Relational and Networking Character: Threat or Savior for the Sustainability of European Erasmus+ Projects in the Times of COVID-19 Pandemic?

Paweł Poszytek

doi:10.3390/su13169338

Abstract

Turbulent and unstable times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic constitute specific training grounds as well as a stress test to verify in practice the validity of assumptions underlying the modern paradigms in management on the one hand, and to assess which factors contribute, or pose challenges and threats, to the resilience and sustainability of modern organizations on the other hand. Research was conducted among 990 Erasmus+ project leaders to assess to what extent the factors connected with the relational and networking characteristics of Erasmus+ projects, functioning as temporary organizations, facilitate the sustainability of European transnational cooperation projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion concentrates on the digital and social dimensions of transnational cooperation and places these dimensions in the broader context of relational view and network paradigm in the modern science of management as well as in the context of strategic management. Bibliometric analysis shows that no such research has been conducted so far. Researchers tend to analyze the impact of Erasmus+ projects on regional, national, and European communities but do not touch upon the aspects connected with the management of the projects themselves, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, this research fills a research gap in this respect.

Highlights

Introduction and Research ContextThe emergence of a relational view and network paradigm in organizational research in the science of management as well as their practical embodiment in the form of strategic management are a response to turbulent, unstable, and dynamically changing social, economic, and political environments [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Average Level of Competences (Scale 1–5). The respondents assessed their digital competences on a five-point Likert scale with an average score of 4.33 and an average score of 3.84 for social competences, with the exception of the adaptability and managing stress dimension (1.74). This means that relatively high levels of the digital and social competences of the Erasmus+ project leaders may potentially function as a savior in sustaining their projects and international cooperation, whereas the factor of stress may pose some challenges in this respect and can be treated as a threat
The relational and networking characteristics of Erasmus+ projects as temporary, dispersed, international organizations have been threatened by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing possible communication and cooperation breakdowns and disruptions, the above analysis proves the following:

Summary

Introduction

The emergence of a relational view and network paradigm in organizational research in the science of management as well as their practical embodiment in the form of strategic management are a response to turbulent, unstable, and dynamically changing social, economic, and political environments [1,2,3,4,5,6]. In such uncertain environments, international organizations need to draw from their relational and networking potential to sustain business activities effectively and to gain a competitive advantage. Unhierarchical characteristics of business partnerships and voluntary character: these features perfectly correspond to the characteristics of Erasmus+

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Results

Conclusion