The Challenges and Opportunities in the Digitalization of Companies in a Post-COVID-19 World
Open accessAbstract
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.
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- [33]33. Jos e Augusto Monteiro (Member, IEEE) received the M.Sc. degree in information management from the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. He is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree on web science and technology with Universidade Aberta, Lisbon, Portugal. He is currently a Professor with Instituto Superior Polit ecnico Gaya (ISPGAYA), Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. He is a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and has a Certificate of Pedagogical Aptitude (CAP) from IEFP. His current research areas include e-government solutions, web accessibility, and web interfaces.
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“The research results indicate that companies advanced in digitization processes are more resistant to this crisis [33,34].”
- Authors
- Almeida, F., Duarte Santos, J., & Augusto Monteiro, J.
- Affiliations
- Universidade do Porto (PT)
- Venue
- IEEE Engineering Management Review
- Published
- 2020-09-01
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 97-103
- ISSN
- 0360-8581 (ISSN-L)
- 1937-4178
- PMC
- PMC8768964
- OpenAlex
- W3046546941
- Cited by
- 520
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 68 · 2024: 119 · 2023: 140 · 2022: 113 · 2021: 60
- FWCI
- 71.78
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- IEEE Engineering Management Review (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management of Technology and Innovation › Digital Innovation in Industries
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Digital Economy and Transformation
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts
- Keywords
- digital transformation, COVID-19 pandemic, enterprise digital transformation, sales and marketing, technology management, remote work, digital talent, cybersecurity, privacy, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, big data, robotics, digital products and services
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