Digital Innovations after COVID-19: Emerging and Systemic Models or Complexities

A special issue of Systems (ISSN 2079-8954). This special issue belongs to the section "Systems Practice in Social Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 13232

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Business and Management, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, Egham, Surrey TW200EX, UK
Interests: systems thinking; information systems innovation; electronic government; sustainability management; creativity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the pace of innovation particularly driven by digital technologies. The sense of urgency during such a disruptive time enabled concentrated efforts to bring various perspectives together to create, sustain or redefine value: new forms of hybrid work have emerged whilst others have become more vulnerable. The flexibility, malleability and editability offered by digital technologies could enable innovations with different actors including the users whose practices and actions are shaped by and interact with broader changes.  Nevertheless existing, linear approaches or models for digital innovation are in need of being updated or even challenged in the face of changing globalisations. This Special Issue aims to bring contributions from different areas of knowledge in relation to digital innovations after COVID-19 by organisations and the public in general. 

We invite academic or practical contributions that advance knowledge using systems ideas, lenses or methods or promote a plurality of their use with dominant perspectives.

Some topics (by no means exclusive) to be addressed by articles are:

  • Open innovation digital platforms: crowdsourcing and beyond;
  • Integration of business models in systemic innovations;
  • Understanding cybersecurity threats in digital platforms;
  • Immersive economy partnerships between universities, industry or government. Will artificial intelligence rule? How?
  • Creativity or innovation based applied to knowledge, ecosystems and value co-creation;
  • Sustainability and resilience of digitally supported supply chains and management practices.

