Relational and Networking Character: Threat or Savior for the Sustainability of European Erasmus+ Projects in the Times of COVID-19 Pandemic?

Abstract

Turbulent and unstable times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic constitute specific training grounds as well as a stress test to verify in practice the validity of assumptions underlying the modern paradigms in management on the one hand, and to assess which factors contribute, or pose challenges and threats, to the resilience and sustainability of modern organizations on the other hand. Research was conducted among 990 Erasmus+ project leaders to assess to what extent the factors connected with the relational and networking characteristics of Erasmus+ projects, functioning as temporary organizations, facilitate the sustainability of European transnational cooperation projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion concentrates on the digital and social dimensions of transnational cooperation and places these dimensions in the broader context of relational view and network paradigm in the modern science of management as well as in the context of strategic management. Bibliometric analysis shows that no such research has been conducted so far. Researchers tend to analyze the impact of Erasmus+ projects on regional, national, and European communities but do not touch upon the aspects connected with the management of the projects themselves, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, this research fills a research gap in this respect.

1. Introduction and Research Context

The emergence of a relational view and network paradigm in organizational research in the science of management as well as their practical embodiment in the form of strategic management are a response to turbulent, unstable, and dynamically changing social, economic, and political environments [1,2,3,4,5,6]. In such uncertain environments, international organizations need to draw from their relational and networking potential to sustain business activities effectively and to gain a competitive advantage. However, for obvious reasons, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of harm to the functioning of various organizations, especially the ones consisting of internationally dispersed units. The main factors that constitute and define the above-mentioned approaches to management are the following:

• Dispersed, unhierarchical characteristics of business partnerships and voluntary character: these features perfectly correspond to the characteristics of Erasmus+ projects. They are cooperation projects consisting of various institutional partners from European countries who aim at designing, producing, and implementing innovative solutions and schemes for upgrading the skills of their target groups;
• Mix of competences: modern international businesses and organizations use the complementarity of the expertise of their constituting partners and units. This is exactly the way that Erasmus+ projects function: the consortia of European partners set up formal, temporary structures according to modern organizational approaches in order to acquire European Union funding for their activities and projects. The criteria for awarding the European financial grants include content issues, but first, the consortia must prove their institutional, organizational, and managerial potential in the application form [7]. This potential should preferably be imbedded in the so-called European dimension, which means that it should draw from the expertise complementarity of partners in all of these fields;
• Digital tools connecting partners within an organization and digital competences that allow effective communication and coordination;
• Communicative aspect of effective cooperation in which social competences play a crucial role;
• Relationships between partners and their clients where social competences are again the key to success: in the case of Erasmus+ projects, similar to the case of any other modern business and organization, success is not only determined by proper relationships between partners within a project consortium but also between the project consortium and target groups that the projects aim at;
• Adaptability and flexibility, which are also elements of social competences;
• Learning organizations—to survive in constantly changing environments, modern organizations need to learn at all times.

As it can be observed, the above characteristics defining modern organizations mainly concentrate on competences and organizational potential. For many years, these aspects have been extensively described and discussed (

Table 1. Reference publications dedicated to modern organizations.

Authors	Topic
[5,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15]	Network organizations
[16,17]	Digital transformation in organizations
[6,13,15,18,19,20]	Social relationships
[21,22,23,24]	Temporary, knowledge-based organizations
[6,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33]	Learning organizations

).

