According to current estimates, millions of companies will miss out on the benefits arising from the digital single market. As a result, they will not participate in an estimated contribution of around 415 billion euros to the European economy.
Only half of companies (51%) have even heard of the planned European digital single market, which is due to be introduced at the end of 2016.
The aim of the digital single market is to standardize the European online market so that the same content, products and services are available everywhere at the same price.
A survey of 1,360 business leaders from EU countries showed that this proposal is least known in the Nordic countries (28 percent), Belgium/Luxembourg (29 percent) and Portugal (30 percent).
Two aspects are worrying in terms of knowledge and preparations in this context. Firstly, only seven percent of small and medium-sized enterprises in the EU state that they offer their products across borders.
Secondly, most European companies (65%) are planning to expand their business activities to other European countries over the next five years.
However, if they do not embrace the concept of the digital single market, these ambitious growth plans will be difficult to realize. Companies in Austria, Hungary and the Nordic countries are the most likely to say they want to expand beyond their own national borders by 2020.
Most respondents see several advantages in a digital single market. In particular, the greater customer potential in the EU (56%), the opportunity to open up new markets in Europe (52%) and greater efficiency within their own companies (44%) were cited.
However, 24% of the companies surveyed also do not believe that a digital single market will bring any benefits at all, and many have concerns about its impact on their business. A third believe that the digital single market will only lead to more unnecessary regulation.
One reason for the lack of enthusiasm for the digital single market could be concerns about the digital maturity of their own countries. Only nine percent of European business leaders state that their own country is "very strong" in the area of digital technology, skills and infrastructure.
While almost two thirds of all companies in the Nordic countries consider their countries to be strong in the digital sector, this figure drops to one fifth for companies in Spain and Poland and to just 15 percent in France and Italy.
According to the European Commission's Digital Economy and Society Index, Denmark, Sweden and Finland are the three countries among the 28 EU member states that are the most developed in the digital sector, while Poland, Italy and Spain are in the bottom half.
