ASSESSING THE DIGITAL MATURITY OF ENTERPRISES AND IMPROVING THE MECHANISMS FOR STRENGTHENING THEIR COMPETITIVENESS: AN INDEX-BASED FRAMEWORK FOR UZBEK INDUSTRIAL AND SERVICE FIRMS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22768573Abstract
Digital maturity has become a decisive determinant of enterprise competitiveness in transition economies, yet
firms in Uzbekistan lack a nationally calibrated instrument for measuring how far their digital capabilities have advanced
and how those capabilities convert into market advantage. This article develops and tests an Enterprise Digital Maturity
Index (EDMI) built from six dimensions: digital strategy and leadership, business processes and infrastructure, data management
and analytics, digital human capital, customer and market interface, and cybersecurity and digital governance.
Drawing on survey evidence from 214 industrial and service enterprises, the study applies expert weighting, reliability
testing, k-means cluster classification and multiple regression analysis. Results show that a one-point gain in the EDMI is
significantly associated with improved competitiveness, that data analytics and digital human capital carry the strongest
coefficients, and that isolated infrastructure spending yields comparatively weak returns. A four-block mechanism for
embedding maturity diagnostics into national digitalisation policy is proposed.
Keywords
digital maturity; enterprise competitiveness; digital transformation; maturity index; EDMI; benchmarking; industrial enterprises; data analytics; dynamic capabilities; digital human capital; digital strategy; Uzbekistan; regression analysis; ERP systems; digital economyReferences
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