The above table categorizes publications that provide detailed and in-depth analysis of modern organization characteristics that constitute a broader context for the discussion on digital and social competences in the unstable times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Firstly, the scientific discussions on network organizations [5,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15] point out that flexible structures, clusters of specialized units, semi-autonomous units based on trust, and social relationships provide an effective platform for the effective functioning of organizations in turbulent and competitive times. Such an approach not only facilitates business and profit-oriented aims but also facilitates other organizational and social aims. In the case of Erasmus+ projects, these aims are of the social character in the sense of building European networks but also of the educational and business character in the sense of producing innovative solutions for a common European educational area. Secondly, the international characteristics of dispersed organizational units that commonly realize and manage Erasmus+ projects require effective means and tools for communication and work coordination. This implies the use of modern information and communication technologies. Consequently, the scientific discussions on modern organizations also stress the need for digital transformation [16,17] that these organizations must undergo in order to function effectively and be competitive. Thirdly, the already mentioned social relationships can be defined as communicative and cooperative relationships and behaviors as well as trust between partners that have a positive effect on the resilience towards various sorts of challenges and unstable external conditions [6,13,15,18,19,20]. This resilience can give stability to the organizational structures during the times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fourthly, in order to create innovative solutions in challenging and demanding environments, modern companies form temporary and knowledge-based organizations that function within decentralized and flat-hierarchy project teams as well as task and knowledge-based forces as specially constructed alliances and networks [21,22,23,24]. These characteristics perfectly match the nature and the way that Erasmus+ projects function. Finally, network and relational paradigms in modern management imply that the effective functioning of modern organizations is also based on their learning potential. Researchers in this field stress that access to information, expertise, and knowledge resources that could be difficult to obtain outside of the alliance or partnership of organizational units fosters performance and innovation in different sorts of businesses and undertakings [6,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33]. The need for the ability to learn also results from the growing importance of information and knowledge in gaining a competitive advantage in more and more challenging, global, and competitive environments.

To assess proficiency in the digital and social competences as well as the learning potential that may facilitate the sustainability of European transnational cooperation project in the times of COVID-19, research was conducted on the basis of questionnaire responses obtained from 990 Erasmus+ project leaders. So far, it has been the only research of its kind conducted across Europe. As mentioned above, researchers are mainly interested in assessing the impact of Erasmus+ projects on societies and do not target the aspects connected to the management of the projects themselves. Consequently, assessing the competences of the Erasmus+ project leaders in reference to their ability to sustain their projects, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, fills a research gap in this respect.

The competences analyzed in this research are limited to the ones that are directly connected to the relational and networking characteristics of projects, namely the digital and social ones:

• Digital Competences: the use of information and communication technology on a daily basis;
• Social Competences: teamwork, team collaboration, communication, leadership, flexibility, adaptability, interdisciplinarity.

These competences constitute the scaffolding of a broader framework of competences of the future that will be required by current labor markets. This framework is described in detail by [34,35,36,37,38,39,40], and in most cases, includes digital, social, cognitive, and managerial components. Due to the characteristics of this research, the above-explained rationale underlying it, and almost importantly, the pandemic, economic, and social context that it has been conducted in, it is the digital and social competences that form the plausible basis for this research.

The Erasmus+ Programme is the European Commission’s main tool for (i) stimulating the development of entrepreneurial, creative, and innovative skills across all educational and vocational sectors; (ii) improving the infrastructure for the transfer of knowledge of higher education institutions and improving their engagement in such initiatives as start-ups and spin-offs; (iii) encouraging the building of partnerships and undertaking cooperation with business; (iv) involving the higher education sector in establishing integrated local and regional development plans [41]. The Erasmus+ Programme constantly proves its effectiveness in this respect and greatly contributes to the broader EU socio-economical and educational policies. However, the activities of Erasmus+ projects are based on the international mobility of pupils, teachers, students, academics, professionals, and youth workers as well as on the realization and implementation of innovative, inter-institutional cooperation projects, and strategic partnerships. The latter aspect is exactly what causes Erasmus+ institutions to be international organizations in its fullest sense. Regarding the content aspect, in most cases, these projects aim at producing innovative didactic materials in all sorts of fields, transferring innovation and solutions into vocational and entrepreneurial areas, or introducing innovative solutions to the training schemes for individuals.

2. Research Design and Approach

Taking all the above-mentioned aspects into consideration, the working hypothesis of this research is that regardless of the unstable conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the relational and networking characteristics of Erasmus+ projects as organizations facilitate the sustainability of these projects to a substantial extent. Accordingly, the research questions are: (1) Do the best performers in the digital and social competences among Erasmus+ project leaders perform better in sustaining their projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic?; (2) Does the learning potential of Erasmus+ projects as organizations facilitate the sustainability of these projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic?; (3) Which of the above factors facilitate the sustainability of Erasmus+ projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic the most?.

