Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 crisis suddenly, abruptly accentuated both individual and business needs to move at an accelerated rate to digital activities like never before in history of mankind, which led to increased importance of digitalization in terms of use of digital technologies. The post-COVID-19 era seeks to create novel communication patterns and business models capable to ensure new revenue and value-producing benefits and opportunities in accordance to the Sustainable Development Goals by launching tremendous provocations on global economic environment for sustainable development: How can people and entities adapt, implement digitalization in their daily lives, in order to restart the economy? What will the world's digital business transformation roadmap look like, in order to find a balance between individuals' expectations and planet's needs? Will the digital skills transformation enhance the role of human resources in society, or will these new acquired skills create an even larger gap between people than ever before? Is artificial intelligence the future?
TopIntroduction
These days, the accent that is put in our society on digital transformation is unprecedented, which makes the authors of this current book chapter seek to address in a wide and comprehensive manner the legendary, life-changing, and memorable benefits of digitalization to restart the economy, with the profound desire to understand at a better level the impact of the COVID-19 on the global economic environment for the sustainable development (SD). In continuation, it ought to be mentioned that there are several key concepts and vital terms that are strongly connected with all the forms of digitalization and digital transformation, as follows: business, knowledge, human resources (HR), innovation, intangible assets (IA), intellectual capital (IC), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global economic environment, restart the economy, COVID-19 pandemic, and COVID-19 crisis.
In the European Commission’s (EC) “Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the 2030 Policy Program “Path to the Digital Decade””, published in September 2021, the importance of the digitalization process as well as the role of the digital decade are clearly acknowledged by specialists in the statements that mentioned the support of the European Union (EU) towards the “transformation” and “the transition towards a climate neutral, circular and resilient economy. The EU’s ambition is to be digitally sovereign in an open and interconnected world, and to pursue digital policies that empower people and businesses to seize a human centered, sustainable and more prosperous digital future. This includes addressing vulnerabilities and dependencies as well as accelerating investment” (European Commission (EC), 2021, p.1). The document continues with new vital issues in the same line and on the same topics, as follows: “(…) digital training and education should support a workforce in which people can acquire specialized digital skills to get quality jobs and rewarding careers. In addition, addressing the major shortage of cyber security skills in the EU workforce will be essential, as an important component of protecting the EU against cyber threats. Therefore, in addition to the target on basic digital skills established in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, the EU shall have a target of 20 million employed Information and Communication Technologies specialists in the EU, with convergence between women and men” (European Commission (EC), 2021, p.2).
The creation of the current book chapter on “Legendary, life-changing, and memorable benefits of digitalization to restart the economy: Impact of COVID-19 on global economic environment for sustainable development” comes as a result of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 crisis on people’s daily lives and business activities, based on these days’ current circumstances in which the COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 crisis have suddenly and abruptly accentuated both individuals and businesses need to move at an accelerated rate to digital activities like never before in history of mankind. In this matter, it can be remarked that the COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 crisis have led to increased importance of digitalization in terms of use of digital technologies. That is the reason why the European Commission stated in the document entitled “Shaping Europe’s Digital Future”, published in February 2020, the following aspects: “Digital technologies are profoundly changing our daily life, our way of working and doing business, and the way people travel, communicate and relate with each other. Digital communication, social media interaction, e-commerce, and digital enterprises are steadily transforming our world (Luque, 2021). They are generating an ever-increasing amount of data, which, if pooled and used, can lead to a completely new means and levels of value creation. It is a transformation as fundamental as that caused by the industrial revolution” (European Commission (EC), 2020a, p.2).
Hence, the Post-COVID-19 Era seeks to create novel communication patterns and business models capable to ensure new revenue and value-producing benefits and opportunities in accordance to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Luque et al., 2021), by launching tremendous provocations on global economic environment for sustainable development, such as, for instance, the following ones (please see, in this matter, the next four pivotal steps presented and explained):
Key Terms in this Chapter
Digital Business Processes (DBP): Have been encountered and have been used long before the appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 crisis, not representing at all a buzzword in our society, since these types of activities are believed to be a pivotal solution to a bright future for all individuals, being fully customizable, highly intuitive, and very fast, making them a must, also, for the Post-COVID-19 Era; these activities are believed to empower individuals and organizations at a very high extent in terms of data digitalization and technology, facilitating the process of encoding information, and aiming to increase the lifecycle value of businesses through better use of information, knowledge, data, and digital technology.
