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

DOI: 10.2478/mmcks-2021-0009 Analysis o Digi al Cus ome Communi ies in e ms o hei in e ac ions du ing he i s wa e o he COVID-19 pandemic F an išek POLLÁK Ins i u e o Technology and Business in České Budějo ice, Czech Republic [email p o ec ed] Roman VAVREK Technical Uni e si y o Os a a, Czech Republic Jan VÁCHAL Ins i u e o Technology and Business in České Budějo ice, Czech Republic Pe e MARKOVIČ Uni e si y o Economics in B a isla a, Slo ak Republic Michal KONEČNÝ Ins i u e o Technology and Business in České Budějo ice, Czech Republic Abs ac . The COVID-19 pandemic has ede ined p ocedu es in e e y business sec o . In he i s hal o 2020, companies had o ace an unexpec ed and unp edic able si ua ion ha esul ed in bo h h ea s and oppo uni ies in eal ime. Almos o e nigh , b ick-and-mo a es ablishmen s o mos s o es closed, and he dominan pa o ansac ions and ac i i ies mo ed om o line o he online en i onmen . The main goal o he pape is o iden i y changes in he in e ac ions o digi al cus ome communi ies o selec ed e-business ep esen a i es in he Czech ma ke . Wi hin a sample o almos one and a hal million Facebook use s, du ing he i s sp ing COVID-19 lockdown (Ma ch o May 2020), he in e ac ions o he i e la ges Czech e-shops and hei cus ome s we e eco ded on a daily basis. The da a we e hen subjec ed o a ho ough s a is ical analysis in o de o iden i y he speci ics ha esul ed om he highly non-s anda d ma ke si ua ion. The esul s sugges ha du ing he pandemic, he e was a majo ealloca ion o in e ac ions in e ms o hei iming. Mos in e ac ions ake place du ing he wo king week. F om a day- o-day pe spec i e, mos o he in e ac ions occu a a ound noon. In iew o he indings, i can be s a ed ha in o de o main ain he compe i i eness esul ing om e icien managemen o co po a e esou ces, i will be necessa y o modi y he usual p ocedu es o e-ma ke ing communica ion, as well as human esou ces managemen p ocedu es in e ms o he op imiza ion o wo k o employees wo king om home. Keywo ds: e-comme ce, e-shop, ma ke compe i i eness, lockdown, Facebook, Czech Republic. Please ci e he a icle as ollows: Pollák, F., Va ek, R., Váchal, J., Ma ko ič, P., Konečný. M., (2021), “Analysis o Digi al Cus ome Communi ies in e ms o hei in e ac ions du ing he i s wa e o he COVID-19 pandemic”, Managemen & Ma ke ing. Challenges o he Knowledge Socie y, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 134-151, DOI: 10.2478/mmcks-2021-0009. 135: MMCKS Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 134-151, ISSN 2069–8887| Managemen & Ma ke ing. Challenges o he Knowledge Socie y In oduc ion The COVID-19 pandemic has ede ined p ocedu es in almos e e y business sec o . In he i s hal o 2020, companies o all sizes had o ace an unexpec ed and unp edic able si ua ion ha esul ed in bo h h ea s and oppo uni ies a he same ime (Han & Qian, 2020; Ga el & Pe i -Romec, 2020; Rababah e al., 2020; Ko zeb & Niedziółka, 2020; Ye gin, 2020; Bu & T ench, 2020; Pa dal, e al., 2020). Almos o e nigh , b ick-and-mo a es ablishmen s o mos s o es closed, and a dominan pa o ansac ions and ac i i ies mo ed o he online en i onmen . Al hough e ail s o es (wi h a ew excep ions) had o emain closed, e-shops could ope a e wi hou any es ic ions. As a pa o s ic e hygiene measu es, ca ie s empo a ily abolished cash paymen , and a la ge numbe o e-shops ollowed his app oach by canceling cash on deli e y and p e e ing ca d paymen s h ough he paymen ga eway (Hambalíko á, 2020). While un il ecen ly, he adi ional business model o companies has been slowly and g adually modi ied owa ds e-comme ce, he closu e o ma ke s has gi en he modi ica ions a e olu iona y cha ac e (Ruokonen, 2020; Žu an e al., 2020). The sudden change in he usual s e eo ypes o consume beha io caused by bo h he closu e o he economy and he need o social dis ancing b ough abou ex ensi e imp o isa ion o all s akeholde s, especially du ing he i s weeks o he pandemic (She h, 2020). Wang e al. (2020) s a e ha in he e en o an eme gency, consume beha io is di e en , i changes. Some o hese changes a e p edic able, o he s no so well. Unce