COVID-19 has caused dramatic effects on the world economy, business activities, and people. But digitization is also helping many companies to adapt and overcome the current situation caused by COVID-19. The growth in the use of technology in the daily lives of people and companies to face this exceptional situation is an evidence of the digital acceleration process. This exploratory study analyzes the impact of digital transformation processes in three business areas: labor and social relations, marketing and sales, and technology. The impact of digitalization is expected to be transversal to each area and will encourage the emergence of new digital products and services based on the principle of flexibility. Additionally, new ways of working will foster the demand for new talent regardless of people's geographical location. Moreover, cybersecurity and privacy will become two key elements that will support the integrated development of the Internet of Things technology solutions, artificial intelligence, big data, and robotics.

The Challenges and Opportunities in the Digitalization of Companies in a Post-COVID-19 World

The use of online collaborative learning activities has been notably supported by cloud computing. Although specific reference has been made to a certain online application or service, there has been no clear understanding of how different cloud computing tools have shaped the concept of collaborative learning, and the extent to which these resources are accessible to today's students. Thus, a review of the literature was conducted to identify studies on cloud computing tools for collaborative learning in a blended classroom. The review of the literature led to the inclusion of 29 relevant studies categorized as synchronized tools, Learning Management System (LMS) tools, and social networking tools. The review results revealed a set of evidences supporting the use of certain cloud computing tools for certain collaborative learning activities categorized under sharing, editing, communication and discussion. The key opportunities and challenges associated with the use of these tools in a blended learning context were also identified and discussed. Findings from this study will certainly help academicians, practitioners and researchers to understand the potential of using cloud computing environments from a wider perspective.

A systematic review of cloud computing tools for collaborative learning: Opportunities and challenges to the blended-learning environment

The purpose of this paper is to address the potential impacts of Industry 4.0 on human resource management (HRM) – with a particular focus on employment, job profile and qualification and skill requirements in the workforce – which can have implications for supply chain management (SCM). Consequently, exploratory relationships among Industry 4.0, HRM and SCM are presented based on a systematic review.,To explore Industry 4.0 literature and its impact on employment, the authors used a systematic literature review to identify, classify and analyze current knowledge, flagging trends and proposing recommendations for future research in this area. Using the Web of Science database, the authors utilized co-citation software to visualize the networks which emerged from recurrent terms and which were then used to develop the categories of analysis.,The authors can affirm that the literature in this field is in a transition process, from the early studies of German academics to the current development of new impacts worldwide. Industry 4.0 is the central theme of the literature analyzed and is accomplished through the development of employment, qualifications, skills and learning frameworks. The results reveal that most papers are conceptual, with quantitative studies still lacking. Developed countries have a leading role in terms of research production, while Latin America and Asia are far behind. Clustering reveals four dominant themes (educational changes, employment scenario, work infrastructure resources and work meaning and proposal). The first refers to labor changes around working conditions, the work environment and new skills which are required. The second main theme concerns the potentially unstable shift in the labor market has toward a high-level context. The third is about the technical interface of humans and machines, and finally, the fourth understands the German industry as a starting point for global industrial improvements and work proposal changes. Furthermore, socio-technical systems cover the implications of HRM for SCM in three different dimensions: qualification and education (human competences), collaboration and integration of SCM (organizational competences) and data and information management (technical competences).,An original research agenda for further development of the topic. Additionally, the implications of the findings for SCM practitioners are presented.,SCM managers can benefit from the results of this paper by developing adjusted polices for organizational and human aspects. Specially about training programs to improve technology skills and education programs for cyber-human new plataforms.,So far, Industry 4.0, HRM-related topics and implications for SCM have generally been considered separately. This paper elucidates the few important studies on the impacts of Industry 4.0 on human-related topics, such as the labor market, building a research framework using the main contributions highlighted in the literature. An original research agenda is presented, as well as potential implications for SCM.

