The sectoral concentration of data capitalism: Evidence from Latvia

Ritvars Mētra ()
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Ritvars Mētra: Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies

Economics Bulletin, 2026, vol. 46, issue 1, 219 - 231

Abstract: This paper examines whether “data-capitalist” firms are concentrated in specific sectors within a small, open economy. A novel classification tool, the Data-Capitalism Maturity Framework (DCMF), is used to measure the intensity of data capitalism across 101 of Latvia's most valuable firms, which are mapped into four macro-sectors. The association between sector and data-capitalism tier is tested using exact methods with Holm adjustments, while robustness to firm size is assessed with the Cochran–Mantel–Haenszel test. Within each sector, performance metrics (turnover, EBITDA) are compared across tiers using Kruskal–Wallis and Holm-adjusted Mann–Whitney tests. Short-term competitive mobility is evaluated via changes in corporate rankings (?Rank, 2023–2024). A strong concentration of Primary-tier firms is found in the IT & Telecommunications sector, a result that holds after conditioning on firm size. In contrast, differences in the Financial Services sector do not remain significant after statistical adjustment. Across all sectors, no systematic performance premium for higher-tier firms is observed. Competitive rank mobility does not significantly differ by tier. The study concludes that data capitalism in Latvia is highly sector-specific but is not yet associated with broad, measurable firm-level performance gains. These findings suggest that pathways into the data economy are sector-dependent, challenging the narrative of a uniform digital transformation.

Keywords: Data Capitalism; Sectoral Analysis; digital economy; industry structure; Lavia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L8 O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-03-30
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