ain y on he cus ome side was ansmi ed on supplie s in he o m o eno mous bu dens and p essu e. Consume s ha e also begun o p e e shopping om he sa e y o hei home, e en o p oduc s ha ha e only ecen ly ep esen ed a ma ginal pa o he ma ke (Be an, 2020). F om he poin o iew o cus ome demand, he e has been a shi in he end o buying daily consump ion p oduc s as well as o e sized goods online. Pa la Hobíko á (In Zaňko á, 2020), PR manage and p ess spokespe son o he Mall G oup s a ed ha an app oxima ely 20% inc ease in long-las ing ood compa ed o he p e ious pe iod. The e has been an ex eme inc ease in in e es in ace masks, espi a o s, disin ec an s, and p o ec i e equipmen in gene al, which a e among he 10 mos sea ched i ems on hei websi e. In addi ion, sales o he en i e ange o gym equipmen also inc eased by 2,000 %, p obably due o he ac ha because o go e nmen egula ions, gymnasiums closed hei acili ies o he public. Zaňko á (2020) adds ha consume s p obably expec ed hey would spend mos o hei ime in he sa e y o hei home. Based on he da a om he la ges supplie o e-shop solu ions in he Czech Republic, Shop e , which includes 19,000 e-shops, almos hal o hem eco ded a sho age o asso men impo ed om ab oad. Mi osla Uďan (In Hambalíko á, 2020), CEO o he Shop e , s a es ha e-shops ha sell goods di ec ly om China, accoun ed o abou 25 %. . Se en y pe cen o hem expe ienced supply di icul ies. Hambalíko á (2020) adds ha he p oblem has mos a ec ed e-shops wi h ashion, which a e dependen on he impo o goods om China o o he Asian coun ies. On he one hand, we he e o e encoun e he o ced closu e o mos b ick-and-mo a s o es; on he o he hand, eno mous p essu e on e-comme ce and dis ibu ion, complemen ed by a supply shock in a ious segmen s o goods (Dima & Maassen, 2018; Vega Ba ios, Ce ón Islas & Figue oa Velázquez, 2021). A huge numbe o a iables c ea es a si ua ion on he ma ke ha is unp eceden ed in mode n his o y. 136: MMCKS Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 134-151, ISSN 2069–8887| Managemen & Ma ke ing. Challenges o he Knowledge Socie y Al hough in he medium e m, i may only be a kind o black swan, i is highly likely ha many o he changes ha ha e ecen ly occu ed in he ma ke unde he p essu e o unp edic able and non-s anda d condi ions will pe sis in he pos -co id pe iod (Khan, e al., 2020; Bagchi, Cha e jee, Ghosh & Dandapa , 2020; Kuc-Cza necka, 2020; Ibn-Mohammed e al., 2021). This assump ion is based on he concep o ou esea ch. I was also assumed ha he highly non-s anda d si ua ion in he ma ke will esul in bo h h ea s and oppo uni ies (Mo osan-Danila & Bo deianu, 2020; Don hu & Gus a sson, 2020). In e ms o science, we saw an oppo uni y in he o m o examining an almos model si ua ion in eal ime. In e ms o p ac ice, we saw an oppo uni y in he o m o iden i ying selec ed con ex s, he in e p e a ion o which could con ibu e o inc easing he compe i i eness o companies as such. Due o he ac ha a a ime o social dis ancing, mos in e ac ions wi hin cus ome communi ies a e mo ing om o line o online en i onmen (Ahmed e al., 2020; Wang, 2020; Fe encako a e al., 2020) we ocused ou a en ion o he ma ke leade , he social ne wo k Facebook. In iden i ying he objec o he esea ch, we ocused on he mos impo an ep esen a i es o he domes ic indus y, namely i e la ges e-shops ope a ing in he Czech ma ke . F om he pe spec i e o in e ac ions, we moni o ed he B2C communica ion o ou selec ed subjec s and hei cus ome communi ies on a daily basis h oughou he i s sp ing COVID-19 lockdown. Gi en he ci cums ances, he esea ch was p edominan ly quali a i e in na u e, wi h he main goal being he iden i ica ion o esea ch opics o u he quan i a i e esea ch. We p esen ed he pa ial esul s o he esea ch o he academic communi y (Pollák, Konečný, 2021), whe e we in ended o speci y he opic o u he p ocessing h ough ac i e eedback. Subsequen ly, we p esen ed he i s esul s o he esea ch o assessmen o he in e na ional p o essional public (Pollák, Ma ko ič, Váchal, Va ek, 2021) and, based on he eedback, p oceeded o he inaliza ion o he s udy being p esen ed. F om he poin o iew o he s uc u e o he pape , li e a y e iew is p esen ed, in