FACTORS AFFECTING INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS OF ICT SECTOR OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMY

Introduction. The ICT sector is crucial to the national economy, significantly contributing to GDP, employment, and innovation. Understanding the factors that influence its international competitiveness is vital for sustainable growth and maintaining its role in the global economy. A holistic research approach is needed to identify synergies and trade-offs among key impacting factors, guiding the development of policies that enhance ICT competitiveness and foster a thriving digital economy and society. Purpose. Research aims to critically analyse and synthesise existing literature on the factors influencing the international competitiveness of the ICT sector. Materials and methods. This study uses related literature review, analysis, synthesis and graphic methods to identify key factors influencing competitiveness in the ICT sector. This study relies on various scientific publications from both domestic and international scholars and key studies by international industry experts. Results. The study considers five main groups of factors influencing the international competitiveness of the ICT sector of the national economy (namely, the political and regulatory environment, the involvement of the ICT sector in international cooperation, the ICT infrastructure, the human factor and R&D) with a generalised definition of the role and nature of the impact on the ICT sector. In particular, the political and regulatory environment is considered in the context of the main directions of state policy in the field of ICT, the characteristics of governance, the impact of political stability on the stability of the ICT regulatory regime and economic freedoms. In addition, the study outlines the impact of international cooperation on the competitiveness of the ICT sector, identifies the main forms of international cooperation in the field of ICT (considering their advantages and disadvantages). In addition, the study provides a generalisation of the impact of ICT infrastructure on the international competitiveness of the ICT sector of the national economy; groups of its components and their main functions are identified. The authors specify the main characteristics of a strong and developed ICT infrastructure and emphasise the expediency of considering it in terms of ICT demand, availability, accessibility, affordability, quality and security.