Reputation of Electric Vehicles in the Environment of Carbon Reduction and Accelerated Digitization

The accelerated digitization of the third decade of the twenty-first century poses a challenge both for science and for practice. The study presents partial results of continuous research on online reputation management of entities operating in the environment of low-carbon economy. The aim of the study is the application of a standardized methodology for calculating the Total level of Online Reputation (TOR) to determine the market position of selected Electric Vehicles (EVs) compared to the market position of conventional Vehicles with Internal Combustion Engines (ICEVs) in the online environment. The research sample consists of the ten best-selling Vehicles and the ten best-selling Electric Vehicles in the world by sales in the year 2021. Based on the measurement results and the subsequent analysis of the context, it can be concluded that the EV market shows the parameters of a developing market not only from the point of view of sales but also in terms of the overall level of Online Reputation as such. At the same time, it is possible to point out a high geographical specificity and significant disproportionality of the EV market compared to ICEVs. From the overall market perspective, the future of cars in the EV category is still unclear, as building trust in low-carbon products is limited by historical tradition. The main representatives of the EV industry thus represent the first forays of the onset of the low-carbon era in individual transport. The description of the issue will require the monitoring of status indicators over time. The results of the presented study can thus serve as a baseline and methodological framework for further research of the adoption of low-carbon policies in common practice.

Return to the New Normal: Empirical Analysis of Changes in E-Consumer Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The global pandemic caused by the new coronavirus has largely changed established business practices. The aim of this study is to present the results of eighteen months of intensive research into the effects of the pandemic on e-consumer behavior. In one of the most active e-commerce markets in Europe, the Czech Republic, we analyzed a sample of more than one and a half million Facebook users in terms of their C2B interactions on the B2C activities of the five major e-commerce market players. The measurements were carried out in three periods, which corresponded to the onset of the first wave, the peak, and the fading of the second wave of the pandemic. This enabled us to monitor the effect of seasonality and the stabilization of patterns of consumer behavior during the coronavirus crisis. The results suggest that a specific panic pattern of e-consumer behavior was developed at the time of the onset of the pandemic. However, as the pandemic progressed, the market adapted to a new normal, which, as evidenced by the change in trends, appears to be a combination of the pre-pandemic and pandemic behavioral patterns. Using a statistical analysis, it was possible to identify the delta of changes within the patterns of consumer behavior, thus fulfilling the final condition for creating an empirical model of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on e-consumer behavior presented in this study.

Economic Activity as a Determinant for Customer Adoption of Social Media Marketing

The issue of an effective use of social media as a tool of responsible and sustainable corporate communication policy has been the subject of intensive research for more than a decade. The presented study examines the issue of customer acceptance of communication activities of organizations in the social media environment. The aim of the study is to identify, through an empirical analysis performed on a sample of 1584 Central Europeans, whether the form of economic activity of the customer has an impact on the degree of acceptance of corporate marketing communication on social media. Based on a thorough statistical analysis, it can be stated that the perception of the use of e-marketing on social media is statistically significantly related to the economic activity of the customer. Social media marketing is perceived as rather positive by customers belonging to the category of students and entrepreneurs, while this form of promotion is evaluated neutrally by customers from the category of the unemployed and retirees. Negative acceptance is recorded only insignificantly across all involved groups. Based on the similarity of the behavior of customer groups, it is possible to more precisely target the online activity of organizations, thereby increasing the efficiency of spending business resources and eliminating market risks in terms of reputational issues.

Promotion of Electric Mobility in the European Union—Overview of Project PROMETEUS from the Perspective of Cohesion through Synergistic Cooperation on the Example of the Catching-Up Region

This project report presents the rationale and the first results as regards the ongoing learning process of the PROMETEUS (PROMotion of EmobiliTy in EU regionS) project, co-financed by the Interreg Europe program, in the context of EU policies and programs dedicated to the promotion of sustainable mobility, and electric mobility in particular. Electric mobility, and in general low-carbon mobility, is one of the main targets of the European Union’s policies dedicated to a green transition. Despite continuous efforts, the number of electric cars in circulation remains low and the objectives of expanding the market for such vehicles by 2030 are still far from being fulfilled. Up until 2018, the share of electric vehicles was in fact only 1.5% of total car sales in the EU. Specifically, it has been noted that an increase in the uptake of electric vehicles in Europe is hampered by the presence of three main barriers: affordability, infrastructure availability, and lack of investments. In this context, project PROMETEUS has aimed at tackling the lacunae in the availability of infrastructures for a transition towards electric mobility in the partnership’s regions, namely, Carinthia in Austria, Castilla y León in Spain, Lazio in Italy, Malta, and Prešov in Slovakia, and at countering low awareness in the public through the improvement of policy instruments linked to structural funds. In order to approach and clarify the process of improvement of those policy instruments, we have summarized and presented the reference results and outputs from the Action Plans across the partners. Moreover, the report discusses in detail the output of the regional Action Plan of the one of project partners—the Prešov region, as the form of a model example—as the initial situation in terms of infrastructure development in the region posing as the biggest challenge for the project. Managerial as well as research summaries can be helpful in the implementation of similar projects;in the continuous improvement of policy instruments;and, last but not least, in the formulation of new challenges to improve awareness of sustainable forms of transport.

Innovations in the Management of E-Commerce: Analysis of Customer Interactions during the COVID-19 Pandemic

In the days leading to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, open innovations in the form of the deployment of digital marketing tools in the management portfolio were an option;in a time of forced closing of economies, they suddenly became a necessity. The aim of the comprehensive research, in which the presented study is prepared, is to describe the changes in e-consumer behavior that occurred in the market during the COVID-19 pandemic. The presented study examines the seasonal and regional specifics that characterize the markets of Central and Eastern Europe. In a sample of almost 14,000,000 Facebook users, the user interactions with ten selected representatives of the e-commerce sector were recorded daily during the 2020/2021 Christmas season lasting 49 days. By analyzing the nature and timing of interactions, it was possible to identify the geographical specifics of e-consumer behavior, as well as basic seasonality indicators based on a comparison with the reference period of the first half of 2020. The synthesis of the findings provided a knowledge base for compiling a preliminary version of the model of the COVID-19 pandemic impact on e-consumer behavior. In terms of changes in e-consumer behavior, it can be stated that the step change in e-behavior patterns caused by the pandemic merges with pre-pandemic behavior patterns. In general, it can be stated that the evolutionary process of the transition from offline to online the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be a significant acceleration factor of inevitable changes.

Analysis of Digital Customer Communities in terms of their interactions during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has redefined procedures in every business sector. In the first half of 2020, companies had to face an unexpected and unpredictable situation that resulted in both threats and opportunities in real time. Almost overnight, brick-and-mortar establishments of most stores closed, and the dominant part of transactions and activities moved from offline to the online environment. The main goal of the paper is to identify changes in the interactions of digital customer communities of selected e-business representatives in the Czech market. Within a sample of almost one and a half million Facebook users, during the first spring COVID-19 lockdown (March to May 2020), the interactions of the five largest Czech e-shops and their customers were recorded on a daily basis. The data were then subjected to a thorough statistical analysis in order to identify the specifics that resulted from the highly non-standard market situation. The results suggest that during the pandemic, there was a major reallocation of interactions in terms of their timing. Most interactions take place during the working week. From a day-to-day perspective, most of the interactions occur at around noon. In view of the findings, it can be stated that in order to maintain the competitiveness resulting from efficient management of corporate resources, it will be necessary to modify the usual procedures of e-marketing communication, as well as human resources management procedures in terms of the optimization of work of employees working from home.