Abstract
The current period describes the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis on businesses and the lives of citizens. It has accelerated digital transformation in all areas. The work and learning of many individuals have moved to the digital environment. In order to use digital technologies, employees need to acquire new knowledge and skills. The aim of this research study is to perform an analysis of the development of digital transformation and relevant competencies for employees and to identify the opportunities and challenges in Latvia. The research methodology applied for this research study is based on examining relevant theoretical concepts and publications of the EU regarding digital transformation. A survey method was used to find out the opinions of Latvian employers regarding the importance of digital transformation and relevant competencies for employees. The analysis of the research indicated that the majority of the respondents surveyed rated the level of implementation of digital transformation as high or medium-high, which shows that this is a good trend, and the digitalization process continues to progress. However, about a third of enterprises are only at the early stage of digitalization, while some have not yet begun it. The problem is the development of human capital competencies and digital skills. This is a specific research study that expands and provides insights into the situation in Latvia on the possibilities of implementation of digital transformation, which is closely linked with the development of human capital competencies and digital skills. This requires maintaining a holistic approach to targeted digital transformation management.
Highlights
Today, the greatest challenge is the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant global economic crisis that has significantly changed people’s habits of communication by means of information and communication technologies (ICT)
Other authors [12,18,19] have analytically summarized essential definitions from different sources and concluded that the given definitions allow categorizing the digital transformation (DT) into three distinct elements: technological, where DT is based on the use of new digital technologies such as social media, mobile, analytics, or embedded devices; organizational, where DT requires a change of organizational processes or the creation of new business models; and social, where DT is influencing all aspects of human life
In order to ensure digital transformation, it requires maintaining the holistic approach to ensuring the implementation of all the above-mentioned elements—digital technologies and organizational solutions together with the human element
Summary
The greatest challenge is the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant global economic crisis that has significantly changed people’s habits of communication by means of information and communication technologies (ICT). The application of ICT has become the norm everywhere: at work, while learning, and for everyday transactions In particular, it has far-reaching implications for workers as it most likely has accelerated the transformation process of jobs [1]. In Latvia for example, only 4.8% of employees worked remotely before the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, while in 2020, it was already 39%, i.e., almost eight times more than in 2019 [2]. This is evidenced by the results of surveys conducted by the Latvian Information and Communication Technology Association, which showed that
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