Digital readiness assessment of Western Balkan countries: A MCDM framework for WB DESI evaluation

Aleksandra Radić; Sanela Arsić

doi:10.67334/cds31202634

Authors

Aleksandra Radić Engineering Management Department, Technical Faculty in Bor, University of Belgrade, Serbia Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4253-8004
Sanela Arsić Engineering Management Department, Technical Faculty in Bor, University of Belgrade, Serbia Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1957-566X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.67334/cds31202634

Keywords:

Western Balkan countries, MCDM methods, WB DESI, Digitalisation

Abstract

Digitalisation has become a major driver of economic growth, competitiveness, and societal development, making the assessment of countries' digital readiness an increasingly important research area. The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) is widely recognised as a comprehensive framework for monitoring and comparing digital development. This study evaluates the digital readiness of the Western Balkan countries using the Western Balkans Digital Economy and Society Index (WB DESI). An entropy-weighted TOPSIS model serves as the primary evaluation method, while several established multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques are employed to examine the robustness, reliability, and stability of the results. The analysis identifies Serbia as the highest-ranked country in terms of digital readiness, followed by Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia. Robustness analysis demonstrates a high degree of consistency across the applied MCDM methods, indicating that the obtained rankings are stable and largely independent of the selected evaluation technique. By addressing both geographical and methodological gaps in the existing literature, this study provides a comprehensive decision-support framework that can assist policymakers in monitoring digital convergence and designing more effective digital transformation strategies across the Western Balkans.

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