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Based on findings regarding existing indicators for the measurement of Industry 4.0, the goal of the presented article is to create our own composite indicator and carry out a cluster analysis for EU countries. There is a relatively large amount of academic studies in the area of the measurement of Industry 4.0 that focus on the composite indicators that attempt to capture this phenomenon statistically. At the moment, however, there are no available timelines of these composite indicators. In the empirical section, we have created our own indicator -the "Industry 4.0 relative performance index". This Index was computed using the methodology of the World Economic Forum. Computation of our own composite indicator has made it possible to record the development of Industry 4.0 performance in time and thus evaluate the relative positions of member states. Cluster analysis was carried out for the years 2011 and 2019, and data was extracted from Eurostat and Worldbank statistics. Results of this paper may serve as guidance for future targeting of cohesive EU policy in the field of Industry 4.0 support, which in the future may contribute to strengthening the position of the EU economy as a whole.

Sustainability and digitalization are two of the most powerful phenomena of recent times. The phenomena of digitalization and sustainable development are each separately massively explored, but their intersection is subject only to a few of undertaken researches. The paper aims to expand existing sustainability research by incorporating the current digital environment. In particular, the paper explores the relationship between sustainability and digitalization and maps the potential of digitalization benefits for sustainability issue of companies on the base of conducted literature review and content analysis of published researches in this field. As the results shown, digitalization brings new opportunities and challenges in the management of organizations, as well as the fulfilment of their sustainability strategy. It is time to rethink the concept of sustainability and update it in the light of the development of digitalization. Digitalization is becoming an essential part of business.

Digitalization, digital performance and transformation have become remarkable phenomena as of late. Digital transformation helps increase digital competencies and creates an ecosystem with more technologically advanced products and services, thus becoming an important prerequisite for the competitiveness of economies. However, this transformation has an impact not only on economies, but also on society as a whole, and therefore it has become a complex topic that is being addressed by various European and national agendas. Various development policies are being formed, and the effects of digital transformation on the socio-economic sphere are being examined as technological progress brings with it not only great challenges and opportunities, but also threats to society, economies and individual businesses. In order to assess the level of digital transformation, the European Union processes a number of different composite indicators. This paper concentrates on digital performance and its measurement through selected composite indicators (DESI, EIDES). The aim of this paper is to examine the relationships between these composite indicators and productivity rate (represented by GDP per capita and Total Factor Productivity). Using this analysis, it is possible to capture the position of the Czech Republic within EU member states and form recommendations for improving its position.

Considering recent developments in IT and the wake of the global economic crisis, crowdfunding has become an increasingly significant alternative form of finance. The aim of this paper is to analyse and discuss the current state and development of alternative finance markets focusing on crowdfunding. Firstly, we define the terms "alternative finance", "alternative funding", and "crowdfunding". The paper continues with the theoretical framework of crowdfunding and discusses different models of this type of financing. Development of alternative forms of financing is analysed based on data from previous surveys carried out in the field of alternative finance markets and individual crowdfunding platforms functioning around the world. Crowdfunding is growing worldwide, and the Asia-Pacific region, headed by China, is the world's largest alternative finance market, followed by the Americas. In Europe, the UK is the market leader in alternative finance. As individual models of financing are concerned, the most common forms of alternative finance activities are peer-to-peer consumer lending, reward-based crowdfunding, and peer-to-peer business lending. At the end of the paper, we provide a conclusion of the presented aspects of crowdfunding and development of alternative finance. Finally, we mention potentially problematic areas of this type of financing that could be elaborated upon in the future.

Technological development and progress in digitization permeate all areas of life, of course not excluding companies and their activities and individual business processes. In this paper, we focus on the area of corporate procurement as one of the key areas for fulfilling corporate goals and its transformation in the age of digitalization. The paper aims to identify the changing function of procurement and possible opportunities of digitalization for the development of procurement and its role in organization. As the results shown, procurement is a value-creating process that is changed by the digitalization. It is moving from a traditional focus on cost reduction to value creation through dynamic cooperation and building relationships with business partners. Procurement is beginning to play an increasingly strategic role in organizations. It becomes a partner to support business efficiency and the creation of new business models.