The challenges and impacts linked to the digitalisation of the Luxembourg economy

On Thursday 7th February, Professor Mark Hunyadi of UCLouvain gave a lecture on "Digital life, automated society?" at the BCEE, followed by a round table discussion on "The challenges and impacts of the digitalisation of the Luxembourg economy" moderated by Dr Marie Gallais.

During the event organised by ALAF (Association Luxembourgeoise des Amis de la Fondation de Louvain), it was recalled that Luxembourg ranks 5^th in terms of digitalisation in the EU (Digital Economy & Society Index, DESI) and that the country has adopted an ambitious strategy of economic diversification in the digital sector, the “Digital Lëtzebuerg” strategy encompassing education, the economy and public services.

In his lecture, Professor Mark Hunyadi focused on the social and anthropological aspects of the digitalisation phenomenon. According to him, digital tools occupy an unprecedented place in the history of technology and have a dual purpose beyond the user’s control: they target the user’s comfort while at the same time exploiting the user’s personal data, which feeds Big Data.

Change management and digital transformation

During the round table discussion that followed, Guy Kerger, Founder & Managing Partner of MindForest, explained that: “Three types of digitalisation projects preoccupy companies today: increasing company performance, capturing knowledge within the company and in relation to the customer, and the desire to ride the digital wave even without having precise objectives.

Guy Kerger also explained that: “Digitalization projects are too often driven by processes and technologies. By neglecting the human element and its role in the organisation, companies lose sight of their objectives and annihilate all forms of individual added value. This is the real challenge of digitalisation.

Resistance and digitalisation

Finally, on the subject of employee resistance to digitalisation, Guy Kerger recalled that: “Resistance does not come from using the tools. What is almost always forgotten is the need to explain why they have to use these new tools. It is when employees do not understand why they are being asked to do something that resistance arises.”

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