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Where do the European Union and the United States stand in digital adoption?

EU firms are lagging behind the United States in digital adoption. In 2020, only 63% of EU firms had implemented at least one digital technology, compared to 73% in the United States. Digital adoption in the business sector is spreading rapidly, both in the European Union and the United States. The share of digital firms in both areas has increased compared to the results of EIBIS from last year. However, the European Union is not closing its digital gap with the United States.

Digital adoption in the European Union and the United States in 2020

Source: EIBIS (2020).

Note: Share of firms that have implemented digital technologies. Firms are weighted using value added.

The majority of firms that are already digital have implemented more than one digital technology. At the same time, about 40% of firms report having adopted at least one of the technologies in the past year. Digitalisation therefore appears to be a recent priority for many firms. This indicates that the European Union needs to rapidly make efforts to support investment in digitalisation to catch up with US firms.

Adoption of digital technologies (% of firms), by year

Source: EIBIS (2019 and 2020).

The difference in digital adoption rates between the European Union and the United States is particularly pronounced in the construction sector. The share of construction firms that are non-digital is 60% in the European Union, compared to only 23% in the United States. The difference in digital adoption rates between EU and US firms is 12 percentage points in services, 6 percentage points in the infrastructure sector and 3 percentage points in manufacturing. What is more, most firms in construction and services – the sectors in which EU firms also have the largest gap with the United States – have implemented only one digital technology.

Adoption of digital technologies (% of firms), by sector

Source: EIBIS (2020).

EU firms have lower adoption rates for the internet of things (IoT) than in the United States. The breakdown of the data on digital technologies suggests that the differences between the adoption rates in the European Union and the United States are driven by the lower use of technologies related to the internet of things, i.e. electronic devices that communicate with each other without assistance (see Box 1 for more information on the digital technologies covered in EIBIS). On average, 34% of European firms have adopted this technology, compared to 53% of US firms. EU firms also fall short when it comes to the adoption of drones (which are used in the construction sector). For the other digital technologies captured in the survey, the differences in adoption rates between EU and US firms are less pronounced.

Adoption of digital technologies (% of firms)

Source: EIBIS (2020).

The European Union’s digital gap with the United States is particularly severe for smaller firms. The difference in digital adoption rates between the European Union and the United States is particularly significant for small firms (10 to 49 employees). Digital adoption rates are strongly linked to size with larger firms displaying higher rates of digital adoption than smaller firms. In the European Union, only 40% of micro firms (five to nine employees) have implemented at least one digital technology, while 75% of large firms (with more than 250 employees) are already digital. Perhaps unsurprisingly, large firms are also much more likely to have implemented multiple technologies. The relationship between firm size and digital adoption rates can be observed in all sectors. For example, in the manufacturing sector in the European Union, only 40% of micro and small firms (with fewer than 50 employees) are digital, whereas 74% of medium-sized or large EU manufacturing firms have implemented digital technologies.

Box 1. Digital technologies in the EIB Investment Survey (EIBIS)

In EIBIS, firms are polled about the use of four advanced digital technologies that are specific to their sector. They are asked the following question: “Can you tell me for each of the following digital technologies if you have heard about them, not heard about them, implemented them in parts of your business, or whether your entire business is organised around them?”

A firm is identified as “digital, single technology” if one digital technology is implemented in parts of the business and/or if the entire business is organised around one digital technology. A firm is identified as “digital, multiple technologies” if at least two digital technologies are implemented in parts of the business and/or if the entire business is organised around at least two digital technologies.

Firms in manufacturing are surveyed about the use of: (a) 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing; (b) robotics: automation via advanced robotics; (c) the internet of things, such as electronic devices that communicate with each other without human assistance; and (d) big data/artificial intelligence: cognitive technologies, such as big data analytics and artificial intelligence.

Firms in construction are surveyed about the use of: (a) 3D printing; (b) drones: unmanned aerial vehicles; (c) the internet of things; and (d) virtual reality: augmented or virtual reality, such as when information is integrated with real-world objects and presented using a head-mounted display.

Firms in services are surveyed about the use of: (a) virtual reality; (b) platforms: a platform that connects customers with businesses or customers with other customers; (c) the internet of things; and (d) big data/artificial intelligence.

Firms in infrastructure are surveyed about the use of: (a) 3D printing; (b) platforms; (c) the internet of things; and (d) big data/artificial intelligence.

Adoption of digital technologies (% of firms), by firm size

Source: EIBIS (2020).

Note: A firm is identified as digital if at least one advanced digital technology is implemented in parts of the business. See Box 1 for the definition of digital technologies in EIBIS. Micro firms: 1 to 9 employees, small firms: 10 to 49 employees, medium-sized firms: 50 to 249 employees, large firms: 250+ employees. Firms are weighted using value added.

On average, firms are smaller in the European Union than in the United States. Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises are considered the backbone of the European economy. They represent 99% of all businesses and more than two-thirds of employment in the European Union. In 2017, there were more than 21.5 million enterprises in the non-financial business economy in the European Union employing 125.3 million people. In the United States, there were 4.1 million firms employing 90.2 million people in 2017 (the most recent year with data available). While firms with less than 250 employees also represent 99% of all businesses in the United States, they only account for 40% of total employment.

Share of employment in 2017 (% of employment), by firm size

Source: Eurostat and OECD Structural Business Statistics, and US Census Bureau 2017.

Note: Share of employees working in firms of different size categories. Micro firms: 1 to 9 employees, small firms: 10 to 49 employees, medium-sized firms: 50 to 249 employees, large firms: 250+ employees.

Employment in the European Union is more concentrated among smaller firms, in particular microenterprises. When focusing on four different firm size categories, the average size of medium-sized firms (50 to 249 persons employed) and large firms (250+ persons employed) in the European Union is substantially lower than in the United States. This is likely to be driven by market fragmentation across the European Union, especially in the services sector. If policymakers want to close the gap in digital adoption between the European Union and the United States, they need to address structural barriers to investment in digitalisation. The most significant barriers appear to be those holding European firms back from growing and reaching the size needed. The fact that EU firms are smaller on average than those in the United States is likely to be a major disadvantage for accelerating the adoption of digital technologies (Revoltella, Rückert and Weiss, 2020).

Average firm size, number of employees and number of firms in the European Union and the United States in 2017

Source: Eurostat and OECD Structural Business Statistics, and US Census Bureau 2017.

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