Barriers to digital transformation of high and medium high tech global manufacturing enterprises in Poland

The aim of the study is to identify the key barriers to digital transformation and assess the structure of interrelations between these barriers and the selected characteristics of enterprises, their approach to digital transformation, as well as the technological advancement of products in large and very large foreign manufacturing enterprises operating in the high and medium high technology sectors in Poland. The empirical research is based on information from 95 survey respondents. Multidimensional correspondence analysis was applied in the research to simultaneously assess the structure of interrelations between the categories of multiple nominal variables. The conducted research shows that more than 50% of the surveyed enterprises indicated excessive costs of digitalization as the main barrier to its implementation, followed by uncertain market conditions and lack of own financial resources. The most significant difficulties related to the implementation of digitalization were primarily experienced by the enterprises operating in Poland for up to 10 years, free to relocate, not committed to develop innovative products, and presenting negative approach to digital transformation. The research findings provide crucial information useful for businesses, politicians, researchers and technology providers in creating more effective strategies and policies to support the Industry 4.0 development. It can contribute to increased business competitiveness and innovation, thus having a positive impact on the economy in general. The article constitutes an original study based on the authors’ own research. First published online 28 January 2026