Assessment of the Implementation of New Digital Technologies in Connection with the Level of Efficiency of Supply Chains in the Context of COVID-19

Information and communication technologies have become an integral part of our life. Supply chain management is also currently in a digital transformation, especially during the period of disruptions in global and local supply chains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study is to provide an empirical descriptive analysis of the role of digital technologies in improving the efficiency and recovery of supply chains, as in the pre-crisis period and in a pandemic.The research is based on the processing of statistical data and macroeconomic indicators, presented in the public domain. The following indicators were considered as basic indicators: gross domestic product as a characteristic of the level of economic development of Russia before the crisis; Logistics efficiency index; Digital Life Index. For comparative analysis, countries from different categories were selected in the context of the selected assessment indicators. The results obtained confirmed the significant role of information and communication technologies in improving the efficiency and restoration of supply chains destroyed in connection with COVID-19 pandemic.It has been concluded that at the national level, developed economies showed high efficiency of their logistics systems and high scores of digital life rating. For countries with a level of economic development below average, the impact of information and communication technologies on the efficiency of the logistics system was not decisive in this context. The implementation of information and communication technologies makes it possible to restore the supply chains destroyed by the crisis and increase their efficiency, because of which a business in a pandemic gets a chance to survive.The results of this study can be used by heads of enterprises of various levels in determining the strategy and tactics of enterprise development, including crisis management. Research methods and data can be applied by researchers to further research into the impact of information and communication technologies on the recovery and efficiency of global and local supply chains, including considering updated data that consider the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the indicators used in this article.

As digital technologies emerge and improve rapidly, firms face changing tradeoffs in terms of their technology infrastructure and strategic direction. Hence, many of them adopt new digital technology and develop new business models and strategies. The literature on strategic alignment of IT suggests that firms need to synchronize these different domains of choice. We therefore, ask how far firms renew their strategy as they adopt new technologies. In this article, we study this question empirically by assessing if the adoption of new digital technologies is associated with, or even leads to, changes to firm strategy using a detailed survey-based dataset on firms’ strategy renewal and their adoption of digital technologies. We observe a strong positive association between the extent of strategy change and the stage of adoption of advanced digital technologies overall, suggesting a tight coupling between (technological) structure and strategy. Further, using instrumental variable regressions to disentangle the two effects, we find that the adoption of new technologies may lead to a large and robust effect on strategy change: the more extensive the adoption, the larger the change in strategy. This result is robust to various specifications and across industries. However, we notice substantial differences across technologies, potentially pointing at heterogeneity in their strategic nature or maturity level.

Industry 4.0's main function is to provide savings, agility and competitive advantage, through innovative solutions, when its concepts and principles are applied to the construction sector, it is referred to as "Construction 4.0”. The digital technologies that constitute construction 4.0 can be introduced in all areas of the construction industry with the global objective of increasing productivity and, at the same time, simplifying work and reducing errors. In this sense, the present work aimed to identify the main challenges and actions necessary for implementation of digital technologies by construction companies in the context of the changes that guide technological advances in digital transformation. To this end, the methodology adopted included literature research, which sought to embroider important concepts, characteristics and classifications on the principles of industry 4.0 and the use of digital technologies in construction companies, followed by case studies carried out in construction companies in the city from Recife-PE involved in actions aimed at digital transformation. The results present the main digital technologies used in construction companies as well as the sectors suitable for their respective implementations. Furthermore, it was concluded that the adoption of digital technologies is crucial for digital transformation in construction companies; however, the costs associated with the development and adoption of new digital technologies, as well as customer conservatism, represent the biggest barriers to implementation in construction companies. The main contribution is the presentation of guidelines for implementing digital technologies in construction companies.

