Shaping sustainable investment through digital technologies: Strategic perspectives for the transformation era

This paper examines the importance of technological infrastructure in influencing sustainable investment, with particular reference to gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) and foreign direct investment (FDI). We use principal component analysis (PCA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) to uncover the structural interdependences among digital readiness, innovation capacity and macroeconomic stability. Countries that are identified as DEA-efficient, with high internet penetration, extensive mobile uptake and strong high-tech exports, are consistently receiving greater investment. Inflation impacts economies in different ways, it prevents capital accumulation in less efficient economies and it helps promote investment in more efficient economies. This highlights the importance of context sensitive macroeconomic strategies. Unemployment is still a big hurdle to sustainable investment, limiting GFCF and FDI especially in economies with structural rigidities. The outlier analysis identifies Vietnam, China and Malta as examples of ICT-driven investment resilience, while Sudan illustrates how structural and labor-market constraints can impede capital accumulation despite moderate digital progress. A robust digital infrastructure, innovation capacity and a stable macroeconomic and labor-market are essential to sustain competitive investment strategies. This alignment of factors strategically promotes inclusive growth and long-term investment resilience in countries. It provides actionable guidance to policy makers and business leaders to advance sustainable economic development.