Innovation and ICT: Key Factors of Successful Business

Introduction

Innovations have always been a significant element in the relative success of society, from the economic, intellectual and social aspects. Nowadays, when the world economy has moved from the model of independent, relatively loosely connected economies to a much deeper connection and global community, the phenomenon of innovation has gained additional importance. At the same time, the success of innovation depends on how much knowledge is integrated into the innovation process, whether it is product or service innovation. Innovation is the process by which entrepreneurs turn ideas into marketable opportunities, but also the way in which an entrepreneur exercises new wealth-creating resources or enriches existing resources with increased wealth-creating potential. In doing so, entrepreneurs can innovate in three ways (Domazet et al, 2023): by creating new information that will lead to the invention of new technologies, by using market inefficiencies to create their own advantage, or by creating innovations as their reaction to changes in the relations of relative costs and alternative benefits from the use of resources, which may be caused by changes of a demographic, political or legislative nature.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are considered a significant factor in economic growth and development. In today's world, it is not possible to imagine the efficient functioning of an individual, the economy and the entire society without the use of ICT. The progress of ICT in recent years has caused significant structural changes when it comes to reorganizing the economy and expanding the level of trade. Likewise, the development of technology, especially ICT, has significant effects on the economy and other aspects of human life. In addition to ICTs playing a significant role in the development of the economic sector, they also affect the economic performance and success of many companies, especially when combined with investment in skills, organizational change and innovation. The transition to a post-industrial society enabled ICT to become one of the main components of the development of a knowledge-based digital economy. During the last decade, the great diffusion of ICT caused a dramatic transformation of the world into an information society.

The development and implementation of ICT has significantly improved the efficiency of resource allocation, considerably reduced production costs and promoted greater demand and investment in all economic sectors. While ICT progress in developing countries can serve as a tool for personal and economic development, policies and actions in developed countries should focus on other factors that can lead to higher levels of human development. Developing countries could more easily integrate into a more advanced economic environment if they made the most of the opportunities offered by new technologies. The dynamic growth of technical and economic characteristics of high-tech innovative products contributes to a significant increase in computing power and intellectual potential of products, as well as to the rapid change of outdated standards and technological platforms of information and communication systems and networks. ICT enables individuals to access information, enables social interaction, facilitates access to education (Stojanović, Domazet, 2020) and health care, and creates new business opportunities. The limited impact of ICT at the aggregate level in many OECD countries is not necessarily due to a lack of investment in ICT, but rather to a lack of complementary changes and investments that enable the full exploitation of ICT.

The digital economy represents an economy based on digital technologies and the predominant use of information technology, hardware, software, applications and telecommunications in all aspects of the economy. This includes internal activities of organizations and external activities between organizations, organizations and individuals, and individuals among themselves. It represents the knowledge economy because it is essentially based on professional and market knowledge, creativity and innovation of society. In a broader sense, the digital economy is a strategic determinant of modern society and the state in the 21st century. The digital economy implies a turn in the way of thinking, that is, a transition from the usual development methods characteristic of state economies to dynamic development models based on continuous improvement and perfection (Simović, Domazet, 2023). Countries that generate new technologies and encourage their adoption, as well as those that create innovations, grow faster than those countries that do not promote these activities.