Digitalization measurement of the regional organizations: A case of Perm region

Abstract

Introduction. Scientific community is particularly interested in the relevant issues of digitalization and digital transformations at all levels of economy. The article describes the results derived from the questionnaire survey conducted among 126 companies in Perm region. The authors applied their own methodology aimed to measure digitalization of the entities. Purpose. The authors focus on the development of the respective methodology and its testing. They put forward a hypothesis saying that the proposed methodology is universal, in other words it could be applied in a company specializing in any business activity and scale. Materials and Methods. The input of the study is the information about the exploitation of digital tools in various business processes within the organizations. The study refers to the authors’ comprehensive methodology of entities’ digitalization measurement and their distribution in a two-criterion matrix by digitalization types. Results. Hierarchy of several digitalization levels are justified, digitalization penetration borders are defined within a company and its interaction with contractors. A questionnaire has been prepared. It has been shown that Perm region companies mainly digitalize the business processes related to production, finance, and accounting, as well as general economic activities. Conclusion. The results of the study are of interest both for the managers of the analyzed organizations and the regional authorities that develop digital transformation strategies for the federal districts of the Russian Federation. If the sampling is extended, the findings obtained with the authors’ methodology could contribute into preparing different ratings: an industry digitalization rating, a digitalization rate in micro- and small-, medium-, and large-sized businesses and others. These ratings could be compiled for a particular region and for the country on the whole, which is the focus of the authors’ further research. Keywords: digital economy, digital transformation, digitalization, digitalization of organizations, digitalization measurement methodology, digitalization of the region, digitalization of the industry, business process, digitalization of business processes, digital maturity of organizations