Assessment and support of the digitalization of businesses in Europe during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2021 has created an unprecedented incentive to digitize firms. This paper aims to explore how European companies may have responded to COVID-19 through digitalization. An online survey of experts from 22 European countries showed that software technologies supporting online meetings, remote working and e-commerce began to be widely adopted during the pandemic. Online meetings and the reduction of business travel are perceived as common, long-term effects of digitalization in European companies after the COVID-19 pandemic. The barriers to digitalization and the measures considered to be the most effective in supporting digitalization have also been identified.