
The Spanish law add esses many essen ial ques ions. (1) The s a u e in-
oduces paymen and compensa ion by he company o expenses gene a ed
by his ype o wo k as a speci ic igh o wo ke s, as well as he company’s
obliga ion o p o ide i s employees wi h all he means, equipmen and ools
necessa y o pe o ming hei wo k. This is a ma e o collec i e ba gain-
ing. (2) The equi emen o a p in ed o m o he dis ance wo king con ac ,
and i s minimum con en s (A icle 6 o he Law 10/2021 o 9 July on emo e
wo k). (3) The possibili y o unila e al wi hd awal o he wo ke om
emo e wo king model, in acco dance wi h he olun a y na u e o emo e
wo k (A icle 5 o he Law 10/2021 o 9 July on emo e wo k). (4) The
e usal o he wo ke o wo k emo ely may no be a cause o he e mina-
ion o he employmen ela ionship, no o he modi ica ion o his wo king
condi ions. (5) The new egula ions on emo e wo k b ing he igh s o he
wo ke s a ec ed in o line wi h hose o wo ke s in an o dina y employmen
ela ionship. (6) The igh o digi al disconnec ion egula ed in A icle 18 o
he Law 10/2021 o 9 July on emo e wo k, and he business du y o gua an-
ee such disconnec ion. This igh is also associa ed wi h he igh o wo ke s
o ha e he company keep an app op ia e eco d o hei wo king hou s.
The igh o disconnec : In Spain, he igh o digi al disconnec ion a ises
om he O ganic Law 3/2018 o 5 Decembe on he p o ec ion o pe sonal
Digi aliza ion and he impac on he labou ela ions 97
da a and he gua an ee o digi al igh s, which in oduced o he i s ime
he igh o digi al disconnec ion in he sphe e o employmen . Mo e e-
cen ly, A icle 18 o he Law 10/2021 o 9 July on emo e wo k emphasizes
special ele ance o he igh in he case o dis ance wo ke s. Speci ically,
he i s pa ag aph o A icle 88 o he O ganic Law 3/2018 indica es ha
wo ke s ha e he igh o digi al disconnec ion in o de o gua an ee, ou side
he legally o con en ionally es ablished wo king ime, espec o hei es
ime, lea e and holidays, as well as hei pe sonal and amily p i acy ( his is
also con i med by A icle 18 o he Law 10/2021 o 9 July on emo e wo k).
The legisla u e in ends o con ol misuse o elec onic media ou side wo king
hou s, and p o ides, in he second poin o he a o emen ioned A icle 88 o
he O ganic Law 3/2018, ha he modali ies o exe cising his igh will ake
in o accoun he na u e and pu pose o he labou ela ionship, p omo ing
he igh o wo k-li e balance, e e ing o collec i e ba gaining o , whe e
app op ia e, o he indi idual con ac , he powe o egula e he scope and
condi ions o exe cising his igh o disconnec ion. The hi d poin o he
a icle, and his is ele an , includes he obliga ion o he company o de elop
an in e nal policy (a e consul ing employee ep esen a i es, i hey exis in
he company in ques ion, including hose who hold managemen posi ions)
which egula es he modali ies o exe cising he igh o disconnec ion and
aining in he use o echnological means, p e en ing he isk o “compu e
a igue”, wi h a special e e ence o hose cases in which wo k is ca ied ou
emo ely.
This business obliga ion is s ic , and i s b each will be sanc ioned. Any
company ha p o ides a mobile de ice, o ha simply demands in one way
o ano he a ailabili y by email o elephone om i s employees, will ha e o
ca y ou his con ol policy. The employe ’s du y is o
… ensu e ha he disconnec ion is limi ed o he use o echnological
means o business communica ion and wo k du ing es pe iods, as
well as o espec he maximum du a ion o he wo king day and any
limi s and p ecau ions ega ding he wo king day ha a e p o ided o
in he applicable legal o con en ional egula ions.
(A icle 18 o he Law 10/2021 o 9 July on emo e wo k)
In any case, he e mus be a wo king schedule es ablished by he pa ies, so
ha , ou side his schedule, he wo ke has he igh o in e up communi-
ca ion wi h he company and co-wo ke s, ega dless o he o m o emo e
wo king ha has been ag eed. Thus, he igh o he emo e wo ke o dis-
connec implies a du y o he employe o limi his o he abili y o send
communica ions o wo ke s du ing es pe iods. Howe e , his igh is no
absolu e and he e is oom o ex ao dina y “ e-connec ion”. Thus, he 1s
Addi ional P o ision o he Law 10/2021 o 9 July on emo e wo k s a es in
i s 2nd sec ion ha “Collec i e ag eemen s o a angemen s may egula e (…)
possible ex ao dina y ci cums ances modi ying he igh o disconnec ion”.

98 Alejand o Díaz Mo eno e al.
No es
1 “This wo k is he esul o a P ojec ca ied wi h he i le “The impac o digi ali-
za ion o he economy on he skills and p o essional quali ica ions and labou e-
la ions” (Call o P oposals: Imp o ing expe ise in he ield o indus ial ela ions
(VP/2018/004), Sub-p og amme II, wi hin he budge heading 04.03.01.08). The
P ojec has been inanced by he Eu opean Commission DG Employmen , Social,
A ai s & Inclusion.
2 Acco ding o he Eu opean Commission, a digi al pla o m is he p o ide o he
unde lying se ice, ha is, wi h ac i e and di ec in e en ion in he o ganiza ion
and p o ision o he se ice, and no a simple echnology company, when i is he
one ha : (1) de e mines he inal p ice wha he cus ome mus pay; (2) se s
he condi ions and e ms ha de e mine he con ac ual ela ionship be ween
he p o ide and he clien ; and (3) possesses he key asse s o esou ces o he
p o ision o he se ice. This has been exp essly con i med by he CJUE in ela-
ion o he Ube pla o m in i s judgmen s o Decembe 20, 2017 (Cou o Jus ice
o he Eu opean Union, 2017, p. 217) (Eli e Taxi case agains Ube ) and Ap il 10,
2018 (Cou o Jus ice o he Eu opean Union, 2018, p.70) (Ube case agains
Nabil Bensalem), cha ac e izing i as a anspo company and no as a simple
in e media y, since he company exe s a decisi e in luence on he condi ions o
he se ices p o ided by i s d i e s. Howe e , he ac ha he pla o m is consid-
e ed he company p o iding he unde lying se ice does no au oma ically con e
hose who pe sonally ca y ou he ac i i y in o employed wo ke s.
Re e ences
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6.1 In oduc ion
Socie ies and economies a e no digi ally neu al. Technological p og ess is a
dis up i e p ocess ha al e s social and economic s uc u es, s imula ing he
eme gence o a new s a us quo. Technology and echnological change do no
jus b ing change o in en ions o he economy and socie y; hey en ich and
shape socio-economic sys ems, aising hei esponsi eness and adap abili y
o u he echnological de elopmen . This demons a es he in e ela edness
o socie y, economy and echnology, d i ing home he poin ha none o
hese elemen s exis s in isola ion.
Digi al echnologies a e claimed Gene al Pu pose Technologies; hence,
hey gene a e pa h-b eaking inno a ions and a e ecognized as undamen-
al ac o s in long- un echnological p og ess and deep-going s uc u al and
quali a i e shi s in economies and socie ies (Sahal, 1981; B esnahan, 2010;
Coccia, 2017). As a gued by Rosenbe g and T aj enbe g (2004), digi al ech-
nologies a e ‘epochal inno a ions’ as hey demons a e he capaci y o adi-
cally eshape he con ou s o he wo ld economies, ways o doing business,
and en o ce he eme gence o new indus ies, se ices e alia.
