HOW DIGITALIZATION SHAPES EXPORT POTENTIAL: FIRM-LEVEL INSIGHTS FROM THE EU AND BEYOND

Abstract

The primary objective of this study is to examine the relationship between the adoption of advanced digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and the probability of exporting, utilizing a probit model. The results indicate that the adoption of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and robotics technologies is positively and statistically significantly associated with the likelihood of exporting. Big data analytics, smart devices, and blockchain technologies do not show a statistically significant association with firms' likelihood of exporting. The study investigates the relationship between specific digital technologies and export destinations as a secondary objective by applying a multivariate probit model, which accounts for potential correlations among the error terms across destination-specific export decisions. The findings show that artificial intelligence and smart devices are significantly associated with exports to EU countries. Cloud computing is significantly associated with export activities to all countries except China. Big data analytics is significantly associated with exports to non-EU countries. In contrast, blockchain technology does not exhibit a statistically significant relationship with export destinations. Robotics technologies exhibit a consistent and positive association with export participation across all export regions.