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

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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

Research background: The outbreak and spread of COVID-19 brought disastrous influences to the development of human society, especially the development of economy. Purpose of the article: Considering that knowing about the situations of the existing studies about COVID-19 and economy is not only helpful to understand the research progress and the connections between COVID-19 and economy, but also provides effective suggestions for fighting against COVID-19 and protecting economy, this paper analyzes the existing studies on COVID-19 and economy from the perspective of bibliometrics. Methods: Firstly, the discussion starts from the statistical analysis, in which the basic distributions of the studies on different countries/regions, different publication sources, different publication years, etc., are presented. Then, the paper shows the cooperation situations of the researchers from analyzing the related citation networks, co-citation networks and cooperation networks. Further, the theme analysis of the related studies is presented, in which the related co-occurrence networks are shown, and then the detailed analyses of the studies are introduced. Based on these analyses, the discussions about future research are presented, and finally we draw a conclusion. Findings & value added: The analyses not only present the basic situation on the research about COVID-19 and Economy, but also show the future research trends, which can provide meaningful research expectations. © 2021 Nicolaus Copernicus University.

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The research on COVID-19 and economy from 2019 to 2020: analysis from the perspective of bibliometrics

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

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need to embrace digital ways of producing work and reaching audiences in the hard-hit sectors such as performing arts. In the context of post-pandemic recovery, this paper explores the notion of digital performance and proposes a framework for categorisation of digital skills currently associated with the digital making and sharing of performance work. It also aims to review the current digital skills offering in the performing arts training at Scottish universities and suggests strategies to drive accelerated digital skills development in performance education.Design/methodology/approachLiterature on digitalisations, digital skills and digital performance have been reviewed to provide the context and inform the proposed Digital Skills for Performance Framework. Subsequently, a pilot desk-based study selected 15 Scottish Higher Education Institutions in the area of performance and analysed their publicly available programme documentation for the presence of digital skills.FindingsWhile all of the programme specifications mentioned the use of “digital portfolios” and “digital performance”, there was little specific detail concerning “baseline” (transferable) and “specific” (technical) digital skills such as competency in the use of specific technologies. More notably, there was a complete absence of content relating to digital aesthetic identity.Originality/valueUpskilling future performance makers in digital competencies seems particularly important at present. This paper offers a useful categorisation of the digital skills in performing arts context, which higher education programmes can use to update their curricula, prepare the work-ready graduates and explore technological opportunities for the sector's long-term post-pandemic recovery.

https://myresearchspace.uws.ac.uk/ws/files/30123837/2022_01_28_Webb_et_al_Digital_accepted.pdf

Digital Skills for Performance: a framework for assessing current and future digital skills needs in the performing arts sector

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

Linked to Replay-Vet project (1st January 2017 – 30th December 2018) is funded by the ERASMUS + programme with an aim to improve the employability of low-skilled and disadvantaged people to acquire the necessary VET skills and taking advantage of the opportunities created by the need for replacements in the labour market. For more information about the project see: http://regionallabourmarketmonitoring.net

Utilising Skills Demands Opportunities to Overcome the Low Professional Status and Attractiveness of a Sector: The Early Learning and Care Sector in Scotland

Aleksandra Webb

Papers

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

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

Digital Skills for Performance: a framework for assessing current and future digital skills needs in the performing arts sector

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

Utilising Skills Demands Opportunities to Overcome the Low Professional Status and Attractiveness of a Sector: The Early Learning and Care Sector in Scotland