Digi al echnologies (ICT) a e widely acknowledged as he c i ical d i e s
o knowledge and in o ma ion acqui ing, labou and capi al p oduc i i y,
social, poli ical and economic empowe men (G aham, 2019). Digi al ech-
nologies, due o s ong ne wo k e ec s (Ka z & Shapi o, 1985) ha hey
gene a e, enable he eme gence o a ious ne wo ks eshaping he way busi-
nesses a e un, as well as ading and consump ion pa e ns, economic and
social beha iou s, social no ms and a i udes (G aham & Du on, 2019).
The ne wo k economy eme ges in he economy ha is d i en by digi al ech-
nologies. Hence o h, acing and unde s anding o ela ionships exis ing be-
ween socie y-wide adop ion and usage o digi al echnologies and economic
de elopmen dese e special a en ion. No only because his deepens ou
knowledge on how economies wo k bu also om a pe spec i e o s a e pol-
icy ha shapes he ins i u ional and economic en i onmen and is o seminal
impo ance in his case (Gilbe , 2020).
Mo eo e , digi al echnologies (in o ma ion and communica ion ech-
nologies, ICT) g ea ly a ec socio-economic ans o ma ion ( an Deu sen
6 Digi aliza ion and digi al skills
de elopmen pa e ns. E idence
o Eu opean coun ies
Helena Anacka and Ewa Lechman
This chap e has been made a ailable unde a CC-BY-NC-ND license
108 Helena Anacka and Ewa Lechman
whe e k(u) s ands o he ke nel unc ion sa is ying he condi ion o
1kudu
∫
)
(
=
−∞
∞
. In ou s udy, we adop an Epanechniko ke nel:
3
411
2
uu
)
(
)
(
−<
(6.9)
Finally, o de e mine c oss-coun y inequali ies and di ides, we use he Gini
coe icien (Do man, 1979; Milano ic, 1997) ha ep esen s he inequali y
o , e.g., income dis ibu ion o any o he a iable. Fo a gi en popula ion
a ibu ed o alues yi, I = 1, …, n, i
1
yy
i i
)
(
≤+
, he gene al o mula o Gini
coe icien is as ollows:
∑
∑
()
+−
+−














=
=
nn
niy
y
i
i
n
i
i
n
112
1
1
1
(6.10)
The alues o Gini coe icien ange om 0 o 1, whe e 0 e lec s pe ec
equali y and 1 – pe ec inequali y.
6.4 Digi al echnologies and digi al skills de elopmen ajec o ies
and inequali ies
The empi ical e idence summa ized below was collec ed o d aw a gene al
pic u e o he de elopmen o digi al echnologies ac oss 28 Eu opean econo-
mies be ween 1980 and 2021. The pic u e elling abou he ICT di usion
ajec o ies complemen s a b ie analysis o digi al gaps e olu ion, and digi al
skills s a e o de elopmen .
Figu e 6.1 shows coun y-wise ICT di usion pa e ns, o h ee mac o-ICT
indica o s: mobile cellula elephony subsc ibe s, ac i e mobile- b oadband
subsc ibe s and IU. These selec ed indica o s pe ec ly show changes in ac-
cess o and use o digi al echnologies in Eu ope, since he e y ini ial yea s
ha ce ain echnological solu ions ha e s a ed being abso bed by socie ies.
The isualiza ion o digi al echnologies di usion pa e ns is hen en iched
by he logis ic g ow h es ima es – see Table 6.1 ha shows speci ic ea u es
o he ICT di usion p ocess, including he mos signi ican in insic g ow h
a e.4 Nex , Figu es 6.2 and 6.3 demons a e changes ega ding digi al gap
and digi al skills de elopmen , espec i ely.
Conside ing join ly he coun y-wise g aphs summa ized in Figu e 6.1
and logis ic g ow h es ima es in Table 6.1, se e al in e es ing conclusions
can be d awn. Appa en ly, om he 1980 and he i s in oduc ion o mo-
bile elephony o he gene al public, he assimila ion o his digi al means
o communica ion s a ed o sp ead as ac oss coun ies in Eu ope. A b ie
analysis o he coun y-wise di usion pa e n wi h ega d o MCS shows

Digi aliza ion and digi al skills de elopmen pa e ns 109
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Aus ia
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Belgium
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
C oa ia
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Cyp us
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Czech Rep.
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Denma k
050 100150200
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Es onia
050 100150200
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Finland
050 100
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
F ance
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Ge many
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Hunga y
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Iceland
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
I eland
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
I aly
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
La ia
050 100150200
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Li huania
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Mal a
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Ne he lands
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
No way
050 100150200
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Poland
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 20102020
Po ugal
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Romania
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Slo akia
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 20102020
Slo enia
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Spain
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Sweden
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 20102020
Swi ze land
050 100150
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Uni ed Kingdom
Figu e 6.1 ICT di usion ajec o ies. Mobile cellula elephony, ac i e mobile sub-
sc ibe s and IU. 1980–2021.
110 Helena Anacka and Ewa Lechman
Table 6.1 ICT de elopmen pa e n es ima es. Mobile cellula elephony and IU. Eu opean coun ies. 1980–2021
Mobile cellula elephony In e ne use s
Coun y Uppe
ceiling (κ)
In insic
g ow h a e (α)
Midpoin (β) Roo MSE Uppe
ceiling (κ)
In insic
g ow h a e (α)
Midpoin (β) Roo MSE
Aus ia 137.5 0.41 2,000.8 10.9 86.4 0.31 2,002.6 3.25
Belgium 105.8 0.57 2,000.3 4.99 87.9 0.31 2,003.2 4.46
C oa ia 108.9 0.54 2,002.6 4.54 77.9 0.28 2,006.6 2.91
Cyp us 134.9 0.45 2,002.5 3.98 98.1 0.19 2,008.9 3.63
Czech Republic 124.7 0.71 2,001 3.56 79.9 0.35 2,004.9 2.48
Denma k 125.7 0.35 2,000.3 2.62 94.3 0.48 2,000.7 3.47
Es onia 144.5 0.41 2,002.6 4.65 87.01 0.32 2,002.9 3.54
Finland 140.3 0.31 2,000.3 10.5 89.3 0.38 2,000.4 2.66
F ance 103.5 0.38 2,001.1 5.01 83.7 0.36 2,004.2 3.08
Ge many 124.1 0.43 2,001.3 6.03 85.6 0.44 2,001.8 2.67
Hunga y 110.6 0.62 2,001.5 5.29 79.9 0.37 2,005.4 2.81
Iceland 111.4 0.49 1,998.9 4.34 97.5 0.41 1,999.8 3.77
I eland 106.6 0.61 1,999.6 3.4 87.1 0.31 2,004.8 2.35
I aly 147.1 0.45 2,000.5 8.12 69.7 0.23 2,005.1 4.51
La ia 118.9 0.52 2,003.4 5.3 82.3 0.39 2,004.8 4.12
Li huania 147.1 0.82 2,003.1 7.78 79.5 0.33 2,005.8 3.62
Mal a 123.4 0.35 2,003.1 6.98 86.3 0.25 2,006.1 3.29
Ne he lands 120.5 0.45 2,000.6 5.27 92.2 0.41 2,000.6 2.39
No way 111.3 0.38 1,998.7 2.22 95.2 0.44 1,999.8 3.1
Poland 135.6 0.47 2,004.3 4.77 77.1 0.31 2,005.6 3.87
Po ugal 116.5 0.57 1,999.9 4.45 81.6 0.22 2,006.9 2.61
Romania 117.7 0.62 2,004.5 3.78 89 0.21 2,011.6 3.22
Slo akia 125.5 0.39 2,003.2 6.01 81 0.42 2,003.4 5
Slo enia 109.2 0.61 2,000.4 6.97 81.5 0.28 2,004.3 3.59
Spain 111.4 0.55 2,000.3 3.93 87.5 0.28 2,005.3 4.87
Sweden 123.7 0.32 1,999.6 3.03 91.7 0.47 1,999.7 3.19
Swi ze land 130.8 0.34 2,001.4 5.56 88.2 0.39 2,000.4 4.17
Uni ed Kingdom 120.9 0.49 2,000.1 3.5 90.1 0.41 2,001.8 3.99
Sou ce: Au ho s’ es ima es.
