Innovation and ICT: Key Factors of Successful Business

The research carried out in the chapter aims to analyze the importance of innovation and ICT as key factors of successful business, that is, to what extent innovation and ICT influence the competitiveness and development of the digital economy in Serbia compared to other countries of the Western Balkans. The research covered the period from 2020 to 2022, while the methodological concept is based on descriptive analysis of secondary data from the World Economic Forum. The results obtained through the research explicitly show that the countries of the Western Balkans do not invest enough funds in the ICT sector, which has a negative impact on their further development and growth of macro-competitiveness. Compared to other countries of the Western Balkans, Serbia is progressing significantly faster in the field of digital transformation. Despite this, it still lags behind the EU countries when it comes to the adoption of ICT, infrastructure, and innovation systems