Which Firms Are More Digitized? A Comparative Study between Egypt and Jordan

Digitalization refers to the transition from an industrial age characterized by traditional technologies to a new era in which commerce, innovation, and other dimensions are driven by digital technologies. The objective of this paper is twofold: first to examine the characteristics of the firms who adopt digital technologies by focusing on two emerging markets, which are Egyp and Jordan. Second, this paper analyzes the potential explanations behind the under-performance of these two countries compared to other emerging economies. The main findings show that firms having an owner whose education level is university and above and who is a woman are more likely to be digitized, especially in Egypt. Moreover, firms that spend on R& D and operating in the services sector adopt and use different digital platforms. Small and medium firms are generally facing several impediments and are not as digitized as large ones. Numerous bottlenecks hinder digitalization in these countries namely the legal and human infrastructure as well as the general quality of institutions including service restrictions.