No e: Logis ic g ow h model applied; nonlinea leas squa e es ima o adop ed; aw da a used.
Digi aliza ion and digi al skills de elopmen pa e ns 111
ha his p ocess ollows a ai ly simila ajec o y in each coun y. Ini ially,
he p ocess o assimila ion is slow since his pa h-b eaking in en ion is no
eally b oadly ecognized. Howe e , s ong ne wo k e ec s eme ge hen and
he numbe o use s g ows exponen ially, ine i ably leading o he s abiliza-
ion phase du ing which socie ies a e ully sa u a ed wi h his ype o ech-
nological solu ion. Wha also a ac s a en ion a e ex emely high in insic
g ow h a es (see Table 6.1) es ima ed o he p ocess o di usion o mobile
elephony.
Acco ding o logis ic g ow h model es ima es, he in insic g ow h a e –
in ou sample – anges om 0.31 in Finland o 0.82 in Li huania, which sug-
ges s a e age 31% and 82% annual a es o inc ease in he numbe o mobile
elephony subsc ibe s in espec i e coun ies. In e es ingly, Finland, along
wi h Sweden and No way, belongs o he g oup o co e inno a o s whe e
he mobile echnologies we e i s in en ed and implemen ed among socie y
membe s. The speci ic ea u e o hese co e inno a ing coun ies is ha he
p ocess o assimila ion o echnological inno a ions is ela i ely slow he e,
compa ed o o he economies ha simply imi a e and in oduce eady-made
echnological solu ions. I we look a ou sample o coun ies, we see ha
app oxima ely wice as high in insic g ow h a es (compa ed o Finland) a e
epo ed o , e.g., Czech Republic (0.71), Hunga y (0.62), Po ugal (0.57) o
Romania (0.62). Ano he in e es ing ea u e o he MCS di usion p ocess
no ed among ou 28 coun ies is he ela i ely sho ime span o achie ing
he midpoin along he di usion ajec o y.
The midpoin (β) shows he speci ic pe iod (he e – he yea ) du ing which
sa u a ion eaches 50% in a ce ain en i onmen . In Table 6.1, we see sum-
ma ized es ima ed β-pa ame e s o each coun y in a ime span om he
yea 1998 in No way and Iceland o 2004 in Poland and Romania. These
esul s show high homogenei y o MCS di usion pa hs in Eu opean econ-
omies, as he assimila ion o mobile elephony p oceeds qui e analogously
and simul aneously ac oss coun ies. In he case o mobile elephony, he
p ocess o apid di usion and hence g owing numbe o i s use s ga e bi h
o ano he in e es ing p ocess – echnological subs i u ion, which in his in-
s ance led o g adually diminishing ole o ixed-line elephony in as uc u e
in socie al communica ions. Mobile elephony as gained a massi e pa o
he elecommunica ion ma ke , and oday he ole o adi ional ( ixed-line)
elephony is absolu ely ma ginal.
Qui e simila concluding ema ks can be made, i we conside he di u-
sion o ac i e mobile-b oadband ne wo ks and – consequen ly – changes in
he pe cen age o socie y using in e ne applica ions and se ices. Fo he
AMS a iable, da a is no a ailable un il 2007 as his is he ini ial yea du -
ing which ha ype o echnological solu ions began o be widely accessible.
Hence, he ime se ies a e ela i ely sho in his case, bu wha can be seen
in coun y-wise cha s (see Figu e 6.1) is ha he inc ease in i s usage is
ex emely as in Eu ope. In only 12 yea s, in almos all 28 Eu opean coun-
ies, he sa u a ion a es exceeded 100%, meaning ha almos all socie y
112 Helena Anacka and Ewa Lechman
membe s ha e access o his ype o digi al solu ion. The apid di usion and
as -g owing access o mobile-b oadband esul ed in uni e sal access o in-
e ne applica ions. As o he IU indica o , ou da a co e s he pe iod be-
ginning in 1990; we need o no e ha du ing ea ly yea s, access o in e ne
se ices was acili a ed mos ly by he ixed-line – no mobile – in as uc u e.
Ini ially, socie ies could access in e ne se ices using ixed-line na owband
ne wo ks ha we e hen g adually subs i u ed by ixed-line b oadband, and
oday – a huge p opo ion o connec ion is acili a ed by mobile ne wo ks
(al hough hei h oughpu is s ill lowe han ha o ixed-line b oadband).
Logis ic g ow h es ima es o IU (see Table 6.1) – analogously o wha we
ha e concluded o MCS – suppo he hypo hesis on as inc easing numbe
o IU in Eu ope. Es ima ed – o he pe iod 1990–2021 – in insic g ow h
a es (α) show how as he numbe o IU was g owing annually. S a ing
om 19% pe annum in Cyp us, o 47% pe annum in Sweden and 48%
in Denma k. As o he es ima ed coun y-speci ic midpoin s (β), hey co e
he pe iod om he yea 1999 in Iceland, No way and Sweden, o 2008 in
Cyp us and e en 2011 in Romania. He e, in he case o IU indica o , we see
ela i ely g ea e di e ences in achie ing midpoin s, which migh be a di ec
consequence o poo de elopmen o ha dwa e in as uc u e in some coun-
ies ha was he necessa y condi ion o in e ne access du ing ea ly yea s
o i s implemen a ion.
0.2 .4 .6 .8 1
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Gini_MCS Gini_IU
Figu e 6.2 Changes in ICT- ela ed inequali ies. Gini indices alues. Mobile cellula
elephony and IU. 1980–2021.
Digi aliza ion and digi al skills de elopmen pa e ns 113
Such as and unequi ocal di usion o digi al echnologies ine i ably leads
o g adual e adica ion o digi al gaps and inequali ies. Figu e 6.2 illus a es
changes in c oss-coun y inequali ies ega ding mobile elephony adop ion
and IU. The e idence clea ly demons a es how massi e d ops – bo h in
e ms o MCS and IU – in c oss-coun y inequali ies ook place be ween
1980 and 2021. In he case o MCS, he 1980 Gini coe icien was 0.96 which
sugges ed ‘pe ec ’ inequali y among examined economies. Howe e , his ex-
eme inequali y was apidly and s eadily d opping o e subsequen yea s,
eaching 0.51 in 1996, hen 0.11 in 2003, and om 2004, he Gini coe icien
was below 0.1, o d op o 0.049 in 2021. Analogous ends in c oss-coun y
inequali ies a e obse able o he IU a iable. Du ing he pe iod 1990–2021,
he gaps in his ega d g ea ly diminished. In 1990, he Gini coe icien was
0.785, indica ing massi e inequali ies among Eu opean economies; howe e ,
in 2021, i d opped o 0.035 indica ing ha dly any inequali ies in his espec .