which he au ho s desc ibe he s a ing poin s o he opic and he cu en s a e o knowledge in he issue. Subsequen ly, he me hodological pa o he s udy is p esen ed, ollowed by a chap e p esen ing selec ed indings. The las chap e o he s udy p esen s a discussion o he indings and o mula ion o he mos impo an ecommenda ions o science and p ac ice. Li e a u e e iew Pandemic and consume beha io The beginnings o he pandemic caused by COVID-19 da e back o he u n o 2019 and 2020. Ex ensi e measu es aken a a ious s ages o he ini ial sp ead o he disease in China we e obse ed by he Wes e n wo ld wi h a conside able su p ise. Wo ds such as economic lockdown and social dis ancing ha e en e ed he ocabula y o manage ial p ac ice. Ve y ew analys s a he ime could imagine ha simila measu es would be applied in he b oade con ex o open wes e n ma ke s (Amankwah-Amoah e . al., 2021; F iedson e al., 2021) In he i s s ep o he li e a u e e iew, we will ocus on he esea ch ha documen ed he beginning o he global pandemic a he si e o i s ou b eak. Li and Hallswo h (2020) ocused on he beginnings o he COVID-19 pandemic in China, whe e mos pandemic- s icken people decided o ollow he Chinese go e nmen 's na ionwide sel -qua an ine campaign. In addi ion o he e o s o p e en he sp ead o he new co ona i us, hese 137: MMCKS Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 134-151, ISSN 2069–8887| Managemen & Ma ke ing. Challenges o he Knowledge Socie y measu es esul ed in he dis up ion o one o he mos common ma ke p ocesses in e ail, namely ood e ailing. Resea che s adop ed a heo y o planned beha io and p o ided a se o imely empi ical insigh s in o he changes in consume beha io associa ed wi h ood pu chases a he beginning o a pandemic. Wang e al. (2020) a gue ha in he e en o an eme gency, consume beha io is di e en , i changes. Unde s anding consume beha io in e ms o ood s o age by consume s du ing he COVID-19 pandemic can p o ide impo an in o ma ion in he con ex o adjus ing in en o y managemen s a egies o policy make s and go e nmen s o be able o espond o i in he e en o a simila si ua ion in he u u e. The p io i y goal o any c isis si ua ion is o ensu e he basic needs o su i al; he e o e, he ini ial esea ch analyzed consume beha io om he poin o iew o secu ing basic consume goods. Wang e al. (2020) analyzed consume beha io in he case o s ockpiling by consume s, including changes in he ex en o hei ood ese es and hei willingness o pay o esh ood ese es. Based on he indings, hey s a e ha consume beha io ela ed o ood supply is d i en by a subjec i e pe cep ion o isk and a se o mul iple mo i a ions. In mos cases, la ge ood supplies we e ese ed by high-income consume s, uni e si y- educa ed people (especially women), bu consume s' willingness o pay o esh ood supplies was de e mined by hei income. Gao e al. (2020) examined he impac o COVID-19 on ood pu chases by e-consume s on he basis o an online su ey ha was combined wi h ci y-le el da a. They examined hei beha io om a sho - e m pe spec i e. To add ess po en ial endogenei y issues, hey chose he me hod o ins umen al a iable, using he dis ance om he ci y unde e iew o Wuhan as an ins umen al a iable. This me hod is conside ed e ec i e by esea che s in e ms o minimizing po en ial bias. Based on he indings, hey ound ha he p opo ion o con i med cases o COVID-19 in ec ion inc eases he willingness o cus ome s o buy ood online. Howe e , his op ion is mo e likely o young people li ing in la ge ci ies and wi h a lowe pe cei ed isk o online shopping. Ki k and Ri kin (2020) documen some o he many unusual pa e ns o beha io ha p edomina ed in he ea ly days o he COVID-19 pandemic. In he ligh o he en i onmen al cons ain s imposed on consume s, hey examined consume beha io du ing each o he ollowing h ee phases: - esponse phases, including ac i i ies such as accumula ion and ejec ion, - managemen phases, such as main aining social connec i i y, “handyman” beha io o changing he way we look a b ands, - adap a ion phases, including po en ial ans o ma ional changes in consump ion and changes in social and indi idual iden i y. The consume goes h ough all he phases slowly, hei beha