The Digitalization of EU Businesses in the Pandemic Context: Implications of the Manufacturing Sector

This study aims to investigate the extent to which the enterprises in EU countries have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis through digital transformation as well as to explore the digital transformation of manufacturing businesses and its impact on socioeconomic development. The results of the paired samples t-test show statistically significant differences in behaviors of businesses between pre-pandemic and pandemic period in the case of eight out of ten variables analyzed related to e-business (customer relationship management, cloud computing services, 3D printing, robots), e-commerce, mobile internet connectivity, and digital skills. Also, the results of the correlation and regression analysis show a positive effect of the digitalization of businesses in the manufacturing sector on labour productivity and economic development in the EU countries.