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The Impact of COVID 19 on Sustainability of Organizations

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2022) | Viewed by 40260

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Zlatko Nedelko

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, Razlagova Street 14, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
Interests: management; leadership; business ethics; social responsibility; digitalization and industry 4.0 challenges in organizations

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The occurrence and persistence of COVID-19 have changed our private lives dramatically, and have altered organizational working and behavior. Despite this, we have witnessed a steady increase in concerns related to the sustainability of organizations around the world in the last decade. These concerns are expressed in numerous studies. More research focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on sustainability is needed, as concern for sustainability becomes “sensitive” when in the midst of a crisis situation, as we are witnessing now with COVID-19. Therefore, COVID-19 circumstances constitute a highly complex situation for organizations and managers in terms of the sustainability of organizations.

The main purpose of this Special Issue is to highlight the impact of COVID-19 on the sustainability of organizations from various perspectives. This Special Issue seeks a wide range of contributions that assess how current economic circumstances influence and shape the sustainability of organizations. Contributions that combine current challenges in organizations, when addressing the impact of COVID-19 on the sustainability of organizations, are highly welcome. In this context, we would like to highlight the digitalization of organizations, the role of future generations, diversity issues, and many others, in the context of the sustainability of organizations in the current COVID times.

With focus on a broader spectrum of viewpoints, which may influence the sustainability of organizations, while also considering the implications of COVID-19 circumstances, this Special Issue aims to emphasize new perspectives, which may not have been previously considered in the literature or been at the forefront of scholarly interest. Thus, the main focus is to outline new perspectives for examining the sustainability of organizations in the framework of the uncertain environment caused by COVID-19, while also focusing on studies addressing contemporary challenges in COVID circumstances, and studies drawing on indirect association with the sustainability of organizations are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Zlatko Nedelko
Guest Editor

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Keywords

sustainability of organizations
COVID-19
sustainable development
challenges
new perspectives
corporate social responsibility

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 348 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainability Reporting Ecosystem: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Overhaul during the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Daniel Zdolšek and Sabina Taškar Beloglavec

Sustainability 2023, 15(9), 7349; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15097349 - 28 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1915

Abstract

The preparation of sustainability reports, which a negligible number of organisations had been doing until recently, will soon be the new reality for many more organisations. This research aims to present changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in the ecosystem of sustainability reporting pronouncements, especially those used by organisations. In our research, we compare important information about two different periods and the content demands in reporting on sustainability. Changes in the ecosystem are fundamental and unique. Based on the analysis of events and documents, the current research shows the changes in the ecosystem and the future dynamics in the ecosystem, including the principle standard setters (i.e., International Sustainability Standards Board and European Financial Reporting Advisory Group, EFRAG). The research shows that although the changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, they did not significantly impact the ecosystem’s development or slow down or stop their development. The COVID-19 pandemic did not affect the speed or dynamics of changes. In the last few years, EFRAG and the European Union established their position and gained a significant influence in sustainability reporting, with EFRAG at the forefront. The European Sustainability Reporting Standards will be mandatory for organisations doing business in the European Union. At the same time, we do not expect that the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards will be directly endorsed for use in the European Union. The paper presents a new perspective on examining sustainability via developing organisations’ reporting demands within the framework of the uncertain environment caused by COVID-19. In this context, our research also contributes to the literature. The study also has a potential practical impact on organisations and management since it illuminates a wide range of selected sustainability viewpoints and their reporting. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID 19 on Sustainability of Organizations)

12 pages, 302 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Importance of Monitoring the Work-Life Quality during the COVID-19 Restrictions for Sustainable Management in Nursing

by Mateja Lorber and Mojca Dobnik

Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6516; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15086516 - 12 Apr 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1844