Smart industry and the pathways to HRM 4.0: implications for SCM

Technology and innovations have fueled the evolution of Industry 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution. Industry 4.0 encourages growth and development through its efficiency capacity, as documented in the literature. The growth of the construction industry is a subset of the universal set of the gross domestic product value; thus, Industry 4.0 has a spillover effect on the engineering and construction industry. In this study, we aimed to map the state of Industry 4.0 in the construction industry, to identify its key areas, and evaluate and interpret the available evidence. We focused our literature search on Web of Science and Scopus between January 2015 and May 2019. The search was dependent on the following keywords: “Industry 4.0” OR “Industrial revolution 4.0” AND TOPIC: “construction” OR “building”. From the 82 papers found, 20 full-length papers were included in this review. Results from the targeted papers were split into three clusters: technology, security, and management. With building information modelling (BIM) as the core in the cyber-physical system, the cyber-planning-physical system is able to accommodate BIM functionalities to improve construction lifecycle. This collaboration and autonomous synchronization system are able to automate the design and construction processes, and improve the ability of handling substantial amounts of heterogeneity-laden data. Industry 4.0 is expected to augment both the quality and productivity of construction and attract domestic and foreign investors.

Industry 4.0 for the construction industry: how ready is the industry?

Industry is currently undergoing a revolution (called Revolution 4.0) related to the far-reaching integration of all production areas through the digitization and the creation of new communication channels. The Polish economy generated a GDP of USD 524.5 billion in 2017, of which small and medium enterprises generated about 50% of revenue and in which microenterprises accounted for the largest share in generating GDP; i.e., around 30.2%. The aim of the research is to determine the adaptation possibilities of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector to Industry 4.0 solutions. Pilot research was carried out in the Czestochowa Industrial District. Enterprises from the SME sector were asked to provide an information about the used technologies and to determine the level of their organization’s readiness for sustainable development through technological transformation. Financial resources as well as a lack of specialized support in obtaining new technologies were defined as problems as far as transformation is concerned. The solution of the diagnosed problem is the development of a platform aimed at integrating the potential of enterprises from the SME sector in order to undertake joint actions for sustainable development.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/1/217/pdf

Problems with the Implementation of Industry 4.0 in Enterprises from the SME Sector

The introduction of information technology into all aspects of our lives has brought forth qualitative and quantitative changes on such a large scale that this process has come to be known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0. The aim of this paper is to fill in the gaps and provide an overview of studies dealing with Industry 4.0 from the business and economic perspectives. A scoping review is performed regarding business, microeconomic and macroeconomic economic problems. Four investigators performed a literature search of the Web of Science, Scopus, and Science Direct. The selected period spanned from 2014 to 2018, and the following keywords were used for the search: Industry 4.0, economics, economic development, production economics, and financial sector. A total of 2275 results were returned. In all, 67 full papers were screened. Results obtained from the relevant studies were, furthermore, divided into the following categories: work and skills development; economy growth and macroeconomic aspect; sustainability; intelligent manufacturing; policy; and change in business processes. Findings show that the aspects of work and skills development, smart technology adoption, intelligent manufacturing, and digitalization are very well described. The government and its policies usually play the role of a needed supportive element. Usually studies lack a coherent view of the topic in question and solve partial questions.

https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/197095/1/1031648321.pdf

Consequences of Industry 4.0 in Business and Economics

The purpose of this article is to identify the directions and scope of inclusion of the residents’ participation into the concept of city’s sustainable development and the smart city concept, taking into account national and international conditions, on the basis of Wroclaw’s practices in 1998–2018. Many researchers have emphasized the necessity of including residents’ participation in both the smart city concept and the sustainable city development concept, but they do not focus on a coherent linking of these activities during evolution toward a sustainable smart city (SSC). The in-depth case study analysis considered, i.e., three subsequent Wroclaw development strategies (1998–2018) and implementation of the smart city concept in Wroclaw (2015–2018) with particular emphasis on the issue of public participation and sustainable development of the city. The results of study show that in the case of the developments in the activities of smart city and sustainable city development carried out by Wroclaw, it is possible to identify two different approaches to residents’ participation in city activities. In Wroclaw, ‘residents’ participation’ in the framework of the sustainable city development activities currently covers all theoretical levels of participation, while within the smart city activities it focuses mainly on the participatory budget and the limited use of ICT. The conducted research indicates that for the implementation of the SSC concept it would be important to integrate these approaches in order to ensure the full range of residents’ participation in accordance with theoretical postulates. The conducted analysis therefore covers mostly unexplored area of research, which is important from the point of view of a city’s evolution toward becoming a sustainable smart city. The conclusions from the research are also an empirical contribution to the analysis of the changes of cities towards SSC and indicate the need for further, extended research on the undertaken problem.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/2/332/pdf