Consequently, the research is designed according to the subsequent research stages (RSs):

• RS1—Conducting data analysis to obtain the digital and social competences profile of Erasmus+ project leaders on the basis of the research questionnaire;
• RS2—Data analysis of best performers in the digital and social competences in relation to the sustainability of Erasmus+ projects;
• RS3—Lifelong learning aspect from the point of view of Erasmus+ project leaders as a composite indicator of the ability to learn within an organization;
• RS4—Prognostic analysis of factors influencing the sustainability of Erasmus+ projects.

The research was conducted among almost 3000 project leaders within the Erasmus+ Programme coming from the public, NGO, and private sectors. Responses were received from 1072 of these project leaders, 990 of which fulfilled the research criteria. Consequently, this group was introduced into the final research. The criteria included: being a project coordinator and realising a project within a specified period of time. This research refers to projects realised and managed in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, namely from March 2020 to November 2020. A total of 80% of the project leaders come from the public sector. NGOs and the private sector are represented by 13% and 7% of the respondents, respectively, which actually reflects the participation distribution structure of the Erasmus+ participant profiles. There were 422 responses from the school sector, 233 from the vocational sector, 141 from higher education institutions, 128 from the youth sector, and 98 from the adult education sector. All of these respondents cover all Erasmus+ Programme actions. The Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for processing the data obtained from the research questionnaire. Consequently, widely acknowledged statistical methods, which are provided by this package in the form of various functionalities, were used for the data analysis of this research. The research questionnaire included 70 questions related to the assessment of the respondents’ competences such as the digital, social, managerial, and cognitive ones. In this respect, the data obtained substantially exceed the needs and purposes of this paper, which has already been explained above. A portion of the results was already used for other analysis [42]. In some of the cases in these two separate analyses, different statistical methods were used, which contributes to the validity of the results, especially in terms of those that are relevant to the results from both studies, which show and prove the same tendencies. The research tool questions fall into the following categories:

• Questions on the Likert’s scale (from 1 to 5)—mainly concerning the assessment of competences;
• Contextual questions concerning the realization of projects and metric ones relating to age, sex, etc. (irrelevant for this research);
• Indicator questions—a set of questions defining one characteristic feature: these served to elicit information on the Erasmus+ project leaders’ ability to learn.

To provide a comprehensive definition of the digital and social competences, factor analysis and the principal component method were used to describe these competences with their more detailed dimensions. The respective analysis was conducted in reference to each competence since indicators for each competence are disjoint. The indicators for the competences are presented in

Table 2. Indicators (questions in the questionnaire) assigned to competence dimensions.

Competences	Dimensions	Indicators (Respective Questions in the Questionnaire)
Digital and technical	The use of a computer in everyday work	q42.6 Starting a video conference with several people at the same time
		q42.8 Sharing the screen with others during a video conference
		q43. Please rate how up-to-date you are with modern ICT solutions that can be used in your work?
		q44.1 Web resources
		q44.2 Text editors (e.g., Microsoft Word)
		q44.3 Spreadsheets (e.g., Microsoft Excel)
		q44.4 Instant messengers
		q44.5 E-mail
		q44.6 Online collaboration tools
		q44.7 Video conferencing tools
		q44.8 Project management tools
		q46. Please rate your overall level of proficiency in using modern technology
	Work with online documents	q42.1 Using e-banking services
		q42.2 Filing your tax return online
		q42.3 Filing an official application via the ePUAP system
		q42.4 Making use of an electronic document workflow
Social and psychosocial	Relations and emotions	q35.10 Mitigating possible conflicts between co-workers
		q35.11 Noticing co-workers’ problems, including those concerning their private lives, socio-economic situation, etc.
		q38.2 I can identify emotions that accompany me in a given moment
		q38.3 I can feel what emotional state my interlocutor is in
		q38.4 I can control my negative emotions
		q38.5 I have a wide network of friends
		q38.8 I like to cooperate with others and complete tasks in a team
		q38.10 I am a person who maintains relationships with others
		q39.6 I can alleviate the stress of online work for others
		q41.5 I create an atmosphere of effective cooperation within the team
		q53.2 I can separate people from their views
	Adaptability and managing stress during the pandemic	q27.2 Adapting to the way project activities are implemented to the pandemic period
		q27.3 General pandemic uncertainty
		q27.4 Situation of risk to my own health and the health of those close to me
		q27.5 Situation of risk to the health of co-workers
	Maintaining contacts, cooperation	q13.2 I have my own contact network of people with whom I can carry out joint projects
		q13.3 I have initiated cooperation within the project by myself on at least one occasion
		q13.5 I have a sense of systematic cooperation with a permanent group of institutions
	Communication	q37.1 Clear and precise communication
		q37.3 Communicating difficult messages
		q37.4 Moderating discussions
		q37.5 Actively listening to others
		q37.6 Assertive refusal
		q37.7 Accepting praise, compliments
		q37.10 Adjusting communication style and language to the audience and circumstances

.