Ex ensi e di usion and socie y-wide assimila ion o digi al solu ions
esul – a e all – in he eme gence o digi al skills. Those skills, as s a ed
abo e, cons i u e unique a ibu es o indi iduals ha make hem able – o
no – o e ec i ely use ICT ools and so wa e, bo h o p o essional and o
pe sonal pu poses. S ill, digi al skills de elopmen is no au oma ically asso-
cia ed wi h he echnological dis ibu ion, which is isible in he da a ela ed
o basic and abo e basic in o ma ion and da a li e acy skills, o e all digi al
skills and online in o ma ion and communica ion skills (see Figu es 6.3 and
1A). Fo example, online communica ion skills mos equen ly all wi hin he
ange om 0 o 5 on he 0–10 scale (Figu e 6.3), sugges ing ha he o e all
le el o communica ion e-skills s ill c awls in Eu ope and hose compe encies
a e o be u he de eloped in he coming yea s. On he o he hand, esul s
o he in o ma ional da a li e acy skills ange be ween 75% and 99% in he
absolu e majo i y o Eu opean coun ies. Simila ly, o e all digi al skills ange
om 50% o 80% in almos all Eu opean economies in 2021. This leads o a
conclusion ha a majo i y o he Eu opean coun ies ha e imp o ed s a is ics
ela ed o he basic digi al skills and inc eased hei o e all compe i i eness
while g adually ca ching up wi h he leading economies.
To summa ize, he dis ibu ion o digi al skills ac oss Eu opean economies
(Figu e 1A o he Appendix pa ) demons a es signi ican dispa i ies when i
comes o indi idual e-skills le els. These esul s b ing e idence o he s ong
a ia ion in di e en digi al compe encies, and a he mixed ou comes ega d-
ing he dis ibu ion o ad anced digi al skills ac oss Eu ope. Addi ional e i-
dence comes om Figu e 6.3 esul s anking Eu opean coun ies in o de o
compu e skills, whe e mean alues and whiske s demons a e signi ican un-
aways and dispa i ies in maximum and minimum dis ibu ion ac oss Eu opean
coun ies. Acco ding o he analysed da a, Romania, Bulga ia and G eece a e
lagging behind when i comes o o e all digi al skills, while Denma k, he Ne h-
e lands and Luxembou g a e he leade s o he s udied sample. These esul s
con i m p e ious s udies o Bejako ić and M nja ac (2020) o Bon adini e al.
(2022) on di e se dis ibu ion o digi al skills ac oss Eu opean economies.

114 Helena Anacka and Ewa Lechman
6.5 Final ema ks
This esea ch has iden i ied co e digi al ajec o ies in he Eu opean econo-
mies ela ed o he digi al de elopmen pa e ns. In he examined sample,
digi al echnologies pene a ion and usage signi ican ly expanded, leading o
Eu opean ma ke sa u a ion o e he es ed pe iod o 1980–2021. The di -
usion a e o mobile cellula elephony and IU numbe s demons a e high
in insic g ow h a es eaching he midpoin a ound 2002. Due o s ong
ne wo k e ec s, Eu opean economies managed o each echnological sa u a-
ion and an imp essi e dec ease in echnological pene a ion disp opo ions,
ge ing o a symbolic 0.05 inequali y a e in 2021.
While less echnologically de eloped Eu opean coun ies ca ch up wi h
Eu ope’s digi al leade s by achie ing an imp essi e g ow h a e, di e ences
a e s ill e iden when i comes o he online communica ion and ad anced
digi al skills. The e o e, digi al skills de elopmen pa e ns a e a he di e se,
and hey do no au oma ically a ise om he echnological pene a ion i -
sel . In o de o add ess hose inequali ies, Eu opean coun ies need u he
in es men , e.g., in esea ch and de elopmen , educa ion, as well as policies
on con inuous upskilling and e-skilling (Jaganna han e al., 2019). Rela i e
ad an age in e ms o echnological inno a ions and digi al lead is only pos-
sible when all h ee le els o he digi al di ide a e app op ia ely add essed.
11
3
111
44
3
1111
2
1
2
0 1 23 4
F equency
60 70 80 90 100
In o m_da Li e acySkills
5
2
1
33
1
22
1
22
11 1
0 1 2 3 4 5
F equency
0 2 4 6 8 10
OnlineCommunSkills
111
5
2
1
2
11
22
3
1 1 1 1
2
012345
F equency
30 40 50 60 70 80
O e allDigi alSkills
Figu e 6.3 Indi iduals wi h basic o abo e basic in o ma ion and da a li e acy skills;
indi iduals wi h online in o ma ion and communica ion skills, and indi-
iduals wi h basic o abo e basic o e all digi al skills. Yea 2021.
Digi aliza ion and digi al skills de elopmen pa e ns 115
To conclude, we iden i ied digi al skills de elopmen pa e ns and exam-
ined digi al skills inequali ies ac oss Eu opean economies. The esul s no
only con i m a signi ican and posi i e impac o digi al skills on labou
p oduc i i y bu also expose dispa i ies in digi al skills among Eu opean
economies, e ealing echnological leade s, mode a ely ad anced adop e s
o echnology and lagge s in e ms o digi al pe o mance and use. The nex
s ep is o u he in es iga e hose dispa i ies and hei impac on labou p o-
duc i i y and g ow h ac oss he examined coun ies.
No es
1 GPTs – Gene al Pu pose Technologies.
2 [ISOC_SK_DSKL_I21__cus om_6251082].
3 Base o na u al loga i hms.
4 The logis ic g ow h es ima es we e made exclusi ely o he MCS and IU a ia-
bles. The AMS a iable demons a es ex emely apid g ow hs o e sho pe iods
o ime, which leads o signi ican o e es ima es o he model pa ame e s.
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124 Amalia Ve du Sanma in and Johanna Niemi
AR does no eplace he wo ld en i ely; i supplemen s compu e -gene a ed
pe cep ual i ems o in o ma ion and in e ac s wi h hem. AR equi es he use
o special glasses like VR, and i can be combined wi h VR o c ea e mixed
eali y (MR). The di e ence be ween his and o he digi al in e connec ions
lies in he emo ions expe ienced by he use (Dieck e al., 2021).
7.3 VR as a ool o Sma Educa ion: he ela ionship be ween
educa ion and he digi al
Now, he digi al ealm has become an ac i e con en c ea o and is causing
educa ional me hods o mo e om he i s imid s eps in o online educa-
ion wi h ools, such as Moodle, o in e ac i e digi al ools and gaming. The
eme gence o sma educa ion compels us o e hink ou app oaches o lea n-
ing and knowledge c ea ion, as i engages uni e si ies and esea ch ins i u es
in new pa adigms o eaching and lea ning by in e wining eaching/lea ning
wi h digi al echnologies.
New concep s pop up in ela ion o sma educa ion, such as sma peda-
gogy, sma en i onmen , and sma lea ning (Meng e al., 2020). Zhu, Sun
and Riezebos (2016) sugges ha sma educa ion is a shi om adi ional
eache -cen ed pedagogies owa ds mo e lea ne -cen ed me hods, making
use o adap i e and in e ac i e echnologies. Coccoli e al (2014). say ha i
is “educa ion in a sma en i onmen suppo ed by sma echnologies, mak-
ing use o sma ools and sma de ices” (2014, p. 1008). Addi ionally, Lee
e al. (2014) unde line he po en ial applica ions o in elligen echnologies
aimed o suppo online collabo a i e ac i i ies and c ea e an ac i e lea ning
en i onmen in which eme ging echnology ools p omo e knowledge sha -
ing be ween lea ne s.
Resea ch has shown ha he ela ionship be ween de ices and echnology
equi es he de elopmen o sma pedagogies, ha c ea e a sma lea ning
en i onmen o sma lea ne s (Zhu e al., 2016), and educa ion adap i e
o s uden s’ needs (Bajaj & Sha ma, 2018). Sma educa ion appea s as a
no el app oach in which digi al in e wines wi h educa ion and knowledge.
The esea ch shows ha sma educa ion in combina ion wi h sma pedago-
gies imp o es high-o de hinking skills (Julius e al., 2018). Howe e , his
in eg a ion o echnology and lea ning is no su icien ly implemen ed in legal
educa ion (Rabadi & Salem, 2018).
