Digital Competitiveness and Renewable Energy Investment Attractiveness: A Cross-Country Analysis

Özet

Purpose – This research investigates the interplay between digital competitiveness and the attractiveness of countries for renewable energy, utilizing the "World Digital Competitiveness" scores (DCI) and "Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness" (RECAI) rankings.

Design/methodology/approach – This study examines the relationships between the RECAI rankings and the dimensions of digital competitiveness indicated by the DCI scores, which are Technology, Knowledge and Future Readiness. The analyses are conducted separately for the years 2023 and 2024 by using correlation and regression analysis. The data set is limited to 32 countries in 2023 and 36 countries in 2024.

Findings – The correlation results show that Technology is significantly associated with RECAI ranking in 2023, whereas Knowledge and Future Readiness in 2024. In the 2023 regression model, although the overall model is significant, DCI dimensions have no statistically significant effect on RECAI ranking. In 2024, Future Readiness emerged as the only significant predictor, with higher scores associated with better RECAI positions, and the analysis of 2023-2024 differences shows that differences in DCI scores cannot significantly explain differences in RECAI rankings.

Discussion – The data set is limited and some statistical results which are in the borderline may change with a larger data set. Additional independent variables may help to increase the explanatory power of the model.