Towards a Smart and Sustainable City with the Involvement of Public Participation—The Case of Wroclaw

Global tourism has witnessed a significant positive implication on the development of developing economies. Despite the positive implication of tourism, it imposes a serious environmental cost such as environmental pollution. Brazil receives a large number of tourists each year that potentially affects economic growth and development. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of tourism on GDP and CO2 emissions in Brazil. We used a nonlinear ARDL approach to examine the nexus between tourism, economic growth, and CO2 emissions in Brazil for the period 1995–2018. The outcomes of this study reveal both short-run and long-run associations between tourism, GDP per capita, and CO2 emissions in Brazil. Nevertheless, both tourism and economic growth cause significant deterioration of the environment quality in Brazil. These findings suggest that the policymakers shall look for more sustainable and eco-friendly economic growth and tourism policies to preserve the environmental quality in Brazil.

/pdf/investigating-relationships-between-tourism-economic-growth-2c6znfd0.pdf

Investigating Relationships Between Tourism, Economic Growth, and CO2 Emissions in Brazil: An Application of the Nonlinear ARDL Approach

Since the announcement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the need for localization of SDGs has been emphasized. In this context, sustainable rural development is still a relatively undescribed area in the context of using the participatory budget as a tool to implement SDGs. Few countries have introduced legal regulations in practice, enabling the creation of participatory budgets (especially in rural areas), so a multifaceted analysis of a decade of Poland's experience may provide important guidelines for countries considering introducing such solutions, which we consider to be the main purpose of this study. This is the first study covering all communes where participatory budgets (Solecki Fund—FS) were created in Poland during the 2010–2018 period (up to 60% of all), covering both the analysis of the process of creating FSs, the directions of spending and the scale of spending (including regional differentiation), as well as legal regulations and the consequences of including central government support in this mechanism. On the basis of the research, it can be observed that, despite the small scale of FS spending, the number of municipalities using this form of citizen participation is increasing. At the same time, there is significant variation between regions, which indicates the flexibility of the FSs in adapting to the needs reported by residents. The analysed directions of expenditure indicate that the FSs are in line with the SDG objectives related to the improvement of residents' quality of life. It can be concluded that, despite the existing legal regulations, the introduction of the Solecki Fund undoubtedly depends on the political will of the local government's legislative authorities and the willingness of residents to participate in decisions on spending directions.

How a Participatory Budget Can Support Sustainable Rural Development—Lessons From Poland

Entrepreneurial activity and business environment are two of the closely watched areas. World Economic Forum makes comparison of the countries all over the world in the Doing Business. Nowadays are involved 189 countries into the overall evaluation. The article proposes to describe the Ease of Doing Business in the Czech Republic and countries from the Visegrad Group. We will concretely focus on Starting of Business and Paying taxes. The first part of the article contains the description of indexes Starting of Business and Paying taxes. Main part and goal of the article is devoted to the results of the development in the evaluation in the Czech Republic and countries from the Visegrad Group. Those two indexes have the impact on business entities in starting of the business and on the economic situation. The article is based on results the Doing business report from World Bank Group, other professional sources and knowledge of the initial state. Czech Republic is in the compared states on the last place with sub indexes Starting a business and also Paying taxes. Differences in ratings of countries from the Visegrad Group are not considerable, only Starting a business is better in Hungary.

Libuše Svobodová

Papers

Consequences of Industry 4.0 in Business and Economics

Towards a Smart and Sustainable City with the Involvement of Public Participation—The Case of Wroclaw

Investigating Relationships Between Tourism, Economic Growth, and CO2 Emissions in Brazil: An Application of the Nonlinear ARDL Approach

How a Participatory Budget Can Support Sustainable Rural Development—Lessons From Poland

Doing Business in the Countries of Visegrad Group