Sma educa ion is now inco po a ing VR, as shown by he EDUCAUSE
Ho izon Repo (2020), wi h e y posi i e esul s. Ka anagh e al. (2017)
conduc ed a sys ema ic e iew ha e ealed ou main applica ions o VR
when used in he educa ional se ing: simula ion, aining, accessing limi ed
esou ces, and dis ance lea ning. By u ilizing imme si e VR, s uden s a e able
o in e ac mo e e ec i ely wi h knowledge, and hose li ing in emo e loca-
ions wi h limi ed access o educa ion can also bene i om i s use. Howe e ,
he ela ionship be ween echnology and educa ion equi es speci ic ame-
wo ks due o po en ial e hical conce ns (Zhu e al., 2016; Meng e al., 2020;

Vi ual eali y in legal educa ion 125
Fische e al., 2021). Cai e al. (2021) p opose a blended app oach which
would main ain sel -e icacy and indi iduali y while add essing pedagogical
aims o high-o de skills and deep lea ning alongside communi y knowledge
building and ans o ma ion in sma educa ion con ex s (Cai e al., 2021).
7.4 Technology, law, and educa ion: om a linea one- o-one
connec ion o becoming oge he
7.4.1 One- o-one ela ionships
In he las 20 yea s, digi al echnologies ha e apidly p og essed and spu ed
a li ely in e disciplina y deba e. Richa d Susskind (1996) p edic ed ha law-
ye s would communica e ia email which, hough e olu iona y a he ime,
has since become commonplace. On op o all hese changes, he p oduc-
ion o knowledge and he acquisi ion o in o ma ion a e lea ing adi ional
si es; he In e ne and digi al echnologies a e enabling sel -lea ning and new
knowledge.
The ela ion be ween law and echnology is shaped by a one- o-one bi-
na y discou se abou he cons aining and os e ing ole o each o he in his
mu ual ela ion. The esul is usually he p oduc ion o no ms, p inciples,
s anda ds, and new legisla ion, igno ing he na u e o knowledge echnol-
ogy. The legal esponse o echnologies was i s ocusing on he p oblems
o p i acy and da a, such as he implica ions o Big Da a and AI o p i acy,
an i-disc imina ion, due p ocessing, and he ule o law, and esul ed in he
adop ion o “digi al” egula ion which emphasizes p ocesses o w i ing ha
esemble d a ing a legal ex (Lezaun, 2012, p. 38). The la es g owing use
o AI shi s he ocus owa ds i s e hical implica ions and he ques ion how i
may al e he p ac ice o law.
In he legal ealm, digi al ools ha e a poo image and a e blamed due o
hei nega i e e ec s. Howe e , he e ec s o using digi al ools may me ely
be e lec ions o he exis ing disc imina o y and biased p ac ices in socie y.
Since echnology deals wi h eal da a, he ou come is me ely a e lec ion o
he socie y we li e in and only esul s in exposing he no ma i e laws ha
sus ain disc imina o y and biased legal p ac ices (Whi ake , 2019). The e hi-
cal implica ions o digi al echnologies led o he eme gence o endy AI
e hics which is a ebi h o he conce ns and c i iques al eady exp essed by
eminis , gende , c i ical, ace, colonial, and decolonial heo ies, among many
o he s, o e he las decades. Bu s ill, he solu ion o e ed a he EU le el is
mo e new legisla ion (Eu opean Commission, 2022).
Richa d and Daniel Susskind (2022) explo ed he one- o-one ela ion
be ween he legal sec o and echnologies, o ecas ing an inc ease in he
demand o digi al dispu e esolu ion, eplacing adi ional cou s wi h on-
line esolu ion sys ems. LegalTech ools a e cu en ly being implemen ed o
sc u inize cou e dic s,3 and o e iew case ma e ial (e.g. Wes law Edge).
Fea s a e oiced ha algo i hms and machines will eplace he wo k o legal
126 Amalia Ve du Sanma in and Johanna Niemi
p o essionals such as lawye s, ju ies, and judges; howe e , a gene al change
and ans o ma ion o legal jobs and se ices e eals in e es ing p ospec s o
indi iduals wo king in he legal sec o a he han a decline in jobs. The e-
o e, law acul ies mus begin a cu icula ans o ma ion o p epa e law
s uden s o h i e in 21s -cen u y socie y. Wi h he millennial gene a ion o
digi al na i e s uden s engaging in new ways o lea ning (Manuel, 2002),
di e en skills a e equi ed han hose p io o digi aliza ion. Consequen ly,
legal p o essionals mus lea n new ools and skills in o de o adap o e ol -
ing legal p oblems and gain he knowledge needed o success.
In 1936, F ed Rodell said “The e a e wo hings w ong wi h legal w i ing.
One is s yle; he o he is con en ” (Rodell, 1936), asse ing ha he adi-
ional s yle and con en o legal w i ing we e no in sync wi h socie y and
p o essional needs. Despi e hese issues, legal educa ion con inued o ely
upon he w i en ex as indubi able u h and ocus on he legal s yle. Wi h
he eme gence o online educa ion o e ing online cou ses, in ensi ied by he
Co id-19 pandemic, echnology has been in oduced in o law acul ies in he
o m o Mass Online Cou ses, Moodle cou ses, and eaching wi h Zoom,
Teams, Skype, e c., ye his has no necessa ily esul ed in pedagogical in-
no a ion. Alimisis s a es in his commen s on obo ics educa ion ha cu en
uses o echnology a e simply ein o cing old ways o eaching and lea ning.
She c i ically a gues, “mos uses o echnologies in schools oday do no sup-
po 21s -cen u y lea ning skills” (2013, p. 66). In e ac i e eaching me hods
such as lipped class ooms and simula ions ha e been le o s agna e. Amids
his digi al knowledge e a, much emains unchanged wi hin law acul ies,
p edominan ly due o an ongoing eliance on “legal w i ing s yle”.
Legal educa ion in he Eu opean con ex has been cha ac e ized as banking
educa ion, acco ding o Paulo F ei e (1974). Deleuze (1994) u he explains
ha his banking educa ion ails o p omo e c i ical and c ea i e hinking
and ein o ces dogma ic hinking. Banking educa ion elies on he belie ha
hinking means ep esen a ional epea ing, ein o cing, and ei ying dog-
ma ic hough . Howe e , as Gando e and Ayub (2021) a gue, “Though
is ela ional, non- ep esen a ional, and collabo a i e” (2021, p. 2). The e is
u gency o in eg a ing he e hics o hough in he co-c ea ion and ansmis-
sion o knowledge o achie e “bo h sense-making and sensing in he making”
(Gando e & Ayub, 2021, p. 1). Highe educa ion has a poli ical dimension
(Ba ie e al., 2019), and Diana Lau illa d desc ibed eaching in highe edu-
ca ion as undamen ally being “a he o ical ac i i y, pe suading s uden s o
change he way hey expe ience he wo ld h ough an unde s anding o he
insigh s o o he s” (Lau illa d, 2013, p. 23).
The p oblem o he he o ical eaching/lea ning me hod in law, as e ealed
by pedagogical app oaches, is he di icul y in achie ing deep lea ning, which
p e en s he acquisi ion o highe o de skills such as c i ically examining
ex s o making connec ions wi h o he ideas and knowledge ( an Dongen
& Ki schne , 2020; Wang e al., 2022). A powe ela ionship be ween aca-
demic, expe ien ial, and e e yday knowledge unde lies banking educa ion.
