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

In: Regional science policy and practice: RSPP

Abstract

AbstractThe 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.