The effect of public practices for digital transformation of manufacturing industry on competitiveness at micro, meso and macro levels: A study on electrical household appliances sector

This thesis evaluates the impact of public initiatives aimed at driving digital transformation in Türkiye's manufacturing industry on firms' competitiveness through a multi-level analytical framework. Focusing on digital public policies enacted between 2019 and 2023, the study investigates their effects on the Turkish electrical household-appliance sector at the micro (firm), meso (sectoral) and macro (national) levels, combining statistical analyses with qualitative field evidence. The sector was chosen for its high export potential, technological intensity and extensive use of public support mechanisms. Guided by three core hypotheses, the research assesses how public digitalization measures influence micro-level indicators—financial performance, operational performance, efficiency and resource management, innovation capacity and production processes; meso-level indicators—sectoral efficiency and cost advantages, collaboration capacity and adoption of innovative technologies; and macro-level indicators—export capacity, national value-added creation and overall competitiveness. Relationships between these indicators and public supports are tested using Spearman correlation analysis. In addition, semi-structured interviews with managers of two leading firms and on-site observations provide a multidimensional assessment of how public programmes affect institutional operations, perceptions and organisational processes. The findings show that, at the micro level, digital public supports positively affect efficiency and resource management, while their influence on financial performance is more limited and unfolds over time. At the meso level, public policies make a clear positive contribution to R&D capacity and collaboration infrastructure, yet constraints persist in their link to productivity indicators. At the macro level, significant relationships emerge between public R&D investments and digital-transformation incentives and national competitiveness indicators such as production and value-added, whereas no meaningful association is detected for certain macro variables, notably foreign-trade volume. Qualitative evidence reveals that digital transformation efforts within firms remain confined to technical departments, hindered by weak institutional ownership and insufficient internal communication. Although digital public platforms enhance process efficiency, document security and customer relations, transformation is not addressed from a strategic, organisation-wide perspective. Overall, the study demonstrates that public digitalization initiatives have the potential to boost sectoral competitiveness, yet their effectiveness varies by type of intervention, level of analysis and time horizon. The thesis underscores that public digital policies should be re-designed holistically—beyond technical infrastructure—to encompass governance, strategy, culture and organisational transformation.