io and p e e ences unde go he changes ha esul om he need o adap o he si ua ion. In Eu ope, he pandemic b oke ou o he ull in he i s hal o Ma ch 2020, when he numbe o new cases exceeded he numbe o cases in China (Ku el, 2020). The measu es ha we e subsequen ly aken la gely copied he measu es aken in China in ea ly Janua y. The beha io o Eu opean cus ome s also la gely ollowed he a o emen ioned ends. Ba ska and Wojciechowska-Solis (2020) analysed he beha io o Polish consume s buying local ood p oduc s online and also iden i ied he ba ie s o pu chasing. Based on he new legisla ion cu en ly in o ce in Poland, he indings we e used in ela ion o local oods o iden i y de elopmen oppo uni ies o a gi en o m o ade. On he basis o he indings 138: MMCKS Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 134-151, ISSN 2069–8887| Managemen & Ma ke ing. Challenges o he Knowledge Socie y on he esea ch concen ning consume beha io in he local ood ma ke conduc ed on a sample o 1,067 esponden s, Polish e-comme ce consume s o local p oduc s a e usually aged 30 - 40, wi h uni e si y educa ion and in a good inancial posi ion. The au ho s o he esea ch u he s a e ha , despi e he ac ha Polish e-comme ce is s ill ela i ely unde de eloped, he as es g owing ca ego y o in e ne sales was online ood sales. Expe s say ha by 2026, almos 40 % o all p oduc s will be sold online wo ldwide. In e ms o he changes in he e-shopping beha io o Czechs o ced by he es ic ions imposed by he pandemic, Hambalíko á (2020) e e s o esea ch by GoPay, which compa es he olume o paymen s in e-shops a he ime o he decla a ion o he s a e o eme gency. She iden i ied he ca ego ies showing an undesi ed decline in paymen s and also he ca ego ies which showed an inc ease in sales. P oduc s in he a el ca ego y showed a signi ican dec ease, while ood supplemen s, which expe ienced a huge inc ease in sales o up o 600 %. Howe e , d ug sales did no ise signi ican ly. Ano he i em ha inc eased signi ican ly was a ious o ms o meal eplacemen s., which showed a 300% inc ease. Ano he analysed ca ego y was ood o all kinds. Wi hin his ca ego y, he inc ease in he gi en moni o ed week eached up o se e al hund ed pe cen and his ca ego y is expec ed o g ow due o he limi ed mobili y o pe sons. Wi hin he ca ego y o medical de ice p oduc s, he e was an inc ease in paymen s o goods such as back co ec o s, a ious posi ioning aids o heal hy si ing, apes and he like. This inc eased in e es was eco ded wi hin he moni o ed week, which was p obably due o he ac ha people had begun o p epa e o home o ice and he associa ed all-day si ing in on o he compu e . In he case o he d ugs o e and cosme ics ca ego y, inc eases o up o a housand pe cen we e eco ded in he moni o ed week. I can hus be s a ed ha cus ome beha io o he Czechs comple ely copied wo ld ends. She h (2020) s a es ha since consume s could no go o he s o es, he s o es came o hei home. Digi al cus ome communi ies Singh e al. (2017) a gue ha online shopping is becoming he i s op ion o mo e and mo e consume s, as i allows hem o choose p oduc s on he basis o p oduc e iews. A huge amoun o cons an ly gene a ed da a can be conside ed a big challenge o bo h consume s and businesses (Singh, I ani, Rana 2017; Pae sch, e al, 2017; Jib il e al. 2019). Wang and He ando (2019) and Mi on e al. (2009) s a e ha social ade, o s-comme ce, has a g owing impac on e-comme ce and b ings abou po en ial economic bene i s. In he con ex o g owing conce ns abou consume p i acy on he In e ne , Wang and He ando u he explain how consume beha io (in he con ex o social in e ac ion and pu chasing decisions) is a ec ed by conce ns abou consume p i acy. Resea che s ha e ound ha ins i u ional secu i y has a posi i e e ec on consume con idence in ins i u ions. This a ec s consume s' online social in e ac ions and consequen ly inc eases he likelihood o buying p oduc s by consume s. Van Da (2020) examined he ela ionship be ween isk, pe cei ed sa is ac ion, and pu chasing in en . A concep ual model showing he indi idual ela ionships was compiled on he basis o he esul s o ac o analysis and modeling o s uc u al equa ions. Su ey included 