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the work-life quality and related workplace factors of nursing employees working in hospitals during the COVID-19 restrictions. Employees in nursing carry out nursing care at various levels of healthcare. Work-life quality refers to an individual’s feelings concerning work and outcomes and depends on different working characteristics and conditions. Quantitative research based on a cross-sectional study was used. This cross-sectional study included 486 employees in nursing from four Slovenian acute care hospitals. The results showed that most employees in nursing assessed the work-life quality on a moderate level: 76% were satisfied with their work, and 89% assessed their well-being at the workplace as positive. Considering the leaders’ support, the number of patients, adequate information, teamwork, working position, use of days off, and equipment for safe work, we can explain the 53.5% of the total variability of work-life quality. We also found that work-life quality had an essential effect on well-being at the workplace (β = 0.330, p < 0.001) and work satisfaction (β = 0.490, p < 0.001) of employees in nursing. Work-life quality refers to an employees’ feelings about their workplace, and its monitoring is important for higher employees’ well-being and health. For management and policymakers in nursing, it is important to design strategies to ensure an adequate number of competent employees and establish a supportive leadership system. Work-life quality is an important factor in the recruitment and retention of the nursing workforce. Flexible working conditions and policy changes can improve work-life quality and balance. Nursing management must understand the influencing factors of work-life quality to improve nursing employee retention strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID 19 on Sustainability of Organizations)

14 pages, 3732 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Measures to Ensure the Sustainability of Information Systems in the COVID-19 Environment

by Hyukjin Kwon, Youngjoo Shin, Jaeyeong Jeong, Kookjin Kim and Dongkyoo Shin

Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 35; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15010035 - 20 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1240

Abstract

National defense requires uninterrupted decision-making, even under direct or indirect impacts of non-traditional threats such as infectious diseases. Since all work utilizes information systems, it is very important to ensure the sustainability and availability of information systems. In particular, in terms of security management, defense work is being performed by dividing the network into a national defense network and a commercial Internet network. This study suggests a work execution plan for sustainability that takes into account the efficiency of work performed on the Internet and the effectiveness of security through effective defense information system operation. It is necessary to minimize the network contact points between the national defense network and the commercial Internet and to select high-priority tasks from various tasks and operate them efficiently. For this purpose, actual cases were investigated for an institution, “Organization A”, and characteristics were presented. Through the targeted tasks and operation plans presented in this paper to improve the effectiveness of defense tasks and ensure security, it will be possible to increase the sustainability and availability of task performance even under non-traditional threats such as infectious diseases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID 19 on Sustainability of Organizations)

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25 pages, 477 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multidimensional Model of High-Growth Companies: Do COVID-19 and the Ukraine–Russia Crisis Lead to Differences?

by Blaž Frešer

Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15278; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142215278 - 17 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1216

Abstract

Economies and the companies operating within them are currently facing numerous challenges and threats that are caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and recovery and are prolonged by the Ukraine–Russia crisis. Both have drastically changed the way companies operate. High-growth companies (HGCs) can be an important group because of their characteristics and can provide guidelines for efficiently addressing these challenges and creating new opportunities. Our research contributes to this field, as the objective of the article is to find out whether the global challenges (i.e., the COVID-19 and Ukraine–Russia crisis) lead to a difference in the strength of the influence between the analyzed determinants—the growth factors of HGCs. For this purpose, a structural model equation (SEM) was applied and a multigroup analysis between the two data sets (before and during the global challenges) was performed on the pooled sample of n = 242 HGCs from the Republic of Slovenia. The results showed some statistically significant differences that can be explained by the time perspective and possibly by the influence of global challenges. Thus, this paper makes an important contribution to science, as a reassessment of the theories and implicit assumptions in current research is needed due to global challenges. It is also useful for policy makers who want to consider the impact of recent global challenges in their policy recommendations and for HGCs seeking sustainable high growth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID 19 on Sustainability of Organizations)

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34 pages, 677 KiB

Open AccessArticle

SME Top Management Perception of Environmental Uncertainty and Gender Differences during COVID-19

by Sabina Veršič, Polona Tominc and Tjaša Štrukelj

Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3593; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14063593 - 18 Mar 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1809

