Vol. 54 No. 2 (2026): Published June 30, 2025
DOI https://doi.org/10.18799/26584956/2026/2/2168
Digital technologies in Russian manufacturing industries: comparative analysis by types of innovation
Digital transformation is becoming an important factor in the innovative development of Russian industrial enterprises. Aim. To identify interindustry differences in the use of digital technologies by Russian enterprises and to analyze how digital technologies are distributed across different types of innovation at the firm level based on open Internet sources. The empirical database includes 722 enterprises from three manufacturing industries in Russia: the chemical industry, pharmaceuticals, and the production of computers and electronics. The study uses panel data for 2019–2023, as well as the results of content analysis of official company websites and other open Internet sources. Digital technologies are grouped into five types of innovation: product, process, organizational, environmental, and marketing. Descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests are used to assess differences between groups of firms. The results show that industries differ both in the overall level of digital technology use and in their internal structure. The highest aggregate level of digitalization is observed in the production of computers and electronics, where digital technologies are most strongly associated with product and marketing innovations. The chemical industry is characterized by a stronger orientation toward process, organizational, and environmental innovations, which reflects a more internal, production- and management-oriented profile of digitalization. Pharmaceuticals occupy an intermediate position but demonstrate lower values in several internal dimensions of digitalization. In all three industries, large firms use more digital technologies than small firms, and in most cases technological leaders outperform outsiders in the intensity of digitalization. The scientific significance of the study lies in advancing an approach to firm-level digitalization analysis through the lens of different types of innovation. The practical significance lies in the possibility of using the results to diagnose industry-specific digitalization profiles, identify the most vulnerable groups of enterprises, and develop more targeted industrial, innovation, and digital policy measures.
For citation: Spitsin V.V., Gasanov M.A., Spitsina L.Yu., Dukart S.A., Bragin A.D., Spitsina D.V. Digital technologies in Russian manufacturing industries: comparative analysis by types of innovation. Journal of Wellbeing Technologies, 2026, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 153–172. https://doi.org/10.18799/26584956/2026/2/2168
Keywords:
digital technologies, digital transformation, innovation, industrial enterprises, open data, content analysis, interindustry analysis, technological leaders, firm size, manufacturing industry
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