Vi ual eali y in legal educa ion 127
W i en ex s and no ms “impose” his hie a chy, cu bing hough ul enqui y
and sup essing he impo ance o expe ience-based insigh and ela ions in
p oducing knowledge. Al ed Whi ehead ecognized his hie a chical me hod
o legal hough when he said: “In all sys ema ic hough , he e is a inge o
pedan y. The e is a pu ing aside o no ions, o expe iences, and o sugges-
ions, wi h he p im excuse ha o cou se we a e no hinking o such hings”
(1938, p. 2). Wi h no in e ac ion be ween such modes o hough like sensing
o eeling (Manning, 2009), a dogma ic image emains ixed. The dogma ic
image o hough should be eplaced in o de o ecognize he iolence im-
plici in ep esen a ional hinking. Legal sys ems a e p esen ed as independen
om social, cul u al, poli ical, economic, and especially digi al sys ems. Ad-
di ionally, law is adi ionally iewed as an es ablished and au ho i a i e sym-
bolic ep esen a ion o u h. S uden s du ing legal s udies lea n o e e o he
wo ld using his legal ep esen a ion which leads o he ei ica ion o symbols.
S uden s a e s ill la gely expe iencing legal educa ion as “lea ning by
hea ”, despi e he implemen a ion o se e al p ojec s aimed o in oduce
new me hods such as lipped class ooms, game-based lea ning (GBL), and
p oblem-based lea ning (PBL) (Knigh & Wood, 2005; Kap alos e al.,
2015). These me hods ha e p oduced posi i e esul s in in eg a ing expe-
ien ial knowledge and s imula ing ac i e s uden in ol emen , ye hey a e
usually es ic ed wi hin adi ional en i onmen s no encou aging o ans-
g ess he disciplina y bounda ies o hough . The e o e, alongside lec u es,
he mode n Soc a ic me hod is s ill a p e e ed eaching s yle in legal educa-
ion. This me hod enables a dialogue among he s uden s, ad ancing c i i-
cal and c ea i e hinking aimed o disco e solu ions o he wo ld’s legal
p oblems. Howe e , he e is he isk o ei ying legal symbols and no ms,
since dialogues a e o en limi ed o he de ini ion o concep s om a posi i -
is pe spec i e. In his way, s uden s become amilia wi h p ede e mined
cou -made in e p e a ions and a e no encou aged o sea ch o c ea i e
al e na i e solu ions. Hence, he applica ion o knowledge becomes a na -
ow exe cise o disce ning a p e-se led ma e . The mode n Soc a ic me hod
as used in cu en legal educa ion ends up in a igh and no ma i e econ-
s uc ion o he no ma i e u h and, hus, eaching s uden s o hink like a
lawye , which en ails lea ning how he wo ld is and should be expe ienced.
The mode n Soc a ic me hod is in used wi h he e y same pedan ic u h
ea lie exposed by Whi ehead (1938), p omo ing no ma i e ep esen a ional
hough .
Recognizing he ela ionship be ween educa ion, echnology, and socie y,
as well as unde s anding hei ela ional a he han ep esen a ional na u e,
is c i ical o imp o ing s uden s’ unde s anding o he ole and e ec s o law
(Maha g, 2016). The e is an inne ela ional quali y wi hin he sys em and
in-be ween he sys ems. In es iga ions in o he “Knowledge P ac ices” ha
a e p esen wi hin and be ween hese sys ems can help o achie e his aim by
highligh ing hei co-p oduc ion h ough con ingen en anglemen s (Weide-
maie & Gula i, 2013). Despi e he ela ional na u e o hinking/ac ing, he
128 Amalia Ve du Sanma in and Johanna Niemi
digi al in luence on educa ion is limi ed o a one- o-one ela ion, hus placing
emphasis on he acquisi ion o IT skills and he sou cing and handling o
in o ma ion now eely a ailable in a as amoun online. Th ough inco po-
a ion in o blended eaching cu icula, VR can become a ans o ma i e ech-
nology capable o heigh ening a en ion o non- ep esen a ional knowledge
in ol ing si ua ed lea ning (Maha g, 2001, 2016). Many s udies indica e
he e ec i eness o VR in educa ion ac oss a my iad o disciplines includ-
ing medicine (su ge y aining) (Nassa e al., 2021) and law, in he o m o
legal case managemen simula ions and isualiza ions o legal ac ions (Baksi,
2016). VR has he po en ial o p o iding a new o m o access o knowledge
p e iously disconnec ed om educa ion. I can os e collabo a ion ac oss
disciplines and ep esen complex connec ions, aiding in he connec i e un-
de s anding o laws and he legal p ocess. VR enables s uden s o expe ience
law concep s in a way ha is bo h ealis ic and in e ac i e. This allows hem
o be e unde s and he way he law wo ks and i s con ex . Addi ionally,
obo s can be used o c ea e online u o ials o s uden s – making lea ning
easie han e e be o e.
S uden s’ expe ience o li ing in VR as well as in he physical wo ld ne-
cessi a es a e-e alua ion o he ela ionship be ween ma e iali y, ela ional-
i y, and ep esen a ion in bo h wo lds. Knowledge ac s as he ca alys o
in es iga ing his en anglemen be ween echnology, educa ion, law, and VR
which enables us o go beyond a me e simula ion and explo e he hidden
in e ac ions in luencing knowledge. The g owing ubiqui y o digi al aspec s
in o he pa s o li e b ings up u he ques ions wi h ega d o law, VR, and
humani y.
7.4.2 Becoming oge he
Mobile lea ning and e-lea ning a e he p ecu so s o c ossing he empo al
and spa ial bounda ies in eaching/lea ning (Looi e al., 2009). P e ious e-
sea ch on sma educa ion e ealed ha e ec i e eaching/lea ning s a e-
gies can imp o e hinking skills (Julius e al., 2018). Zhou’s sma educa ion
amewo k (Zhu e al., 2016) includes such i al elemen s as eaching p es-
ence, echnological p esence, and he lea ne ’s p esence. Wi hin his ame-
wo k, a ocus on he cons uc ion o knowledge enables us o unde s and
how knowledge ep oduces, and wha a e he possibili ies o ans o ma ion
(Be y & Fage jo d, 2017). Re hinking his ela ionali y om a new ma e i-
alis pe spec i e exposes he powe ela ions embedded in he bina ies pe -
ading he ansmission o no ma i e knowledge, like: eaching s lea ning,
eache s s uden , na u e s cul u e, physical s non-physical, and human
s non-human. The becoming- oge he app oach highligh s he ole o wha
is sensible bu no ep esen ed o , as Deleuze wo ds i , wha is be ween he
ac ual and he i ual (Deleuze, 1994).
A di ac i e eading (Ba ad, 2014; Bozalek & Zembylas, 2017; Me en,
2021) o pedagogical and c i ical app oaches in educa ion, alongside digi al
Vi ual eali y in legal educa ion 129
echnologies and law, allows us o analyse and unde s and he becoming o-
ge he o all hese dimensions. This ask s ems om ealizing ha , when
hinking as a lawye , ep esen a ional and c i ical hinking alone a e insu -
icien o u u e legal p o essionals in he echnology-media ed 21s cen u y.
The mode n app oach o he ela ionship be ween hese elemen s leads o
he ansmission o legal knowledge wi hin a mode n amewo k wi h some
ouches o he pos mode n, which in a blended wo ld seems inadequa e. The
pos mode n elemen con ac s o i wi hin he bounda ies se by he mode n
amewo k.