Within each analysis, several configurations of variables were examined in order to fine-tune and calibrate the competence model in such a way that the final result could be plausible from the content point of view and justifiable and sound in statistical or mathematical terms. Model matrixes for each factor analysis of each competence together with the description of extracting factors and rotation methods are presented in detail in [42]. Additionally, Cronbach’s alpha measure was calculated to check for the reliability of the scale used for these dimensions. It is generally assumed that the scale is reliable if Cronbach’s alpha value exceeds 0.7 (with value span from 0 to 1). This analysis also proved that the proposed division of respective competences into the above-presented dimensions is correct (

Table 3. Cronbach’s alpha values for competence dimensions.

Competences	Dimensions	Cronbach’s Alpha
Digital and technical	The use of computer in everyday work	0.91
	Work with online documents	0.85
Social and psychosocial	Relations and emotions	0.81
	Adaptability and managing stress during the pandemic	0.80
	Maintaining contacts, cooperation	0.72
	Communication	0.74

).

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Research Stage 1 (RS1)

Having assessed the reliability of the scales used in the research tool, the following results were obtained in reference to the Erasmus+ project leaders’ digital and social competence profile (

Table 4. Erasmus+ project leaders’ digital and social competences profile.

Competences	Dimensions	Average Level of Competences (Scale 1–5)
Digital and technical	The use of computer in everyday work	4.37
	Work with online documents	4.18
Social and psychosocial	Relations and emotions	3.94
	Adaptability and managing stress during the pandemic	1.74
	Maintaining contacts, cooperation	3.96
	Communication	3.63

).

The respondents assessed their digital competences on a five-point Likert scale with an average score of 4.33 and an average score of 3.84 for social competences, with the exception of the adaptability and managing stress dimension (1.74). This means that relatively high levels of the digital and social competences of the Erasmus+ project leaders may potentially function as a savior in sustaining their projects and international cooperation, whereas the factor of stress may pose some challenges in this respect and can be treated as a threat. These issues will be elaborated upon further on in this article by considering the factor of projects being realized or suspended.

3.2. Research Stage 2 (RS2)

For further analysis, four groups of Erasmus+ project leaders were distinguished: the worst digital performers (lowest quartile), the best digital performers (upper quartile), the worst social performers (lowest quartile), and the best social performers (upper quartile) in order to compare how these two groups performed during the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to their projects’ sustainability (see

Table 5. Distribution of Erasmus+ project leaders’ digital and social competences in percentiles.

Measure		Digital	Social
N		990	990
Mean		4.3316	3.5008
Median		4.3750	3.4800
Min		2.06	2.16
Max		5.00	4.68
Percentile	25	4.0000	3.2800
	50	4.3750	3.4800
	75	4.7500	3.7200

and

Table 6. Status of the coordinated Erasmus+ project in the distinguished quartiles of digital and social competences of the project leaders.

Competences	Quartile	Project Status	N	%
Digital and technical	Below 1st quartile: worst digital performers (N = 220)	Finished/ongoing	156	70.9
		Suspended/prolonged	64	29.1
	Above 3rd quartile: best digital performers (N = 255)	Finished/ongoing	201	78.8
		Suspended/prolonged	54	21.2
Social and psychosocial	Below 1st quartile: worst social performers (N = 221)	Finished/ongoing	154	69.7
		Suspended/prolonged	67	30.3
	Above 3rd quartile: best social performers (N = 256)	Finished/ongoing	200	78.1
		Suspended/prolonged	56	21.9

).