Abstract

Environmental scanning has become increasingly crucial for an organisation’s existence and a matter of interest for scholars and professionals. This research presents an outline of the situation in the field of multidimensional environmental scanning, focusing on Slovenian micro, small and medium sized organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the paper aims to examine if top managers perceive the multidimensional (external) environment as uncertain and if there have been gender differences in multidimensional (external) environmental uncertainty perception during the COVID-19 pandemic. We researched the field of ecological, social, technological, economic, and political–legal environments. The nonparametric Mann–Whitney U test and descriptive statistics were used to test the research hypotheses. The results show that top managers are not aware enough of multidimensional environmental uncertainty. They do not perceive the ecological and social environment as unpredictable at all. Among the studied environments, they perceive the political–legal environment as most unpredictable. There are no statistically significant gender differences in perceptions of ecological, social, technological, economic, and political–legal environmental uncertainty. We suggest SME top managers pay more attention to environmental uncertainty and use environmental scanning methods to achieve more sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID 19 on Sustainability of Organizations)

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16 pages, 277 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Crisis Management and CSR in Slovenian Companies: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Dusko Ursic and Andrej Smogavc Cestar

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2690; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14052690 - 25 Feb 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2380

Abstract

The main aim of this article was to outline how the appearance of COVID-19 changed the global competitiveness of Slovenian companies through the lenses of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and crisis management. Based on concepts of CSR and crisis management, we analyzed the responses of companies to ensure their competitiveness in a crisis situation. Two surveys among managers in Slovenian companies were carried out, one in March 2020 (N = 618) and the other in May 2020 (N = 486). Our results showed that internationally oriented companies responded more comprehensively and proactively to the challenges of doing business in the COVID-19 crisis compared to the companies that had operated mainly in the domestic market during this period. The analysis also showed that internationally oriented companies responded to the COVID-19 crisis with more comprehensive measures also using the concept of CSR and crisis management in comparison with companies that, in the time of the pandemic, operated mainly in the domestic market and used fewer principles of CSR and crisis management. The main theoretical implications of this survey are related to CSR development. They emphasize the interdependent importance of experience and impact in international business in connection with the concept of CSR and crisis management in times of COVID-19. Practical implications include proposals to streamline operations to maintain competitiveness and to take advantage of new business opportunities and effects, which are also encouraged through the use of the CSR concept and crisis management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID 19 on Sustainability of Organizations)

26 pages, 604 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Remote Working for Sustainability of Organization during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediator-Moderator Role of Social Support

by Marko Slavković, Stefan Sretenović and Marijana Bugarčić

Sustainability 2022, 14(1), 70; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14010070 - 22 Dec 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 7536

Abstract

Remote working became a widespread business practice during the COVID-19 pandemic as an organizational response to protect employees’ health and maintain business continuity. The aim of this paper is to reveal the role of social support in the relationship among NWHI, NHWI and loneliness, and work engagement and job performance. The study respondents were employees with a remote working status in Serbian companies, and a total of 226 valid surveys were collected. The PLS-SEM approach was deployed to test the hypothesized relationship between named variables. A standard bootstrapping procedure was used to reveal direct and indirect effects among latent variables. Results indicate a strong and positive direct association between social support and work engagement and job performance, while mediation and moderation of the role of social support were mostly confirmed but with some results opposite to what was expected. Social support was not able to buffer a negative home–work interaction and loneliness within remote working. The study offers insight into the role of social support and recommendations for managing the antecedents and consequences of remote working, with the aim to determine a sustainable model for extensive application, not only during the COVID-19 pandemic, but in regular times. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID 19 on Sustainability of Organizations)

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17 pages, 653 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Peruvian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Times of Crisis—Or What Is Happening over Time?

by Susanne Durst, Ann Svensson and Mariano Martin Genaro Palacios Acuache

Sustainability 2021, 13(24), 13560; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132413560 - 08 Dec 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2688

