The System of Categories in the Digital Economy: Evolution of Approaches

The purpose of this study is to systematize the categories of the digital economy (digitalization, digital transformation, digital maturity, and digital potential) through the classification and aggregation of research approaches to their study, as well as to apply these categories to the characterization of social development in specific territories. The research employed scientific methods such as comparative and systems analysis, synthesis, formalization and analogy, inductive reasoning, interpretation, and theoretical modeling. The information base consisted of more than 100 scholarly publications indexed in the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) and in international scientometric databases, which ensured the comprehensiveness of the study. The results include the identification of classification groups of authors’ approaches to defining the terms “digital economy”, “digitalization”, “digital transformation”, and “digital maturity”; the specification of their key characteristics; and the development of integrated or combined definitions of these concepts in relation to the socio-economic development of regions. The study also systematizes these terms in relation to one another and to the digital economy as a whole. As initial conditions for digitalization and digital transformation of a socio-economic system, the research considers the digital profile of a territory, along with the specific nature of its digital needs and resources. The findings can be used for managerial purposes (in the field of digital development of the economy and the social sphere), as well as for shaping and structuring the conceptual foundations of the digital economy.