Overall, 21.2% of best digital performers suspended or prolonged their Erasmus+ projects, whereas 29.1% suspended or prolonged their projects in the worst digital performers group. The results are very similar in the subgroups of best and worst social performers, with the ratio of 21.9% to 30.3%. This proves that both the digital and social competences have an impact on a project’s sustainability. Additionally, since Erasmus+ projects are typical, temporary international organizations of relational and networking characteristics, the challenges in relation to effective cooperation and communication in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic can be compensated or facilitated by broadly understood digital competences. Digital competences provide remedial tools in the case of a breakup of personal contacts and along with the social competences, constitute a specific protective shield for Erasmus+ project leaders against the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for international cooperation.

The question that now arises here is why such low scores in the dimension of adaptability and managing stress within a broad social competence category do not influence this correlation much. To find the answer to this phenomenon, it is worth looking at other research in this respect. The factor of stress causing the inability to adapt to new conditions has been extensively discussed. This factor is mostly presented as a crucial determinant of work efficiency and employee productivity by [43,44,45,46]. These authors stress that the lack of a sense of security has a much bigger negative impact on older employees than on the young ones in terms of their proactive professional behaviors. This results from the fact that young people treat stress as a challenge, whereas the older ones as a threat. Additionally, this coincides and partially correlates with the results of this research since the data show that 27% of the Erasmus+ project leaders under the age of 46 suspended their projects, whereas in the group of leaders above the age of 46, it was 31%.

However, in the light of the above discussion, it is also interesting to see what the respondents think about their effectiveness in sustaining the projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The data presented in

Table 7. Distribution of answers to the questions on the effectiveness of the conducted projects during the COVID-19 pandemic *.

Competences	Quartile	Answer	N	%
Digital and technical	Below 1st quartile: worst digital performers (N = 220)	Maximum in 25%	88	40.0
		Maximum in 50%	53	24.1
		Maximum in 75%	28	12.7
		Between 75% a 100%	51	23.2
	Above 3rd quartile: best digital performers (N = 255)	Maximum in 25%	93	36.5
		Maximum in 50%	45	17.6
		Maximum in 75%	43	16.9
		Between 75% a 100%	74	29.0
Social and psychosocial	Below 1st quartile: worst social performers (N = 221)	Maximum in 25%	111	50.2
		Maximum in 50%	59	26.7
		Maximum in 75%	21	9.5
		Between 75% a 100%	30	13.6
	Above 3rd quartile: best social performers (N = 256)	Maximum in 25%	74	28.9
		Maximum in 50%	48	18.8
		Maximum in 75%	41	16.0
		Between 75% a 100%	93	36.3

* The original question: ‘In your opinion, to what extent were the project activities conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic implemented successfully?’.

show that 45.9% of the best digital performers and 35.9% of the worst digital performers stated that their project activities were realized successfully in range of 75% or more during the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that the Erasmus+ project leaders with higher digital competences turned out to be more effective in the realization, management, and sustainability of their projects. Consequently, the observed relation here is positive: the higher the digital competences, the higher the effectiveness in project sustainability. Analogically, the ratio for social competences is even higher: 52.3% to 23.1%, respectively. This proves that social competences impact Erasmus+ project sustainability to a substantial extent, and on the other hand, it also proves the consistency of the obtained results. In general, the Erasmus+ project leaders scored slightly worse in the social competences than in the digital ones, and for this reason, the worst social performers should be expected to have the lowest project sustaining capability, which is reflected in the data. Accordingly, the first research question, namely ‘Do the best performers in digital and social competences among Erasmus+ project leaders perform better in sustaining their projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic?’, has been answered positively on the basis of the provided data.

3.3. Research Stage 3 (RS3)

The competences do not function in a vacuum and the assessment of how the digital competences of the Erasmus+ project leaders facilitate the sustainability of their projects should be also conducted in relation to other contextual factors that constitute a broader category regarding the aspect of life long learning. For research aims, they will be treated here as a composite indicator of the ability to learn within an organization. In brief, a composite indicator is constructed with the use of individual indicators that are compiled into a single index. It can measure multi-dimensional concepts (e.g., competitiveness, e-trade, environmental quality, or the lifelong learning dimension, as it is in this case) that cannot be captured by a single indicator. A composite indicator should be based on a theoretical framework or a definition that allows individual indicators or variables to be selected, combined, weighted, if needed, and measured in a manner that reflects the dimensions or structure of the phenomena being measured. In most cases these single variables need different scales or types of measurement. This reflects the fundamental characteristic of a composite index that is a single combined measure constituted by separate, usually independent on one another, individual measures [47,48]. Accordingly, the openness and ability of Erasmus+ project leaders to learn within an organization is measured with the following tool, which is here called the LLL index (

Table 8. LLL index of Erasmus+ project leaders.

