Improving national competitiveness is fundamental to raising long-term economic growth rates and enhancing living standards. The determinants of competitiveness change along with macroeconomic factors, business environment and consumer demand. These changes are visible in the growing importance of digitalization of enterprises of all sectors that has become a critical factor for competitiveness in recent years and will likely become even more essential. The main determinants of competitiveness performance in the European Union (EU) were analyzed in the proposed research. The study included a holistic approach to competitiveness and economic growth and aimed to reveal the factors that determine and contribute to the growth of European economies, as well as to identify clusters of the EU countries. The criteria of competitiveness that are significant for estimation of competitiveness factors and their relationship with economic growth were revealed by using factor analysis. The results indicate that the most significant factors are F1 Macroeconomic Stability, F2 Research and Development (R&D) and Digitalization, F3 Foreign Direct Investment and F4 Trade Openness. By applying cluster analysis, the EU countries were grouped into five clusters on the basis of the contribution of competitiveness factors to economic growth.

Digital transformation and the concept of industry 4.0 has revolutionized the tourism industry in recent decades and has become an important aspect for tourism enterprise competitiveness, growth and sustainability. Digitalisation and technological development are changing people’s lives, habits, work, behaviour, perceptions and decision making, and have opened new opportunities for travel enterprises to be competitive in the global market. This article provides an analysis of the most recent literature focused on digital transformation in tourism, concept of tourism 4.0 and digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, big data, the Internet of Things, blockchain, mobile technologies, cloud computing, robotics and social media in tourism. The article discusses the main opportunities that affect the digital transformation in tourism. Digitalisation adds value to tourism products and experiences, provides many new opportunities for businesses and helps achieve long-term competitive advantage and customer satisfaction. Innovation and the creation of new technological solutions are highly recommended for tourism enterprises that want to compete, grow and increase productivity and management. The current study also identifies the challenges of digital transformation in tourism and proposes areas for future research.

The agricultural and food production sectors have a predominant role in the bioeconomy of the European Union (EU), followed by wood production. These sectors make significant contributions not only to national economies but also to local areas, in particular the rural ones. Although the digitalisation of businesses within the bioeconomy sector transforms the enterprises, improving the value chains and creating benefits for the rural communities where these enterprises are situated, there are still many barriers to digitalisation. This study has a dual aim: first, to analyse bioeconomy in the EU and the state of digitalisation in the EU, and second, to assess the barriers of the bioeconomy sector and ways to support digital transformation within this sector, focusing on agriculture as the main contributor to bioeconomy in the EU, taking Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland as the case studies. The cluster analysis was explored for the study of the digitalisation and R&D indicators of the EU. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to determine digitalisation scenarios of the bioeconomy sector in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. Four stakeholder groups were selected as experts for the study: (i) national government, (ii) advisory and extension, (iii) research, and (iv) entrepreneurship. The findings of the cluster analysis identified 4 clusters in the EU, showing different levels of digitalisation. Strong links between digitalisation and R&D were also found. In this context, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland were assigned to the low-performing cluster. The results of the AHP for the case studies of Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland indicate the overall need for prioritization of support for digital transformation using national and EU funding to achieve better results. Nonetheless, AHP findings also suggested that the opinions of the national government, consulting, and research experts were more aligned throughout all three countries, but the entrepreneurs’ opinions differed from these groups. These findings provide quantitative information regarding digitalisation in the bioeconomy of the EU. They also offer additional qualitative information about scenarios and criteria for increasing the level of digitalisation in the bioeconomy sector in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, which could be useful for policy-makers. This research could also have practical implications for shaping the future trajectory of the bioeconomy policy.

The current article examines how Latvian consumers perceive the sustainability of rural tourism services and locally produced food, with particular attention paid to their views on misleading environmental claims. For small-scale agricultural producers and rural tourism providers, sustainability communication has become common, yet formal regulation and consumer clarity issues often remain uncertain. The study is based on a mixed-methods approach that contains a comprehensive, multi-dimensional literature analysis and quantitative nation-wide survey data analysis (SPSS 27) with a thematic interpretation of consumer attitudes towards sustainability, trust, and greenwashing. The research findings show that while consumers generally support sustainable and ethically produced goods and services, their trust depends heavily on the transparency and credibility of the information provided. Official certifications and clear communication were seen as trustworthy, while vague promotional claims, especially in digital media, were often met with scepticism. The study also reveals how different factors such as education level, income, and place of residence influence the ability to recognize potential greenwashing. Given the growing global concern about false environmental claims, this article provides valuable insights not only for Latvia but also for other countries facing similar challenges in promoting sustainable rural development while preserving consumer trust in the green economy.

The swift adoption of digitalization and transformation within enterprises and their operations had commenced prior to the onset of COVID-19, characterized by the shift towards Industry 4.0 and subsequently progressing towards Industry 5.0. However, mandated restrictions significantly amplified the necessity and drive to utilize digital tools for both businesses and consumers. New opportunities previously not utilized have arisen yet are hand in hand with several risks linked to the use of these new digital tools. The bioeconomy sector is not an exception. The study aims to consider the sector representatives’ opinions on the significance of the risks related to digitalization. The empirical results of this study stem from a survey of enterprises in the bioeconomy sector carried out in 2020 and 2021 in Latvia. The research results prove that there are many factors influencing the development of digitalization. The results notably affirm that both entrepreneurs and employees in SMEs recognize the considerable importance of these risks, particularly emphasizing the significance of security and technology risks. While the Chi-Square Test of Independence indicates a notable association between risk evaluation scores and the education level of respondents before the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, this association diminishes in 2021. Contrary to the hypothesis that individuals with higher education levels are more attentive to risks, the evidence shows inconsistency in their perception, particularly regarding professional challenges of the entrepreneur and employees to use digital tools and other risk categories. However, the relationship between higher education levels and the significance of risks pertaining to security risks, technology risks, and the skills of the clients to use digital tools is partly affirmed.