PurposeIn the last decade, the hospitality sector has undergone numerous changes in the organization and structure of its business models. Specifically, the adoption of new digital technologies has initiated transformative changes toward circular economy and sustainability. The present study aims to analyze whether the use of the digital reservation system in circular entrepreneurship businesses has an impact on entrepreneurs’ satisfaction and trust in the in circular economy.Design/methodology/approachThe data collected via a survey of 317 entrepreneurs who use a circular economy strategy were analyzed using SEM in a proposed model based on circular entrepreneurship businesses and the adoption of digital reservation systems.FindingsThe results showed a positive relationship between usability and perceived ease of use and user satisfaction and trust in using digital reservation systems to boost circular entrepreneurship in hospitality. Therefore, it was identified that adopting a digital reservation system can increase the efficiency of entrepreneur resources, as well as lead to creation of sustainable knowledge, augment the use of new sources of user information, improve prediction of services and demand and, consequently, boost sustainability and circular economy.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research can use the results of the present study to investigate how digital technologies work and affect user trust, satisfaction, and use of these systems in entrepreneurs’ projects in hospitality. In addition, it would be interesting to explore how these factors influence hospitality in different business models that support circular economy in tourism. To this end, researchers can use the variables used in the present study, along with other variables, to extend the proposed model and deepen the authors' research. In summary, this study contributes to the literature on the use of applications in hospitality sector and offer useful insight on how the adoption and use of new technologies can drive the management of knowledge and technology development, decision making and acquisition of new data sources that improve the experience of both entrepreneurs and users that interact with their services to enable circular entrepreneurship.Practical implicationsHospitality entrepreneurs can use the results of the present study to better evaluate how using these applications can affect the communication protocols with their employees and stakeholders. Furthermore, entrepreneurs operating in the hospitality sector can use the results to develop action plans focused on the circular economy, new knowledge creation, as well as development and adoption of new digital technologies that enable circular entrepreneurship. In this way, hospitality companies will be able to effectively combine both more traditional offline channels and new technologies, such as mobile applications or the Internet.Social implicationsThe authors' prediction of a strong positive link between perceived usefulness and user trust was also supported by the results of data analysis. The finding that perceived utility increases user trust in entrepreneurs when making adopting these technologies is also consistent with other similar studies. Finally, the results of this study also confirmed the hypothesized link between the perceived utility of digital technologies and user satisfaction. Taken together, the results also highlight the relevance of analyzing the use of digital reservation systems in the hospitality sector to enable circular entrepreneurship.Originality/valueTaken together, the results highlight the relevance of analyzing the use of digital reservation systems in the hospitality sector to enable circular entrepreneurship and increase the perceived usefulness of new digital technologies so that to improve sustainable actions and the circular economy globally.

Outcome of the pesticides peer review meeting on general recurring issues in ecotoxicology

Social and economic development is a difficult process in which positive and negative factors interact that causes rises and recessions in development of territories and public communities. Indicators of rating act as indicators of efficiency of management decisions at the central and local levels. However, the level of economic development doesn’t coincide with social development in most of regions of Ukraine.
 The purpose of article is adaptation of a matrix method to rating estimates of social and economic development of regions for identification of regional distinctions, definition of priorities and strategic management of development of regions.
 The economic development of the regions was estimated by GRP per capita, the average salary of employees and the unemployment rate (according to the ILO methodology). Social development is characterized by the number of people enrolled in higher education institutions per 10,000 population; coefficient of incidence of the population; volumes of emissions of pollutants in atmospheric air, thousand tons; crime rates.
 The multidimensional average method with the standardization of indicators based on the variation range was used to calculate the integral indicators of economic and social development. On the basis of integral coefficients, the ranking of regions according to economic and social development was executed. It is established that for the regions of Ukraine there is a characteristic imbalance between economic and social development, which is connected, first of all, with different structure of the economy and territorial differences of regions.
 The combination of results of economic and social development of regions was proposed with the help of building a matrix as a tool for strategic management. In the graphs (vertically), the level of economic development is singled out, in lines (horizontally) the level of social development of the regions is singled out, with the identification of three groups: low, medium and high levels.
 Regions with low economic and low social level get to 1 square; in 2 – with low economic and average social; in 3 – with low economic and high social; in 4 – with average economic and low social; in 5 – with average economic and average social; in 6 – with average economic and high social; in 7 – with high economic and low social; in 8 – with high economic and average social; in 9 – with high economic and high social level.
 Calculations show that in Ukraine no region was detected with simultaneous high levels of economic and social development (the 9th square). The vast majority are regions with average economic and average social development and also regions “below or above an average” level of development, that is one of the directions (economic or social) is “low”, and the second, accordingly, “average”. The position of the region in a matrix specifies what development strategy should be chosen. The economic and social development is higher; the capacity of the region for increase in the standard of living of the population is higher. High economic and social development is followed by the high potential of the region to increase the standard of living of the population.

Jelen tanulmány célja az Indián belül az ezredfordulón tapasztalt regionális fejlettségi különbségek vizsgálata gazdasági és társadalmi szemszögből. A tanulmány két fő kérdésre keresi a választ. Egyfelől arra, hogy milyen szerepet játszanak a társadalmi tényezők a gazdasági egyenlőtlenségek kialakulásában egy vallási és kulturális hagyományoktól mélyen átszőtt országban. Melyek lehetnek azok a mérhető indikátorok, amelyek legjobban tükrözik a társadalom állapota és a gazdaság fejlettsége közötti összefüggéseket, és vajon milyen tényezők állnak az egyenlőtlenségek hátterében? Másfelől arra, vajon a gazdasági fejlettség vagy a társadalom állapota mutat-e nagyobb mértékű területi egyenlőtlenségeket?