No. in the Questionnaire	Questionnaire Item or Question	Scale Type	Index Points (min)	Index Points (max)
q29.2	Every crisis situation can teach you something.	Likert 1–5	1	5
q29.5	I like to bring ideas to life.	Likert 1–5	1	5
q29.6	Implementing project activities during the pandemic allowed me to test myself in completely new circumstances.	Likert 1–5	1	5
q31_rec	How important is it for you to introduce elements of interdisciplinarity or combining disciplines and fields when implementing a European project?	Likert 1–5	1	5
q40.6	I like to explore new things.	Likert 1–5	1	5
q40.10	I analyze my failures and setbacks.	Likert 1–5	1	5
q40.12	I need to know all the pros and cons before making an important decision.	Likert 1–5	1	5
q40.14	I can apply innovative solutions in my work.	Likert 1–5	1	5
q41.2	Recognize areas for change that will help to better implement the project.	Likert 1–5	1	5
q41.11	Identify my own strengths and weaknesses.	Likert 1–5	1	5
q53.7	I am aware of my own strengths and weaknesses.	Likert 1–5	1	5
q15_rec	In connection with the ongoing pandemic, are you familiar with the frequently changing regulations and recommendations concerning work and social functioning?	Likert 1–5	1	5
q39.3	The pandemic period forced me to start using new tools/software.	Likert 1–5	1	5
q43_rec	Please rate how up-to-date you are with modern ICT solutions that can be used in your work.	Likert 1–5	1	5
q46_rec	Have you participated in any training courses (class-based or online) on the use of modern technology in the last 6 months?	Binary 0–1	1	5
q47_rec	How often do you participate in training courses to improve competences used at work?	Binary 0–1	1	5
q48_rec	Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, did you attend any training courses that would be useful in carrying out your tasks as a project leader during these unusual times?	Binary 0–1	1	5
q49_rec	Have you conducted any training courses in the past year?	Binary 0–1	1	5
q50_rec	With regard to yourself, do you have a sense of continuous learning, or do you tend to rely on previously acquired knowledge and skills?	Binary 0–1	1	5
q51_rec	Do you have a planned path for your own development, career?	Binary 0–1	1	5

).

The LLL index values extend from 20 (min) to 100 (max) points. The higher the value of the index, the higher the level of openness to development and lifelong learning of the targeted Erasmus+ project leaders is (see

Table 9. General statistics of the LLL index.

N		990
Mean		82.61
Min		61
Max		100
Percentile	25	78.00
	50	83.00
	75	88.00

and Figure 1).

As it can be observed from the above data, the distribution of the results with a standard deviation value of 7.415 means that both groups of the best and worst performers in the lifelong learning aspect (1st and 3rd percentiles) are similar in numbers: the worst performers (N = 232) and the best performers (N = 273). This contributes greatly to validity of the comparison of these two groups. It is also worth noting that the average score in the LLL Index for worst performers was 78 points out of 100 points, and for best performers, it was 88 points. There was no strong discrimination in respect to these results based on the fact that Erasmus+ project leaders are by their nature individuals who are open to cooperation and self-development, which is also embedded in the characteristics of the projects they realize. However, if the comparison of such similar groups of individuals brings and shows some significant differences in certain aspects of their activities and features, then it means that the research results are meaningful and undoubtfully valid.

As presented in

Table 10. Project status in relation to the LLL index of Erasmus+ project leaders.

