Has COVID-19 Transformed Crisis into Digital Acceleration? A Decade-Long Analysis of ERP Adoption across Countries

Radić, Aleksandra; Arsić, Sanela; Nikolić, Đorđe; Janković, Lidija

Conference Object Restricted access M33

Radić et al., 2026_MEB.pdf (1.00MB)

2026

Radić, Aleksandra
Arsić, Sanela
Nikolić, Đorđe
Janković, Lidija

Obuda University, Keleti Faculty of Business and Management, Budapest, Hungary

MEB 2026 - 24th International Conference on Management, Enterprise, Benchmarking. Proceedings I. 24. April, 2026, Budapest, Hungary

English

M33 - Conference paper at an international conference, printed in full

COVID-19 had a profound and far-reaching impact on digital transformation across various sectors and countries. However, it remains unclear whether it reduced structural differences in technology adoption or reinforced existing digital divides. This study examines ERP adoption dynamics across countries, including the effect of COVID-19. Using secondary data from the Eurostat database for the period 2015-2025, the study applies K-means clustering to examine cross-country differences in the share of enterprises adopting ERP systems for functional information exchange. Cluster analysis identified three statistically distinct groups: digital leaders, followers, and late adopters. Digital leaders maintain consistently high ERP adoption levels throughout the observed period. Digital followers start at a lower level than digital leaders but show the most dynamic growth. Late adopters display the lowest ERP adoption levels throughout the decade. Descriptive trends indicate a post-pandemic acceleration, suggesting COVID-19 as a potential catalyst fr intensified ERP adoption. Based on the study’s outcomes, policy implications are suggested and future research directions are proposed.

ERP systems, COVID-19, cluster analysis

ISBN

978-963-449-429-4

URI

https://repozitorijum.tfbor.bg.ac.rs/handle/...

dc.creator	Radić, Aleksandra
dc.creator	Arsić, Sanela
dc.creator	Nikolić, Đorđe
dc.creator	Janković, Lidija
dc.contributor	Szikora, Péter
dc.contributor	Keszthelyi, András
dc.title	Has COVID-19 Transformed Crisis into Digital Acceleration? A Decade-Long Analysis of ERP Adoption across Countries
dc.date.issued	2026
dc.publisher	Obuda University, Keleti Faculty of Business and Management, Budapest, Hungary
dc.identifier.isbn	978-963-449-429-4
dc.type	conferenceObject
dc.source	MEB 2026 - 24th International Conference on Management, Enterprise, Benchmarking. Proceedings I. 24. April, 2026, Budapest, Hungary
dc.citation.spage	81
dc.citation.epage	91
dc.language.iso	en
dc.type.version	publishedVersion
dc.citation.rank	M33
dc.subject	ERP systems
dc.subject	COVID-19
dc.subject	cluster analysis
dc.description.abstract	COVID-19 had a profound and far-reaching impact on digital transformation across various sectors and countries. However, it remains unclear whether it reduced structural differences in technology adoption or reinforced existing digital divides. This study examines ERP adoption dynamics across countries, including the effect of COVID-19. Using secondary data from the Eurostat database for the period 2015-2025, the study applies K-means clustering to examine cross-country differences in the share of enterprises adopting ERP systems for functional information exchange. Cluster analysis identified three statistically distinct groups: digital leaders, followers, and late adopters. Digital leaders maintain consistently high ERP adoption levels throughout the observed period. Digital followers start at a lower level than digital leaders but show the most dynamic growth. Late adopters display the lowest ERP adoption levels throughout the decade. Descriptive trends indicate a post-pandemic acceleration, suggesting COVID-19 as a potential catalyst fr intensified ERP adoption. Based on the study’s outcomes, policy implications are suggested and future research directions are proposed.
dc.rights.license	ARR
dc.date.accessioned	2026-10-07T08:29:18Z
dc.description.provenance	Submitted by aradic@tfbor.bg.ac.rs on 2026-09-24 08:45:15.058095, with 2 file(s). Approved by Милица Ницуловић (mniculovic@tfbor.bg.ac.rs) on 2026-10-07T08:29:18Z.
dc.identifier.uri	https://repozitorijum.tfbor.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/6136


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