Mode n bounda ies a e challenged by he non-human elemen s and hei
en anglemen wi h human subjec s. Howe e , he mode n amewo k ejec s
hese en anglemen s and ep oduces i sel h ough ex -based academic and
legal knowledge and h ough he ixi y cha ac e is ic o he w i en ex . This
ixi y a aches o w i en ex s, p i ileging hem in legal educa ion, and ma -
ginalizing messages ha a e no w i en. None heless, he ac ual/ i ual be-
comes ma e ialized when he digi al comes in. The non-human is en angled
wi h he human, p oducing new phenomena; howe e , he ans o ma i e
possibili ies b ough in by he non-human e apo a e due o he insis ence
on complying wi h he mode n p inciples embedded in he deepe laye s o
law and educa ion. The e osion o he bounda ies be ween law and o he
p ac ices equi es engaging wi h he ma e iali y o meaning in he ansmis-
sion o knowledge. This would en ail openness o eimagining knowledge
on ologies o unde s and he doing o heo y and he e ec o he p esup-
posed (Ba ad, 2007). Reimagining law and isualizing he powe /knowledge
co-cons i u ion, he en anglemen wi h he digi al c ea es he oppo uni y o
explo e he embeddedness o bodies, na u e, space, and ime in he ma e ial-
semio ic en anglemen o law be o e en e ing he p ocess o hinking as a
lawye . The digi al ealms econ igu e he mode n bounda ies, o e ing a
c ack om which we can eimagine and e hink knowledge while expe ienc-
ing he en anglemen be ween he physical and non-physical. Pos -human,
pos mode n, and new ma e ialis pedagogies o inclusion and collabo a ion
o e a b eak h ough, eplacing ep esen a ional hinking and bina ies. Gil-
be (2005) u he solidi ied his opinion by e i ying ha adi ional loca-
ions o gaining knowledge a e expanding u he on o such pla o ms as
he In e ne .
Lau illa d (2013, p. 27) has explained ha academic knowledge is elian
on symbolic ep esen a ion “o any symbol sys em ha can ep esen a de-
sc ip ion o he wo ld and equi es in e p e a ion”: legal knowledge elies on
he ex and language o in e p e a ion wi hin a speci ied legal amewo k
delimi ed by inhe i ed implici assump ions. Success ul lea ning is possible
only i i is ela ed o he gi en con ex o ac ion. Th ough VR, he dis inc ion
be ween knowledge and objec is ques ioned, as well as ha o w i en ep-
esen a ion and law. VR leads o a new men ali y conce ning he body, emo-
ions, and how hey go hand in hand wi h heo y, while main aining a ocus
on he wo ds used in legal p ac ice – unco e ing any unseen unde ined issues

130 Amalia Ve du Sanma in and Johanna Niemi
wi hin language. The body and emo ions a e en angled when pu ing heo y,
he ex in o p ac ice, e ealing he silences and absences o he ex along-
side he ma e iali y o he wo ds. The expe ien ial u n is en angled wi h he
linguis ic u n, opening he possibili y o unde s and he agency o he in a-
ac ions, he “o he ” ma e in he cons uc ion o knowledge. Knowledge as
he in e sec ion poin o law, echnology, and educa ion is, om a new ma e-
ialis pe spec i e, embedded and becomes ano he in a-ac ing elemen . This
unde s anding c ea es ano he node whe e echnology, law, and educa ion
mee which consequen ly changes academic iews o e e yday knowledge.
Cons uc i is heo ies o lea ning seem o unde pin Bloom’s axonomy o
knowledge and lea ning in uni e si y pedagogics, whe e s uden s a e iewed
as ac i e pa icipan s in he lea ning p ocess. Educa o s ecognize ha he
ans e o knowledge is no solely esponsible o educa ing he s uden ;
a he , s uden s ac i ely seek, accumula e, c i ique, and cons uc knowledge
(Ande son, 2005). Ande son (1991, 2010) also no es ha highe le els o
lea ning equi e an abili y o e lec i ely c i ique bo h subjec ma e and he
p ocess applied. None heless, i is belie ed ha in legal educa ion, s uden s
mus ini ially lea n he con en o law be o e being able o c i ically assess
i . Cons uc i is elemen s end o be ound a he Mas e ’s le el, a which
cou ses wi h a c i ical app oach a e o en elec i e addi ions o he manda-
o y cu iculum. Howe e , cou ses amed as c i ical app oaches o law o m
pa o wide shi s in educa ion, whe e lea ning ou comes and goals ocus
on skills, and eache s a e seen as acili a o s a he han lec u e s (Lemaî e,
2018). No wi hs anding hese shi s, he eache is he p ima y ac i e agen
leading he lea ning p ocess and de ining he lea ning ou comes, as ega ds
bo h con en and skills, ye o ge ing he cons uc i e elemen s.
Cons uc i is pedagogy and VR ad oca e a adical shi owa ds a sys em
in which s uden s a e seen as ac i e pa icipan s in he cons uc ion o knowl-
edge and as ac o s esponsible o hei own lea ning. In a sma educa ion
amewo k, cons uc i is pedagogies a e explo ed in VR o o e come he
limi a ions encoun e ed by adi ional eaching and p omo e deepe lea n-
ing. The goal o esea ch on sma educa ion is o de elop me hodologies
and amewo ks assis ing in pu pose ul planning o cou ses ha include he
e ec i e use o echnology om he beginning o s udy. To u ilize he ull po-
en ial o VR, he s uden s should be seen as ac i e pa icipan s in knowledge
p oduc ion ea ly on. I is impo an o acknowledge hei agency wi hin he
wo ld (Lemley & Volokh, 2018; Jian e al., 2019; Mohamad e al., 2020;
Cho e al., 2021).
Pos -human and new ma e ialisms pedagogies seem o decons uc he
powe hie a chies implici in he Wes e n bina y hinking (Bao u, 2011;
Gough, 2013; Koso sky Sedgwick, 2003; She bine, 2015; Re elles Bena en e
& Cielemecka, 2016; Ca s ens, 2019; Egea e al., 2020). Thus, he i s bi-
na y o b eak is ha o eache /s uden . S uden s a e ac i ely encou aged
o wo k oge he in he me a e se, wi h he aim o acili a ing pee in e ac-
ion and ul ima ely p oducing a collabo a i e en i onmen in which bo h
Vi ual eali y in legal educa ion 131
academic and expe ien ial knowledge is sha ed by all pa ies in ol ed. Teach-
e s’ hie a chical posi ion diminishes as s uden s sha e hei digi al skills and
si ua ed knowledge wi h hei eache . In o mal knowledge is en angled wi h
academic knowledge (P ensky, 2007). The ole o he eache shi s owa ds
ha o acili a o , while s uden s p ac ice and ans o m academic knowl-
edge as hey engage wi h each o he . Passi e ecep ion o in o ma ion is
ans o med in o lea ning by being, a he han doing, and his shows how
academic and expe ien ial lea ning in a-ac in c ea ing and ans o ming
knowledge. S uden s p o ide hei indi idual expe ien ial knowledge in e-
g a ing i wi h o he s’ and academic knowledge (Lee& Ree es, 2017). VR
can ac i a e silen oices and pe spec i es, encou aging isual lea ne s o shy
s uden s o become mo e pa icipa i e and mo i a ed (He e a e al., 2018).4
Resea ch indica es ha imme si e and non-imme si e VR can imp o e s u-
den ocus, engagemen , and in e es in he subjec o s udy. Simula ions ha e
shown ha s uden s become bolde when gi en a ole, o en o e coming
hei shyness. Howe e , he lack o au hen ici y minimizes he e ec i eness
o simula ion lea ning (Daly & Higgins, 2011). Th ough imme si e VR, no
only a e s uden s p o ided wi h an engaging lea ning expe ience bu also
wi h an en i onmen ha is highly in e ac i e and ealis ic. This lends i sel
o enabling a deepe unde s anding o complex concep s and p o iding lea n-
e s wi h mo e comp ehensi e knowledge. These simula ions a e o en con-
olled and in e ac i e, allowing s uden s o in e ac wi h he en i onmen
and expe ience he ele an scien i ic concep s in a simula ed en i onmen .
Fu he mo e, VR can be used o p o ide s uden s wi h a i ual ou o a lo-
ca ion o p ocess, imme sing hem in a ealis ic en i onmen . The in eg a ed
use o echnology is a no jus a media ed ool; bu i also allows us o e lec
on how he i ual, he non-human in gene al, is embedded in and ans o ms
law-making (Lezaun, 2012; Cloa e, 2015).
