Digital capital as an indicator of the effectiveness of the use of digital technologies in the management of socio-economic systems

Volgograd State Technical University, Volgograd, Russia

^* Corresponding author: merzlikina@vstu.ru

Abstract

Digitalization (the use of digital technologies in the management of socio-economic systems) is currently recognized as a prerequisite for effective economic development and competitiveness. A comparative analysis of digitalization assessment methods has shown that in most cases the level of dissemination and application of digital technologies, provision of equipment, software products, Internet access, the possibility of forming and using databases is assessed. The methods do not involve evaluating the effectiveness of digitalization – comparing the result and the costs of digitalization. In this article, it is proposed to use digital capital as an indicator of the effectiveness of the use of digital technologies in the management of socio-economic systems. A comparative analysis of the definitions of “digital capital” proposed by various scientists is carried out and a refined definition is proposed: a set of tangible and intangible identifiable and unidentifiable (the concept of digital goodwill is proposed) digital assets and digital competencies of employees that allow them to successfully implement digital technologies and increase labor productivity. Possible methods of digital capital assessment and features of digital capital assessment of various socio-economic systems are considered.