Dr. José-Rodrigo Córdoba-Pachón
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Systems is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 361 KiB  
Article
Slovenian Higher Education in a Post-Pandemic World: Trends and Transformations
by Fayyaz Qureshi, Sarwar Khawaja, Mirjana Pejić Bach and Maja Meško
Systems 2024, 12(4), 132; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems12040132 - 15 Apr 2024
Viewed by 607
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of work and daily life, with higher education being greatly affected, especially in remote teaching, work, and digital collaboration. Most of these changes are retained in the post-COVID-19 era, e.g., remote work has enabled greater access [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of work and daily life, with higher education being greatly affected, especially in remote teaching, work, and digital collaboration. Most of these changes are retained in the post-COVID-19 era, e.g., remote work has enabled greater access to educational opportunities and contributed to a more inclusive and diverse workforce. To investigate to what extent these changes impact higher education in the post-pandemic era, we have conducted qualitative research on a sample of 12 professors from Slovenia working in higher education, selected based on their extensive research, professional experience, and significant contributions to the field. The Delphi method was used for this study since its iterative process refines ideas in each round based on feedback from the previous one. Participants were given a five-day window to express their views and share their expertise. The responses to the open-ended questions were examined using qualitative content analysis. Research indicates that pedagogical and organisational characteristics such as the ability to adapt to changes, the capacity for resilience, and the willingness to embrace digital transformation are crucial for preserving long-term changes induced by pandemics. Full article
17 pages, 409 KiB  
Article
Towards a Digital Relational Administration Model for Small and Medium Enterprise Support via E-Tutoring in Spain
by Antonio Juan Briones-Peñalver, Francisco Campuzano-Bolarin, Francisco Acosta Hernández and José Rodrigo Córdoba-Pachón
Systems 2024, 12(3), 81; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems12030081 - 02 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1049
Abstract
In the context of public administrations after COVID-19, this paper formulates and validates a digital model of tutoring (e-tutoring) for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by public administrations or PAs to help the former reduce their risks to fold in their first few [...] Read more.
In the context of public administrations after COVID-19, this paper formulates and validates a digital model of tutoring (e-tutoring) for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by public administrations or PAs to help the former reduce their risks to fold in their first few years of existence and with the support of private professionals (economists, accountants, business advisors, managers, etc.). The model draws on ideas about relational administration (RA), a concept that is yet to be fully exploited or assessed in the literature. Several hypotheses derived from the model are formulated and tested using a polytomic-nominal logistic regression. A questionnaire was sent to and returned by 236 small and medium entrepreneurs in Spain facing insolvency proceedings to identify main reasons for business failure and if or how they would accept online tutoring from private professionals associated with PAs. Findings suggest that SM entrepreneurs agree with receiving selected forms of tutoring, requiring public administrations to enhance capabilities for joint information provision and decision making through the use of information and communication technologies or ICTs. These findings have important implications for the potential restructuring of public administrations, their collaborations with professionals, and the future co-design and implementation of e-government services by PAs Full article
26 pages, 1841 KiB  
Article
Towards a New Conceptual Model of AI-Enhanced Learning for College Students: The Roles of Artificial Intelligence Capabilities, General Self-Efficacy, Learning Motivation, and Critical Thinking Awareness
by Xi-Hui Jia and Jui-Che Tu
Systems 2024, 12(3), 74; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems12030074 - 25 Feb 2024
Viewed by 4604
Abstract
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, college students have faced various challenges that could negatively impact their critical thinking abilities due to disruptions to education, increased stress and anxiety, less social interaction, and the advancement of distance learning relying more heavily on [...] Read more.
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, college students have faced various challenges that could negatively impact their critical thinking abilities due to disruptions to education, increased stress and anxiety, less social interaction, and the advancement of distance learning relying more heavily on digital tools. With the increasing integration of AI technology across sectors, higher education institutions have deployed various AI capabilities for intelligent campuses and modernized teaching. However, how to fully utilize AI capabilities to promote students’ thinking awareness on learning effectiveness is still not clear, as critical thinking is an essential skill set holding significant implications for college students’ development. This research adopts the resource-based theory (RBT) to conceptualize the university as a unified entity of artificial intelligence (AI) resources. It aims to investigate whether AI capabilities can foster critical thinking awareness among students by enhancing general self-efficacy and learning motivation. In particular, it examines the causal relationships between AI capabilities, general self-efficacy, motivation and critical thinking awareness. Primary data was collected through a questionnaire administered to 637 college students. Structural equation modeling was employed to test hypotheses pertaining to causality. The results showed that AI capabilities could indirectly enhance students’ critical thinking awareness by strengthening general self-efficacy and learning motivation, but the effect on critical thinking awareness was not significant. Meanwhile, general self-efficacy significantly affected the formation of learning motivation and critical thinking awareness. This indicates that AI capabilities are able to reshape the cognitive learning process, but its direct influence on thinking awareness needs to be viewed with caution. This study explored the role of AI capabilities in education from the perspective of organizational capabilities. It not only proves how AI facilitates cognition, but also discovered the important mediating role of general self-efficacy and motivation in this process. This finding explains the inherent connections between the mechanism links. Furthermore, the study expands research on AI capabilities research from the technical level to the educational field. It provides a comprehensive and in-depth theoretical explanation theoretically, guiding the practice and application of AI in education. The study is of positive significance for understanding the need for the future development of the cultivation of critical thinking awareness talents needed for future development through AI capabilities in education. Full article
