ABSTRACT
Purpose: This study aims to analyze how mixes of COVID-19 policy responses are shaping the context in which companies will compete in the following years, defining how the crisis might impact firms' ability to keep their commitments to sustainable practices. Design/methodology/approach: European country-performance data for the years 2019 and 2020 were grouped into indicators of macro sustainability, then cross-analyzed against the policies adopted during the period (also grouped based on their impacts on sustainability pillars), using correlations, factor analysis and clustering. Findings: The influence of traditional sustainability determinants was reframed according to the novel context shaped by the policy responses to the pandemic crisis. The social and digitalization aspects gained the most relevance and appeared interconnected, with digitalization of employment attaining overall more traction. Moreover, changes in the leadership within sustainability domains were observed for each identified country-cluster, due to newly implemented emergency policies. In fact, environmental innovation, digitalization and social support policies appeared to be the main variables to be impacted by the intensity of the policy efforts. Practical implications: Businesses monitoring the developments of sustainability policies closely, will observe novel trends in technological applications. Social implications: Policymakers and researchers may gauge the efficacy of policies against the COVID-19 crisis in the domain of sustainable development and resilience. Originality/value: This paper provides a cross-analysis of quantitative macroeconomic and quantified policy responses to the 2020 pandemic crisis, linking each indicator to the pillars of sustainability that were relevant for companies between the crucial pandemic outbreak years 2019 and 2020. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
Apart from the many social and health problems it has caused, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on most sectors of the economy worldwide. One of the areas where such impact is noticeable is the textile, apparel, and fashion (TAF) industry. The lockdowns and limited access to retailer outlets resulted in a considerable drop in consumption, creating problems related to the excess of stock, the decrease of sales, and the disposal of non-used items. This paper outlines the implications of the COVID-19 on the TAF sectors and European retailers. It analyzes how the current supply chains exacerbated stock control problems, and it reports on the changes in consumption during the pandemic. The worldwide restrictive measures implemented to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic were responsible for significant profit losses. Also, the decrease in consumption, caused by several geographically wide lockdowns, prompted a subsequent reduction in orders and sales, resulting in a significant number of constraints. The implementation of more environmentally friendly processes, including sustainable circularity as a competitiveness source to keep the TAF sectors in the loop and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, may help address the problems associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the sustainability context, as reported in this paper. © The Author(s) 2022.
ABSTRACT
Apart from the many social and health problems it has caused, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on most sectors of the economy worldwide. One of the areas where such impact is noticeable is the textile, apparel, and fashion (TAF) industry. The lockdowns and limited access to retailer outlets resulted in a considerable drop in consumption, creating problems related to the excess of stock, the decrease of sales, and the disposal of non-used items. This paper outlines the implications of the COVID-19 on the TAF sectors and European retailers. It analyzes how the current supply chains exacerbated stock control problems, and it reports on the changes in consumption during the pandemic. The worldwide restrictive measures implemented to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic were responsible for significant profit losses. Also, the decrease in consumption, caused by several geographically wide lockdowns, prompted a subsequent reduction in orders and sales, resulting in a significant number of constraints. The implementation of more environmentally friendly processes, including sustainable circularity as a competitiveness source to keep the TAF sectors in the loop and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, may help address the problems associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the sustainability context, as reported in this paper. © The Author(s) 2022.
ABSTRACT
The work sheds light on the significant reforms that China has undertaken over the past 40 years and which, starting from the 1978 ‘Open Door Policy’, stimulated a massive structural shift of the Chinese economy and society. The twenty first century pandemic happened at a linchpin moment for China, when the country was bridging several contentious structural changes due to the ‘New Normal’ paradigm and the more recent trade war with the US. In response to the Covid-19 outbreak and in the light of the upcoming release of the new 5-year plan, Chinese authorities promptly adopted a series of coordinated measures to support the national economy and engaged in a new long-term planning, the so-called “Dual Circulation Strategy”. From the New Dream to the Covid-19 era, innovation and industrial policies are presented through the lens of political economy. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.