European Journal of Business Science and Technology 2023, 9(1):56-69 | DOI: 10.11118/ejobsat.2023.007

How Firms in the Service Sector Changed Their Behavior During the Covid-19 Pandemic – A Case Study from the Moravian-Silesian Region

Emil Adámek1, Lukáš Durda2, Michal Fridrich1, Veronika Nálepová1
1 PRIGO University, Havířov, Czech Republic
2 Pan-European University, Prague, Czech Republic

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the service sector. This paper aims to assess how firms in the service sector changed their behavior during the covid-19 pandemic regarding innovations and using flexible forms of work. We obtained responses from approximately 300 companies operating in the Moravian-Silesian region service sector through a questionnaire survey. We show that the most common innovation firms use organizational and process innovation. Moreover, we found that larger, younger, and more internalized firms enjoyed more innovation during the pandemic than others. While changes in part-time jobs and agreements held outside the employment relationship are temporary, changes in home office use and outsourcing appear to be permanent.

Keywords: Covid-19, pandemics, innovations, flexible forms of work, Moravian-Silesian region
JEL classification: D22, M12, O32

Received: February 1, 2023; Revised: May 10, 2023; Accepted: May 25, 2023; Published: June 30, 2023  Show citation

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Adámek, E., Durda, L., Fridrich, M., & Nálepová, V. (2023). How Firms in the Service Sector Changed Their Behavior During the Covid-19 Pandemic – A Case Study from the Moravian-Silesian Region. European Journal of Business Science and Technology, 9(1), 56-69. doi: 10.11118/ejobsat.2023.007
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