How did the SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) coronavirus pandemic increase the level of digitization and Internetization of economic processes, increase the scale of remote communication carried out between business entities and public institutions, increase the level of digitization of the economy?

During the SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) coronavirus pandemic, the government, with the aim of slowing the development of coronavirus transmission and increasing the period of preparation time of health system institutions for the development of the epidemic nationwide, introduced mandatory national quarantines imposed on the public and lockdowns imposed on selected, mainly service sectors of the economy. Companies and businesses on which lockdowns were imposed were not allowed to conduct business under standard conditions and could only provide their services remotely via the Internet during lockdown periods. This issue affected many companies operating, among others, in the sectors of tourist services, hotels, catering, gyms and fitness clubs, physical stores and shopping centers, cultural services provided by museums, galleries, philharmonics, theaters, operas, cinemas, etc. In addition to this, restrictions on the scope of services provided also applied to certain segments of transportation services, domestic and international air transportation, the public transportation system and many other services. The ability to move business operations and services provided to the Internet proved to be a viable option for many companies to survive the recession and economic crisis caused by the quarantines and lockdowns introduced in 2020. Since April 2020, sales of various products and services carried out via the Internet have increased rapidly. A significant number of citizens who, prior to the pandemic, did not make purchases via the Internet were suddenly forced to do so, as it were, by the pandemic situation and through government-imposed restrictions. In some product ranges, such as electronics, consumer electronics and household appliances, sales made via the Internet increased turnover several times during the pandemic. Consequently, in some product ranges, the pandemic not only changed customers' buying habits but also significantly increased the profits of stores that switched to online sales and manufacturers of certain types of products, for which demand increased significantly during the pandemic. During the pandemic, many companies, especially in the SME sector, increased the scale of digitization and Internetization of business processes. The government, as part of various anti-crisis, anti-decession measures, offered targeted subsidies to SME companies to increase the level of business digitization and adapt to the new realities of business development with greater use of the Internet. The result was an increase in the scale of digitization and Internetization of the economy. The scale of development of e-commerce, e-business, e-banking, online and mobile banking, e-logistics, e-learning, e-government, remote work, online payments and settlements, etc. has increased. I described the processes and key determinants of the increase in the scale of digitization and Internetization of the economy in articles of my co-authorship, which I posted on my profile of this Research Gate portal after publication:

Article IMPACT OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC (COVID-19) ON FINANCIAL M...

Article The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Growing Importanc...

Chapter Growing importance of digitization of remote communication p...

Preprint Increase in the Internetization of economic processes, econo...

For those who are interested in this issue, please read the issues, determinants, factors of growth in the scale of digitization and Internetization of the economy, which I have described in my articles. I am currently writing a monograph on this topic and invite researchers and scientists who consider this issue of interest to join me in scientific cooperation. I ask for your comments and suggestions on other determinants and factors of growth in the scale of digitization and Internetization of the economy, which have not been covered above. I also ask for your conclusions, results of reflections, considerations on the current and prospective effects of the progressive process of digitization and Internetization of the economy. Important questions that can inspire reflection on this issue are the following:

- To what extent can the increasing scale of digitization and Internetization of the economy go in the next few years, and what will be the consequences?

- What positive and negative effects can be distinguished from the continuation of the process of increasing the scale of digitization and Internetization of the economy in the coming years?

- How did the pandemic of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (Covid-19) increase the level of digitization and Internetization of economic processes, increase the scale of remote communication carried out between business entities and public institutions, increase the level of digitization of the economy?

And what is your opinion about it?

What do you think about this topic?

Please answer,

I invite everyone to join the discussion,

Thank you very much,

Warm regards,

Dariusz Prokopowicz