The deploymen o powe /knowledge o law h ough legal educa ion is a
jou ney om impa ing knowledge o enabling s uden ’s lea ning. In bo h
s ages, he e is an on ological ansmission o academic knowledge. How-
e e , he disembodied na u e o hinking in, o , and abou law p e en s
indi iduals om isualizing ma e ial en anglemen s and he on ological-
epis emological na u e o his knowledge (Ba ad, 2007). In eaching law, i is
essen ial o comp ehend how he meaning behind law shapes laws and how
such laws will in u n con inue o shape socie y. Thus, ques ioning wha law
does and will do becomes i al when making sense o why ce ain laws a e
p esupposed in ce ain ways. Re lec ion on such ques ions wi h law s uden s
may sound u opian, bu u opias a e possible in a digi al en i onmen gi ing
he oppo uni y o unde s and becoming p ocesses and in isible ela ional
en anglemen s.
The Resea ch Handbook on he Law o Vi ual and Augmen ed Reali y
(Ba ield & Bli z, 2018) elucida es he immanen obs acle ha accompanies
he con luence o he physical and he i ual wo ld. Cu en legal heo y
belongs o he physical wo ld and needs ein e p e a ion o e hinking o
132 Amalia Ve du Sanma in and Johanna Niemi
add ess he i ual wo ld. The union o he online uni e se and he angible
plane equi ala es o he amalgama ion o he human and he non-human;
we can be ou sel es o ou a a a s. The e o e, he es ablished legisla ion on
inju ies, ameni ies, c imes, esponsibili ies, adjudica ion, e c. may encoun e
many u u e challenges in he i ual wo ld.
When enginee ing a VR en i onmen o legal educa ion, we can de elop
p inciples ha will suppo a aining an in ui i eness o he in insic mechan-
ics o he law and “wha he law does”. Fo his pu pose, he design p inci-
ples o a VR law cou se may ocus on:
1 Knowledge p oduc ion and ans o ma ion: expe ien ial and aca-
demic knowledge en anglemen . This allows us o unde s and he shi
in knowledge p oduc ion and he u u e challenges.
2 In e disciplina i y o knowledge: The simula ed en i onmen enables p ac-
icing how o sol e p oblems and si ua ions wi h o he s and in collabo a-
ion wi h s uden s wi h di e en expe ien ial and academic knowledge.
3 Theo e ical pe spec i e en anglemen wi h p ac ice: o play and unde -
s and in e sec ionali y, si ua ed knowledges, expe iences, and iden i ies.
These p inciples help o achie e deep lea ning and heigh ened a en ion o
he e hics o hough using he ma e pho ic (Gando e , 2020) possibili-
ies o e ed by he i ual ealm. The en anglemen o he digi al/physical
elemen s in a simula ed en i onmen enables an unde s anding o he links
be ween expe ien ial and academic knowledge om a mul idisciplina y pe -
spec i e. This esul s om con ex -based lea ning (CBL)5 and c owd lea n-
ing6 ha p omo e deepe lea ning h ough exposu e o o he use s, s uden s,
and lea ne s ha goes beyond GBL due o i s ealis ic challenges expe ienced
h ough body, senses, emo ions, and eelings (Rose, 2012; Kalisz, 2016;
Plass e al., 2020). The ole o he body in he ac o hinking is widely
acknowledged, ye a ely conside ed in he academic wo ld. Embodimen
and si ua edness a ely c oss he line ha di ides academic and expe ien-
ial knowledge. “Thinking like a lawye ” equi es de aching onesel om
pe sonal expe iences, making neu al analysis and in e p e a ions o a ious
si ua ions. A a a echnology enables s uden s o explo e di e en iden i-
ies, backg ounds, and laye s o in e sec ionali y, and hei e ec s on o he s.
Th ough engaging educa ion, echnology, and s uden s’ mul iplici y, ools
a e p o ided o p omo e in insic mo i a ion while highligh ing indi idu-
als’ connec ion wi h he g oup. A 3D simula ed en i onmen c ea es a space
whe e o comp ehend he in e connec edness o he wo ld. S uden s in eg a e
hemsel es wi h his non-physical domain in o de o sol e in e disciplina y
p oblems by expe iencing a he han specula ing o eading an au ho i a i e
ex . Fu he mo e, digi al en anglemen wi h law and educa ion highligh s
embodimen by b inging in o ocus he ac o hinking ha is o en neglec ed.
The digi al en anglemen wi h law and educa ion allows b inging in embodi-
men and si ua edness while expe iencing i s implica ions in he e y ac o
Vi ual eali y in legal educa ion 133
hinking. Simula ion is a key ac o wi hin VR which enables all senses o
become engaged in an expe ien ial lea ning e en , hus opening di e se ways
o lea ning and implemen ing p ac ical expe iences. This demons a es he
ole ha he body plays ega ding unde s anding, in e p e ing, and deciding
issues a hand; emo ions and eelings a e also employed in o de o deepen
he unde s anding o he knowledge-p oduc ion p ocesses associa ed wi h
bodily engagemen . The inco po a ion o digi al echnologies allows us o
wo k wi h ools ha can be adap ed o di e en lea ning expe iences while
p omo ing collabo a ion.7 VR o e s expe ience-based eaching/lea ning ha
encou ages engaging wi h he issue in ques ion a he han assimila ing and
memo izing: i helps o expe ience i .
7.5 Conclusion
Wi h echnology ad ancemen s, he legal wo ld has begun o emb ace he
concep o sma educa ion. Sma educa ion has opened up new possibili ies
o he ans o ma ion o knowledge and he building o a be e u u e o
socie y.
VR usage in educa ion has bo h posi i e and nega i e implica ions. Ne -
e heless, digi al echnology is an e e -inc easing p esence in mode n socie y,
and i is impo an o esea ch and expe ience i s ole a he in e sec ion o
educa ion and knowledge. I s uden s wish o s ay ahead o he challenges
posed by a quickly changing socie y, i is essen ial o hem o become amil-
ia wi h ad ances in echnology as well as comp ehend how socie ies e ol e.
Fu he mo e, unde s anding he collabo a i e c ea ion o knowledge can help
s uden s o ecognize po en ial issues, be o e a legal ecou se becomes neces-
sa y. Analysis o he po en ial implica ions ca ied by VR echnology sug-
ges s ha i may help o each legal easoning and de elop p oblem-sol ing
skills, enabling s uden s o explo e heo y in p ac ical e ms and ecognize
he in e ela ion be ween di e en legal ields. Fu he s udy in o his ech-
nology is necessa y in o de o p edic po en ial policy changes, new laws,
and educa ional bene i s: o an icipa e p oblems a he han me ely eac by
d a ing new legisla ion which is usually ou da ed by he ime i is enac ed.
VR encou ages s uden s o explo e heo e ical ma e iali y o he in e win-
ing physical and non-physical, human and non-human ealms, which p esen
no only new legal challenges bu also ans o ma i e oppo uni ies. VR can be
used o assis in eaching s uden s o e-c ea e he physical and legal wo ld as
well as challenge he ounda ions o law, o p omo e di e se ways o hinking
and o unde s anding digi al landscapes om an on o-epis emological pe spec-
i e. Encou aging hem o analyse how i ual wo lds shape hei expe iences,
iden i ies, and bodies is undoub edly a good s a ing poin o unde s anding,
lea ning, p ac icing, and expe imen ing wi h embodied hinking wi hin he
ealm o law. Simula ions in a VR en i onmen ocus on he ole o ma e and
i s impo ance in in oducing embodied eaching/lea ning in a non-human en-
i onmen . The eal and i ual en anglemen c ea es a u opian se ing in which