306 consume s. Based on he indings, i could be s a ed ha manage s need o ake pe cei ed isks in o accoun when designing e-ma ke ing channels. Building cus ome communi ies is an ex emely complex ac i i y (A dielli, 2020). Any b each o us can ha e a signi ican impac on he e ec i eness o o e all ma ke ing ac i i y 139: MMCKS Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 134-151, ISSN 2069–8887| Managemen & Ma ke ing. Challenges o he Knowledge Socie y (Ma ijo á e al., 2019). Ayabu i and T ek (2020) a gue ha anspa en communica ion be ween companies inc eases he us o hei cus ome communi ies. Buhalis e al. (2020) analyzed he impac o in e nal and ex e nal a iables on he e-loyal y o young consume s in a gene a ional con ex . Based on a la ge sample and using s uc u al equa ions (PLS), hey c ea ed a new model con aining wo in e nal a iables ( us and sa is ac ion) and wo ex e nal a iables (web design and eWoM /elec onic Wo d-o -Mou h/). Buhalis e al. added he e y in en ion o consume s o shop online. Acco ding o he esul s, i could be s a ed ha in e nal a iables ha e a g ea e impac on consume s han ex e nal a iables. Figu e 1. The impac o a iables on he e-loyal y Sou ce: Au ho s’ elabo a ion based on Buhalis e al. (2020). Ka ampela e al. (2020) conduc ed esea ch on B2B companies, p ima ily aimed a iden i ying he ac o s ha in luence he accep ance o business p esen a ions on social media, as well as he accep ance o hei ma ke ing communica ions in he o m o he bene i s o pa icipa ing in he digi al communi y. The s eng h o he ela ionship is exp essed by ou indica o s, namely commi men , in imacy, sa is ac ion, and quali y in he o m o he o e all pe cep ion o he o ganiza ion as a pa ne . The esea ch was conduc ed on a sample o 200 cus ome s o B i ish B2B companies. Resea ch shows ha a company should be p esen on a social ne wo k, as such a p esence di ec ly indica es a commi men o coope a ion. Resea che s say o ganiza ions should ocus on: - In ensi ying hei p esence on social media, hus ein o cing he s eng h o ela ions, - Ac i e communica ion h ough social ne wo ks, hus inc easing he anspa ency and s eng hening hei pe cei ed quali y. Shao e al. (2019) based hei esea ch on heo ies o p omo ing us and inno a ion. In hei s udy, hey de eloped a model examining us -building mechanisms on hi d-pa y mobile paymen pla o ms. In pa icula , hey examined whe he he e we e signi ican gende di e ences in a ious con idence-building mechanisms associa ed wi h mobile paymen s. The esea ch was conduc ed on a sample o 740 paymen use s o Alipay and Wecha in China. Based on esea ch, Shao e al. s a e ha he ela i e impac o con idence- building mechanisms is gende dependen . Male cus ome s a e mo e s ongly in luenced by he mobili y and epu a ion o he pla o m in building us . The secu i y and adap a ion o he pla o m ha e a g ea e impac on he us o emale cus ome s. Aladwani and Dwi edi (2018) s a e ha he expec ed quali y o communica ion h ough social media in luences Web design & eWoM T us & Sa is ac ion In en ion o shop online e-loyal y 140: MMCKS Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 134-151, ISSN 2069–8887| Managemen & Ma ke ing. Challenges o he Knowledge Socie y us , which a ec s he ex en o adap a ion o communica ion and he communica ed message as such. In connec ion wi h he pandemic, i is possible o ag ee wi h L e al. (2020), who s a e ha e-comme ce has become he i s op ion o shoppe s in he con ex o he global economic down u n caused by COVID-19. Many ma ke e s (Goel & Gup a, 2020; Mason, Na com, Mason, 2021; Cheb olu e al., 2021; Ma zouki, Aldossa i. & Vel i, 2021), o e en indi iduals ha e decided o launch p omo ional ac i i ies h ough some social media pla o ms (Sándo , 2020). Sales amoun s wi hin social e-comme ce can d ama ically inc ease p ice discoun s, hanks o he subsequen in e ac ion o online consume s. In o de o ade s o be able o o mula e app op ia e discoun s a egies and hus achie e sus ainable business (Mi on e al., 2010), i is essen ial ha hey lea n he ules o dissemina ing in o ma ion on discoun s on social media in he ield o e-comme ce. This was he s a ing poin o o mula ing