LLL Index	Project Status	N	%
LLL Index below 1st quartile—Less than 78 points (N = 232)	Finished/ongoing	161	69.4
	Suspended/prolonged	71	30.6
LLL Index over 3rd quartile—More than 88 points (N = 273)	Finished/ongoing	218	79.9
	Suspended/prolonged	55	20.1

, in the group of respondents with the lowest LLL index value, 30.6% of projects were suspended or prolonged. In the group of respondents with the highest LLL Index value, 20.1% of projects were suspended or prolonged. This means that Erasmus+ project leaders who are open to self-development and lifelong learning more seldomly suspended or prolonged their projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The only statistically significant correlation that can be observed between the LLL index and social competence is in its relations and emotions dimension. The value for this dimension is 0.56. Accordingly, all of the data shown in

Table 11. LLL index correlation with digital and social competences (N = 990).

Competences	Dimensions	Measure	LLL Index
Digital and technical	The use of computer in everyday work	Pearson’s correlation	0.476 *
		Significance (two-tailed)	0.000
	Work with online documents	Pearson’s correlation	0.260 *
		Significance (two-tailed)	0.000
Social and psychosocial	Relations and emotions	Pearson’s correlation	0.555 **
		Significance (two-tailed)	0.000
	Adaptability and managing stress during the pandemic	Pearson’s correlation	0.026
		Significance (two-tailed)	0.408
	Maintaining contacts, cooperation	Pearson’s correlation	0.349 *
		Significance (two-tailed)	0.000
	Communication	Pearson’s correlation	0.303 *
		Significance (two-tailed)	0.000

* Pearson’s correlation is significant with the value of 0.5 or more. ** Significant correlation at the level of 0.01 (two-tailed/two-sided).

prove that highly developed social competences that are connected to relations and emotions along with openness and positive lifelong learning attitude contribute significantly to the sustainability of Erasmus+ projects. Consequently, the second research question, namely ‘Does learning potential of Erasmus+ projects as organizations facilitate the sustainability of these projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic?’, has been answered positively pointing towards the learning potential of organizations as an influential factor in sustaining Erasmus+ projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

3.4. Research Stage 4 (RS4)

Taking these findings into consideration, additional analyses were conducted. The aim was to look at the obtained data from the prognostic point of view and to observe which of the above-described factors could potentially be the most influential in sustaining Erasmus+ projects. The underlying question here is to what extent the ratio of projects that were suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic could be lower if the score of Erasmus+ project leaders’ competences profiles rises by one (see: Erasmus+ project leaders’ competences profile in Table 4). To put it differently: what are the relationships between the dependent binary variable (successful continuation of a project vs. suspension) and the independent variables (digital and social competences)? In this respect logistic regression was used. The proposed model predicts the chances of project suspension in relation to the above-mentioned independent variables. However, the significance of relationships or associations, with a dependent variable assessment with the use of the Mann–Whitney U nonparametric test and the choice of representatives based on the level of correlation with a dependent variable, resulted in choosing only social competence with its adaptability and managing stress dimension.

Table 12. Competences 4.0 relationship measures.

Measures of Association	Eta	Asymp. Significance (2-Tailed)
Social competence: Adaptability and managing stress during the pandemic	0.162	0.000
Digital competence: The use of computer in everyday work	0.063	0.042
Social competence: Maintaining contacts and cooperation	0.055	0.038
Social competence: Relations and emotions	0.048	0.216
Social competence: Communication	0.034	0.245
Digital competence: Work with online documents	0.032	0.246

shows the significance values for the digital and social competences.

In this preliminary stage of prognostic research, the assessment of the significance of the association of digital competence as an independent variable with a dependent variable of project suspension (yes/no) turned out to be too low to obtain valid results for digital competences. This also proves that the Erasmus+ project leaders’ digital competences, en bloc, are high enough to form a protective shield against the COVID-19 pandemic in European transnational cooperations. Potentially higher digital competences among Erasmus+ project leaders would not have a significant impact on the lower proportion of suspended projects.

Accordingly, further analysis was conducted but only in reference to social competence with its adaptability and managing stress dimension.

Table 13. Significant predictors and their Exp (B) value.

Predictor	B	Significance	Exp (B)
Social competence: Adaptability and managing stress during the pandemic	−0.540	0.000	0.583

presents the results of social competence with its adaptability and managing stress dimension as a predictor for the equation that proved to be significant if its value was under 0.05.

