Manufacturing Advantage: Why High-Performance Work Systems Pay Off

Businesses have been exposed to various challenges during the global pandemic, and their response to this disruption has impacted their resilience as well as their chances to overcome this crisis. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are changing their business models in order to adapt to this changing environment. Service-based industries have been hit particularly hard. This research investigates how SMEs operating in service industries have been coping with the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This research aims to gain insights into which transformation drivers they have focused on and which technologies they have selected as a means to respond to the disruption. These insights regarding SMEs are then explored according to their influence on the redefinition of sustainable business models in SMEs. The review data was analyzed via a customized research framework that contains three dimensions and 30 subconcepts. The results show the distribution of drivers and technologies across service sectors. They are organized into a Business Model Canvas and could be considered useful for academia and practitioners. The highly unpredictable environment allows for only a few feasible strategic approaches regarding an SME’s decision on to follow incumbents, to become a challenger, or to reinvent themselves based on their own transformation drivers and readiness to apply digital technologies.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Sustainable Business Models in SMEs

PurposeAlthough the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic appears to disproportionately affect those in informal employment, they often receive less government support than the formally employed This paper considers definitions of the informal economy and informal employment, explores the rationale for participating in the informal economy and reflects on some effects of the pandemic on these workers Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a narrative literature review with analysis of the selected academic and policy literature FindingsThere are considerable short- and long-term implications of the pandemic for informal employment and the informal economy This occurs against the background of unresolved tensions arising from informal workers' desire for more employment security and employers' striving for continued labour flexibility while transferring costs to government and workers The COVID-19 pandemic might accelerate current trends and force new solutions to better protect basic work security while helping organisations to remain competitive Government policies supporting work safety, income security, moves to formalisation of employment and fairness for informal employees are particularly important Research limitations/implicationsAs statistical and qualitative evidence is currently limited, it is too early to identify the full effects of COVID-19 on employment in the informal economy Practical implicationsThe results suggest that governments need to carefully consider explicit support for those in informal employment to create fair, resilient and ethical structures for workers, businesses, economies and wider societies Social implicationsThe paper identifies some of the social implications of COVID-19 for the informal sector Originality/valueThe analysis offers initial insights into the impacts of a major health, economic and social shock on informal working

/pdf/employment-in-the-informal-economy-implications-of-the-covid-xrifta81mo.pdf

Employment in the informal economy: implications of the COVID-19 pandemic

Using a survey of 5,504 respondents from 22 European countries,we examine preferences regarding cash and cashless payments at the point of sale (POS) during the COVID-19 crisis. Consumers favor cashless transactions when they believe that handling cash presents a higher risk of infection. Moreover, the habits they develop during periods of restrictions and lockdowns appear to further diminish their appetite for transacting in cash. Not only do these factors affect current choice of payment method, but also influence declared future intentions to move away from cash after the pandemic is over.

Switching from Cash to Cashless Payments during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

Purpose This article investigates some ongoing issues faced by higher education institutions (HEIs) having to rapidly move their teaching online during the early stages of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic Design/methodology/approach The article incorporates a review of academic and policy literature concerning digitalisation and online learning in universities and qualitative interviews with staff involved in online teaching and learning at a university in Scotland Findings For most HEIs and organisations across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the speed at which digitalisation and digital ways of working have been embedded in organisational life and service delivery including new ways of learning and working This has led to a recognition of the need for practically focused, effective inclusive digital interventions A range of initiatives that have been developed or accelerated in response to the pandemic are discussed These should be explicitly designed and implemented to also reach individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those with low-skill levels or qualifications and older age groups Effort is also needed by policymakers and HEIs to better understand the challenges and unintended consequences that digital learning and working poses Research limitations/implications More research is needed into the methods and implications of increased online teaching The range of interviewees is limited to one main organisation A wider range of staff, students, HEIs and other types of organisation would add additional insights Practical implications Insights from interviews highlight a number of institutional responses to digitalisation, which were accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic These identify learning and reflection points for HEIs moving to enhanced online teaching provision Originality/value This article provides an analysis of the processes, issues and impacts associated with the rapid shift to digitisation in HEIs at a point in time shortly following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 It raises issues around inclusivity of online learning, pedagogy, unintended consequences of digitalisation and privacy, when moving to online teaching that are relevant both during the pandemic and in the longer term

/pdf/moving-learning-online-and-the-covid-19-pandemic-a-covupru4qk.pdf

Moving learning online and the COVID-19 pandemic: a university response

https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/9783957103598-23.pdf

What, Who, Why and Ways out of the Informal Economy: A Brief Review of Key Definitions and Approaches

Recruitment and workforce development challenges in low-status sectors with high labour demand – childcare work

State of the Art Review (WP2): Higher Education Institutions/Universities Responses to Digitalization (IO1) Scotland Country Report

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