Authors: Panteleimon Karamalis, Athanasios Vasilopoulos

Title: Business transformation in the COVID-19 era: The case of the Greek private sector

Abstract

The recent global pandemic has come with tremendous changes to the way we live, interact with other people, and also, to the way we work. Working from home, among other changes, is the new global trend that many companies around the world are following in order to protect their employees from the explosion of the coronavirus. Likewise, it is true that many companies were not prepared for such a scenario that demanded a plethora of changes, mostly to management, adaptation, technology skills, and equipment so quickly and with operational efficiency. Furthermore, problems like economic uncertainty and the constant changes to consumer behavior, are playing a huge role in the decision-making process and existence of any company.

On the other hand, the new digital reality (new internet protocols, 5G, Virtual & Augmented Reality, 3D printing technologies, Artificial Intelligence, etc.) has the power to bring many changes and transform businesses, especially in the private sector. The advantages are plenty, from task automation, fast and accurate product development to new customer experiences and working efficiency. Thus, the most important question to ask now is whether or not businesses are ready to adapt to this new era, especially in this situation, with most of them having little funds to invest in new technologies.

Companies in Greece, especially, small and medium-sized enterprises, throughout the years, had difficulty pacing up with digital transformative tools. If only to think that the Greek economy, through the last decade, has experienced a severe financial crisis, which still afflicts, to some extent, many businesses. On top of that, the coronavirus pandemic put more pressure on the Greek private sector leading to tremendous changes. Nowadays, businesses really need to adapt to new changes fast and with reliability  in order not to lose more ground to the big companies that have more funds and better access to innovative technologies as well as faster adaptation to the new events.

In this regard, the European Union unveiled last year its first fiscal stimulus proposal to help its member states to recover from the pandemic. This fiscal stimulus is funded by bonds issued by the EU itself, rather than by individual governments. This fiscal stimulus in tandem with the help of government funds is trying to give businesses the chance to restart and build their digital transformation step by step.

To conclude, our main objective is to examine, through a literature review, the effects of the current pandemic on business transformation and adaptation in the Greek private sector. Also, we intend to identify and analyze the new opportunities that arose during the pandemic, which are considered necessary for the private sector transformation. Besides, the pandemic has brought the importance of digitalization in all kinds of businesses to the forefront, as it can ensure both that companies adapt and use new technologies and continue their business operations.