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have become an integral part of our life. Currently, supply chain (SC) management is also in a digital transformation, especially during the period of disruptions in global and local supply chains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study is to provide an empirical descriptive analysis of the role of digital technologies in improving the efficiency and recovery of SC in the pre-crisis period as well as in a pandemic. The research is based on the processing of statistical data and macroeconomic indicators that are freely available. The following are considered as basic indicators: Gross domestic product as a characteristic of the country's economic development level before the crisis; logistics efficiency index; digital life index. The authors have chosen few countries from different categories for the comparative analysis in the context of the selected assessment indicators The obtained study results confirmed the significant role of ICT in the efficiency improving and restoration of SC which had been destroyed in COVID-19. It is concluded that developed economies showed a high efficiency of their logistics systems at the national level and high values of the digital life rating. At the same time, the influence of ICT on the logistics system performance was not decisive in countries with average economic development and below ones. The results of this study can be used by companies' top management of various levels to build a strategy and tactics for their development including crisis management. The research methods and data can be applied to further explore the impact of ICT on the recovery and efficiency of global and local supply chains, including the updated data with the account of coronavirus pandemic impact to indicators which were used in the paper.

Enabling digitisation to reduce risk in the food system

Experimentation, Learning and Stress: The Role of Digital Technologies in Strategy Change

PurposeThis paper aims to provide an assessment of how the widespread adoption of new digital technologies (i.e. the Internet of things, big data and analytics, robotic systems and additive manufacturing) might affect the location and organisation of activities within global value chains (GVCs).Design/methodology/approachThe approach in this paper is to review various sources about the potential adoption and impact of the new digital technologies (commonly known collectively as Industry 4.0), to contrast these technologies with existing technologies, and to consider how the new technologies might lead to new configurations involving suppliers, firms and customers.FindingsThe authors report that the new digital technologies have considerable potential to disrupt how and where activities are located and organised within GVCs), and who captures the value-added within those chains. They also report that Industry 4.0 is still in its infancy, but that its effects are already having an impact upon the nature of competition and corporate strategies in many industries.Social/implicationsIn particular, the authors draw attention to the potential cyber-risks and implications for the privacy of individuals, and hence, the need for regulation.Originality/valueThis is the first published paper to consider the likely separate and joint impacts of the new digital technologies on the practice and theory of international business.

Enabling Factors in Firms Adoption of New Digital Technologies. An Empirical Inquiry on a Manufacturing Region

Is this time different? How digitalization influences job creation and destruction

The way educational institutions view certain technology has changed dramatically over the years, especially with the world lockdown in 2020. Understanding how digital technology is seen in an educational institution is the path to finding out how to improve and enhance the learning experience for students. A study by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) showed “digitalisation has been one of the main drivers of innovation in educational practices in the classroom in the past decade.” (Vlies, 2020)
 
 The study examined how different members of a New Zealand tertiary education institution perceive digital technology in their respective areas of study. It examined how technology is viewed by students from differing degrees and levels, as well as how these views differ within the undergraduate and postgraduate levels of study. The perception of educators was also examined to see how different departments view the tools they use in their respective programmes and how it differs from both past and present students. The methodology behind the research was using a mixed-method research approach to gain both qualitative and quantitative data. This method would allow for the Sequential Explanatory Strategy (Terrell, 2012) to interpret the study. The strategy is done via the collection and analysis of quantitative data followed by the collection and analysis of qualitative data. The quantitative data collection used an online survey to collect a large, population of anonymous participants.
 
 The online survey was conducted using the Qualtrics software and was administered amongst the population of the university. A particular focus was put on the undergraduate population, being the largest group of students, given their reliance on distance learning as a result of the lockdowns in New Zealand in 2020/21. The survey featured a multitude of questions to collect a mix of quantitative and qualitative data.
 
 The findings from the initial survey highlighted departments at the institution that have a stronger positive outlook towards using a higher amount digital technology in their curriculum. There was a subgroup that still preferred a more practical, face-to-face approach. In response to a question regarding whether digital technology adoption may be lagging in certain programmes/disciplines, the majority of participants gave the unknown response with the second-highest group saying it was likely. The main reason participants gave for the lag of adoption of digital technology was the underfunding of programmes, with some participants further suggesting a possible correlation between underfunding, understaffing and inadequate training. The latter coheres with the OECD study, with training being one of two key aspects of education policies: “First, teachers need sufficient training to deploy and teach about digital technologies. Second, countries need a standard for digital skills and literacy for students.” (Vlies, 2020)
 
 Ongoing follow-up interviews are currently being conducted to supplement the data from the online survey results. This study will be of interest to curriculum developers, decision-makers, policymakers, future students, educators, technologists, and other educational institution staff.

This paper explores the relationship between new digital technologies, internationalisation activity and its impact on High Growth Enterprises (HGEs), using the EIB Group Survey of Investment and Investment Finance and ORBIS data for 27 EU Member States and the United Kingdom. After controlling for sample selection bias, our results suggest that being a HGE is positively associated with the probability that a firm conducts international activities, particularly FDI. Conversely, the internationalisation process seems to trigger strong subsequent firm-growth only for FDI, not for exports. Furthermore, we show evidence on the positive association between firms that are internationalised and those adopting new digital technologies. The adoption of new digital technologies is indirectly related to the status of being a HGE via internationalisation activity in the current period. Our results highlight the complex influence of exporting and FDI on the capacity to become a HGE and the role of new digital technologies in this process.