Développement des services d’information et de communication en Europe centrale et orientale Opportunités et tendances

In the new context of a dual transformation of EU economies - green and digital, ICT services are becoming increasingly crucial both as a generator of information technologies for all sectors and as a catalyst for economic growth. Their development is essential for the CEECs in view of the ongoing structural transformation and the real convergence process. The aim of the paper is to analyse the development of ICT services in CEECs for the period 2004-2021 and to identify, through cluster analysis, the specificities of the individual patterns that have emerged, commenting on their relationship with the absolute β-convergence. The results show relative importance of ICT services in GDP, GVA and employment for most countries. However, countries continue to be heterogeneous and this shapes four different patterns in terms of the current status and development prospects of ICT services.