Digital Skills Transformation (DST) in the Post-COVID-19 Era: Is considered to be one of the most interesting and novel provocations that characterizes at present the global economic environment for the sustainable development (SD) and, in the same time, one of the most expected actions due to be taken by people and organizations in order to support the countries’ ambitions to facilitate the economic recovery and help reshape the economy, while concentrating on finding valuable answers to vital questions, such as the following ones: “How can people and entities adapt and implement digitalization in their daily lives, in order to restart the economy?”, “How will the world’s digital business transformation roadmap look like, in order to find a balance between the individuals’ expectations and the planet’s needs?”, “Will the digital skills transformation enhance the role of human resources in society, or will these new acquired skills create an even larger gap between people than ever before?”, and “Is artificial intelligence (AI) the future?”.
Digital Organization (DO) in the Post-COVID-19 Era: Makes reference, these days, to the business process (BP) transformation that takes place in all entities, at an international level, especially when organizations are inclined to seek success in all areas of activities in accordance to the sustainable development (SD) requirements and targets, while centering on very specific and highly targeted forms of processes – namely, the scope processes, addressing the need of individuals to reinvent the activities at a faster pace, and creating and implementing more evolved, more comprehensive, and more reliable digital business models (DBM); in like manner, it should be prompted that organizations are using these days a number of digital tools that are giving tribute to technology and ecosystems, thus enhancing the most wanted process of providing greater value to the customers and clients through new experiences, new products and services, new business models, and new solutions to their problems.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Building Inclusive Global Knowledge Societies: Is a worldwide desiderate promoted assiduously by the United Nations (UN), in the spirit of calling all countries (developed and developing) to take action in reaching the Global Goals, with the tremendous desire to end poverty, the paramount need to protect the Planet Earth, and the overpowering desire to ensure that all individuals are capable to enjoy both peace and prosperity now and in the future; in continuation, these Global Goals have their profound roots implemented in the overbearing desire to foster sustainability at three main levels, namely economic, environmental, and social, due to their immediate and unequivocal relationship together with the people, our planet, and the profits.
Global Economic Environment (GEE) for Sustainable Development (SD): Is believed to be the result of the individuals’ continuous struggle to maintain an appropriate balance between the unrivalled benefits offered by taking care of the planet, so that the planet will take care, in turn, of the people, and individuals and organizations amplified desire to ensure economic growth, seek financial stability, and evolve with the aid of advanced digital technologies, in order to make the most of the benefits and the opportunities that the Post-COVID-19 Era are due to be brought in terms of the incredible amount of information due to be processed, encoded, and valued as knowledge, the world’s business environment and the newest digital trends, the digital transformation of the local and the international markets, the competitive landscape, the rapid response of the entities’ human resources (HR) facing the perspective of the artificial intelligence (AI) today and in the future.
Digital Business Process Management (DBPM): Represents a vital step in any activity that relies on digital transformation, since the integration of the digital technology into all areas of business is regarded as the immediate consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 crisis and as the wide range solution in the Post-COVID-19 Era, since it makes reference to the manner in which digital transformation changes how entities operate and how they are able to deliver value in the present days and in the future, thus meeting the customers preferences with tailor-made offers and suitable digital products.
Digitalization to Restart the Economy: On the one hand, represents, according to world known specialists, a possible and plausible solution for today’s highly challenged economy, as a result of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 crisis on our society, in overbearing times in which both individuals and businesses are expected to move, suddenly, abruptly, and at an accelerated rate to the digital activities, like never before in the history of mankind; on the other hand, represents, according to most recent studies, a valuable and longtime expected step due to be taken by both people and organizations, which is capable to lead to the increased importance of digitalization in terms of use of digital technologies in the Post-COVID-19 Era which is responsible for targeting to create novel communication patterns and pivotal business models in our society, capable to ensure new revenue and value-producing benefits and opportunities, while ensuring the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).