Abstract

Crises means a particular threat to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The pandemic is no exception; on the contrary, it reinforces this threat. This study provides insight into crisis management in SMEs over a period of time. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews in Peruvian SMEs at two points in time. The findings provide insight into how the Peruvian firms studied adapted to the new situation, and initiated responses to cope with the crisis covering the period April–December 2020. By having studied the phenomenon of crisis management in SMEs at different stages, the study contributes to the further development of still underdeveloped fields of research, namely, crisis management in Latin America in general, and crisis management in SMEs in particular. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID 19 on Sustainability of Organizations)

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31 pages, 1578 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Sustainable Socially Responsible Society: Well-Being Society 6.0

by Simona Šarotar Žižek, Matjaž Mulej and Amna Potočnik

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9186; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13169186 - 16 Aug 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4743

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to introduce Sustainable Socially Responsible Society 6.0 as a new concept that is supposed to extend ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ to the entire society for humankind to gain a new chance to survive beyond the dangerous neoliberalism that abuses the market and democracy to the benefit of very few humans—the richest one percent and a few around them—and beyond Society 5.0. This study aims to define the framework conditions of ‘Well-being Society 6.0’, where humans can both achieve and define their targeted quality of life, including work–life balance, etc. Mulej’s Dialectical Systems Theory provides requisite (i.e., sufficient and necessary) integrity/holism of approach that leads to a Sustainable Socially Responsible (SSR) Society without overlooking the necessity of personal, including managerial, responsibility. Most humans try to satisfy their basic survival needs by management, which is requisitely holistic; it can and shall contribute to setting the framework conditions, foremost with non-technological innovation management. The Economy for the Common Good can contribute to SSR Society 6.0, including ‘Well-being society’. In addition, in 2019–2021 humankind is experiencing the ‘new Corona Virus’ crisis, killing millions, but also enabling a crucial step toward a well-being society by returning worldwide economic governance from neoliberalism to Keynes-based state capitalism with no loud objections. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID 19 on Sustainability of Organizations)

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17 pages, 301 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Gender Differences in Work Satisfaction, Work Engagement and Work Efficiency of Employees during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case in Slovenia

by Maja Rožman, Simona Sternad Zabukovšek, Samo Bobek and Polona Tominc

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8791; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13168791 - 06 Aug 2021

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 7223

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown has caused massive economic disruption, leading businesses to make a rapid transition and take a new approach to business strategy. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to examine if there are statistically significant gender differences in work satisfaction, work engagement, and work efficiency among employees who work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, the paper aims to identify the importance of individual dimensions of work satisfaction, work engagement, and work efficiency, and gender differences perspective. The research is based on a survey of 785 employees in Slovenian companies. The factor analysis and the t-test for two independent samples were used to test the research hypotheses. Findings: The results show significant gender differences in work satisfaction, work engagement, and work efficiency among employees who work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper provides change management insights and recommendations to assist companies in minimizing the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their employees. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID 19 on Sustainability of Organizations)

16 pages, 995 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Technology and Corporate Social Responsibility

by Vojko Potocan

Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8658; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13158658 - 03 Aug 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5272

Abstract

This study examined the importance of technologies in advancing modern organizations’ corporate social responsibility (CSR). Drawing upon environmentalist and technological theories, we analyzed the shift from the traditional development of technology to the development of sustainable technologies for the further sustainable advancement of organizations. Technology has decisively influenced the development of humankind, but its research has traditionally excluded sustainable development issues. Newer technological visions have addressed the incorporation of technologies in all industries more comprehensively to solve social issues related to environmental protection and sustainable economic development. Such an orientation is followed by several conceptual solutions, such as the sustainable use of traditional technologies, development of sustainable technologies, and interdisciplinary treatment of sustainable technology to extend the CSR model. The results of our study have theoretical implications, highlighting the effects of technological development and new technologies on the course of further societal sustainable development. Practical implications include extending CSR’s Triple Bottom model with a technological dimension to improve organizations’ further sustainable operating and behavior. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Impact of COVID 19 on Sustainability of Organizations)

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