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23 pages, 1603 KiB  
Article
Impact of Authenticity Perception on Experiential Value and Customer Satisfaction under Contactless Services
by Chia-Ching Tsai, Chun-Ling Lin and Yu-Huan Chen
Systems 2024, 12(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems12010019 - 09 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1815
Abstract
The global economy has been profoundly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This impact is particularly evident in the restaurant industry, where restaurant traffic has dropped significantly, leading to a decline in revenue. In response to the impact of the pandemic, non-contact services, such [...] Read more.
The global economy has been profoundly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This impact is particularly evident in the restaurant industry, where restaurant traffic has dropped significantly, leading to a decline in revenue. In response to the impact of the pandemic, non-contact services, such as overseas delivery and door-to-door delivery, have been implemented to reduce interpersonal contact and minimize the spread of the virus. Contactless service not only provides consumers with more choices and convenience but is also an important means of livelihood for restaurant service staff during the pandemic. This study takes the Taiwanese chain restaurant Kura Sushi as an example to explore the impact of service contacts on authenticity consumption and experience value in the context of non-contact services. A total of 318 valid responses to a questionnaire were collected and analyzed using IBM SPSS 25.0 and IBM AMOS 25.0 software. This study made the following findings: (1) service staff performance has a significant positive impact on authenticity perception; (2) the physical restaurant environment has a positive impact on consumers’ perceptions of authenticity; (3) active interactions with other customers significantly enhance the sense of reality; (4) experience values significantly promote real consumption; and (5) experience values also significantly affect consumer satisfaction. Full article
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15 pages, 2263 KiB  
Article
Metaverse Acceptance by the Accounting Community as a Premise of Sustainable Behavior
by Adriana Burlea-Schiopoiu, Norina Popovici and Nicoleta Georgeta Panait
Systems 2023, 11(12), 560; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems11120560 - 29 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1633
Abstract
Metaverse research has as its main focus the technology, neglecting the human factor and, implicitly, how the metaverse user perceives this technology, with its strengths and risks. The main objective of our research is to assess the impact that the metaverse has on [...] Read more.
Metaverse research has as its main focus the technology, neglecting the human factor and, implicitly, how the metaverse user perceives this technology, with its strengths and risks. The main objective of our research is to assess the impact that the metaverse has on accountants and how they perceive the advantages and disadvantages of using digital technologies, including the metaverse, and, as a secondary objective, to identify the factors that lead accountants to accept or reject the conduct of activities in the virtual world. We used an integrated theoretical framework combining the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Technology Acceptance Model 3 (TAM 3). Data collected online from a sample of 597 accountants were analyzed using structural equation modeling with partial least squares (PLS-SEM) for evaluating the multiple causal relationships between items of variables. Our findings prove that digital technology does not represent a barrier for members of the accounting community to work in virtual space. However, the deficiency of accounting standards tailored to the specifics of digital technologies does not promote transparency or ensure a high level of safety for members of the accounting community in virtual space. Full article
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19 pages, 1292 KiB  
Article
Digital Revolution, Sustainability, and Government Revenues: A Transversal Analysis of How Digital Transformation and Sustainable Practices Impact Sustainable Government Revenues
by Anca Antoaneta Vărzaru, Claudiu George Bocean, Dalia Simion, Dorel Berceanu and Mădălina Giorgiana Mangra
Systems 2023, 11(11), 546; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems11110546 - 10 Nov 2023
Viewed by 2563
Abstract
In recent decades, digital transformation and sustainability have become two crucial aspects of economic and social development in the European Union (EU), improving government tax collection and other government incomes. This paper investigates the interplay between digital transformation and sustainability and their impact [...] Read more.
In recent decades, digital transformation and sustainability have become two crucial aspects of economic and social development in the European Union (EU), improving government tax collection and other government incomes. This paper investigates the interplay between digital transformation and sustainability and their impact on total general government revenue (TGGR) in the European Union (EU). The study uses quantitative research methods to analyze relationships among variables, including artificial neural networks and cluster analyses. The variables considered in this research are the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) index, and TGGR. Our findings reveal intricate connections between digital transformation, sustainability, and TGGR across EU member states. The DESI score measures the level of digitalization within each country, while the SDG Index assesses sustainability performance. The study demonstrates that countries with higher DESI scores tend to experience increased TGGR, indicating that a more robust digital economy contributes positively to government revenue, among other elements. The research identifies clusters of EU member states with similar patterns of digital transformation, sustainability, and TGGR. These clusters highlight challenges and opportunities, guiding policymakers in tailoring strategies to boost digitalization and government revenue sustainably. Full article
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