Methodology for Substantiating Strategic Priorities for Digital Development at the Regional Level

Abstract

This article, drawing on Academician V. L. Kvint’s theory of strategy and strategizing methodology, substantiates differentiated strategic priorities based on a typology of Russian regions by level of digital development. The issues of measuring the level of digital development in regions and the digital maturity of industries, as well as the determinants of regional digital inequality and its measurement, remain controversial, and their study is relevant and timely. The aim of this paper is to develop a methodology for substantiating strategic priorities for regional digital development, including for overcoming the digital divide. For the typology of Russian regions, indicators were selected reflecting infrastructure (fixed and mobile broadband internet penetration per 100 people), personnel (the proportion of people employed in the ICT sector), and social and consumer (the share of electronic services to the population) aspects. Based on these indicators, a composite digital development index was calculated for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The regions are sorted in descending order and divided into four equal-power groups using the geometric mean. A typology of regions confirmed that significant digital inequality is one of the factors driving socioeconomic inequality across regions, hindering economic growth. The authors propose differentiated strategic priorities: for leaders innovation and digitalization of industries; for lagging regions development of basic infrastructure and digital literacy. The methodology for substantiating strategic priorities for digital development enables regions to realize strategic opportunities, taking into account their existing competitive advantages and resources, focusing on long-term success in a rapidly changing environment.