The parameter Exp (B), the exponentiation of the coefficients, shows the odds ratios for a given predictor. This means that it demonstrates the chance of project suspension if the value of a corresponding predictor changes, whereas the values of other predictors (the other competences) remain the same. Consequently, this can be translated into the value of (Exp (B) 1) * 100%, which shows the shift in the percentage of chances for project suspension decrease/increase if the value of a given variable increases by one (

Table 14. The chances of project suspension in relation to a significant predictor.

Predictor	Exp (B)	Decrease of a Chance to Suspend a Project	Increase of a Chance to Suspend a Project
Social competence: Adaptability and managing stress during the pandemic	0.583	42%	-

).

These results show that social competence in its adaptability and managing stress dimension is a relatively very influential factor that determines the sustainability of Erasmus+ projects. A strong relationship between the sustainability of projects and this competence can be observed here. Social competence in its adaptability and managing stress dimension can decrease the chances of project suspension by 42% if the value of the scale for this predictor rises by one. In other words: if its value of 1.74 (see: Table 4) rises to 2.74 on the Likert scale from 1 to 5 as presented above. This entails that the ability to manage stress is the most influential social factor here, and a low ability to manage stress is the biggest threat in sustaining Erasmus+ projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finally, the quality assessment of the prognostic research model was conducted to check the validity of the results. The following tests were used here: the Omnibus test of model coefficients, the Hosmer and Lemeshow test, and the ROC (receiver operating characteristic) test. All of these tests proved the validity of the research model (see details in [42]). Accordingly, the third research question, namely ‘Which of the above factors facilitate the sustainability of Erasmus+ projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic the most?’ has been answered, pointing toward social competence in its adaptability and stress management dimension as the most influential factor.

4. Final Remarks and Conclusions

As stated in the beginning of this article, following various sources, relational and networking paradigms in management are mainly defined by the use of social and digital competences as well as the organizational ability to learn. Although the relational and networking characteristics of Erasmus+ projects as temporary, dispersed, international organizations have been threatened by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing possible communication and cooperation breakdowns and disruptions, the above analysis proves the following:

• By no means does this very relational and networking feature of Erasmus+ projects supported by high digital and social competences of Erasmus+ project leaders facilitate the sustainability of these projects to great extent. Accordingly, the working thesis of the research, namely that the relational and networking characteristics of Erasmus+ projects as organizations facilitate the sustainability of these projects to a substantial extent has been proven;
• In many cases, the targeted Erasmus+ project leaders in this research contribute greatly to the learning aspect within their projects or organizations, which, in turn, significantly impacts the sustainability of their projects as well;
• The social competence of adaptability and managing stress plays the most significant part in the sustainability of Erasmus+ projects during the times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The results of this research should prove useful to all practitioners in the field and should contribute to the discussion on project management in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic since, as stated above, there has been no scientific research on the influence of Erasmus+ project leader competences on Erasmus+ project sustainability so far. Other empirical studies prove a general shift towards digital and social competences, or the so-called soft competences, in modern business models, which results from the above-mentioned unstable social and global context and networking and relational approaches to management nowadays. An example in this respect is provided by empirical studies conducted in Germany, Poland, and Slovakia [35].

Finally, it is worth stressing that further research on Erasmus+ projects should be conducted, as the potential to map various tendencies and phenomena in this field are vast. For example, it should be noted that already researched Erasmus+ projects form extremely diverse networks and mixes of various European countries. Consequently, the geographic dimension could be a separate and very interesting variable worth looking at and analyzing in reference to both the content or managerial aspects of these networks. However, such an approach deserves a completely different kind of research that concentrates specifically on this issue, whereas the aim of this research was to see organizational sustainability in reference to the relational and networking characteristics of Erasmus+ projects as organizations in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected all of the countries in Europe equally. Consequently, two main factors underlying relational and networking paradigms in modern management have been used here: the digital and social aspects as well as the organizational learning potential. Other factors are not key in this respect. Furthermore, introducing a geographical variable would also mean rooting an analysis in the assumption that there are also some cultural differences in approaching project sustainability, which could be an interesting, separate, and more interdisciplinary study. A valuable reference source for the intercultural aspects in the science of management, in general, in the broader perspective of organizational interactions is [49], which could be a starting point in analyzing Erasmus+ projects from this point of view.