ou esea ch goals. E alua ion o knowledge and heo e ical assump ions By examining he ini ial con ex in he p e ious subchap e s, i was possible o iden i y key opics o subsequen empi ical esea ch. Based on he undamen als o examining he e ec s o a pandemic on cus ome beha io , we ound ha ega dless o geog aphical loca ion, consume s exhibi ed he same pa e ns o beha io a he beginning o he pandemic. These we e cha ac e ized by: - a s ep change in p e e ences, whe e cus ome s ocused p ima ily on he sa is ac ion o basic needs in he o m o ood and p oduc s o daily usage, - accumula ion o goods, whe e cus ome s end o s ockpile in case o supply chain collapse, - swi ching o an elec onic o m o pu chasing, whe e cus ome s ied o apply he me hods o social dis ancing. The dominan a e o in e ac ions hus shi ed om he o line o he online en i onmen , so we p oceeded o examine he cha ac e is ics o digi al communi ies. By desc ibing he basic bene i s o e-comme ce, we ha e mo ed on o he issue o us and pe cei ed isk. I is hese wo de e minan s ha mos signi ican ly in luence he accep ance a e o e-comme ce. A sui able app oach o inc ease he accep ance o he company in he online en i onmen is: - inc easing he p esence on social ne wo ks, - anspa ency in pe o mance and communica ion (Onu e o á & Čabino á , 2018). In o de o emain compe i i e in a di icul pe iod, i is necessa y o make changes in he usual app oaches used by companies o implemen hei ma ke ing communica ions. The dominan pa o in e ac ions wi hin B2B o B2C communica ion is shi ing o he social media en i onmen . She h (2020) s a es ha i is possible o an icipa e a las ing change in selec ed cha ac e is ics o consume beha io . He a gues ha while consume s a e slowly e u ning o old habi s, i is likely ha hese old habi s will be adap ed by new p ac ices and egula ions in he way consume s buy se ices and p oduc s. New habi s will eme ge in he con ex o echnological p og ess, as a esul o demog aphic change and also hanks o he inno a i e ways in which consume s ha e lea ned o cope wi h blu ing bo de s, whe he o wo k, educa ion o leisu e. This ac is only illus a ed by he da a om he au umn o 2020, whe e a e he end o he i s and he onse o he second wa e o he closu e o he economy, Czech 141: MMCKS Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 134-151, ISSN 2069–8887| Managemen & Ma ke ing. Challenges o he Knowledge Socie y consume s a e g adually swi ching o new o ms o communica ion. Wo king om home, which un il ecen ly was conside ed an occasional bene i , is becoming he new no m. Sales o webcams inc eased by 6600 % in he au umn o 2020, he e was also a demand o lap ops, o which hei a ailabili y sha ply de e io a ed (Hobíko á, In Zaňko á, 2020). Ai pu i ie s and ozone gene a o s we e also sold wice as much/ The sales o ai pu i ie s and ozone gene a o s doubled. We a e alking abou he asso men ha was ela i ely unknown o mos consume s a yea ago. Me hodology As no ed abo e, he dominan a e o in e ac ions has shi ed om he o line o he online en i onmen . In ou p e ious s udies (Do čák, Š ach & Pollák, 2015; Pollák, Do čák, 2016; Pollák, Konečný, 2021; Pollák, Ma ko ič, Váchal & Va ek, 2021), we obse e an inc eased p esence o subjec s om bo h side o he ma ke on social ne wo ks. I is also possible o s a e on he basis o ou esea ch, ha in las decade he e-comme ce is inc easingly becoming he cus ome 's i s choice when buying o selling goods and se ices. In iew o he abo e, he ollowing esea ch ques ion o he p esen ed esea ch is iden i ied: How has he possibili y o wo king om home a ec ed he e iciency o ime managemen ? The main goal by which his esea ch ques ion should be answe ed is o iden i y changes in he in e ac ions o digi al cus ome communi ies o selec ed ep esen a i es o elec onic business on he Czech ma ke du ing he i s wa e o he COVID 19 pandemic. The moni o ed pe iod is om 12. Ma ch 2020 o 17. May 2020, while he esea ch was ca ied ou by moni o ing he Facebook ac i i y on he o icial p o iles/ an pages o he 5 la ges Czech e-shops, anked on he basis o he o de published by he jou nal e- comme ce b idge (2020), speci ically p o iles o Alza, Mall, CZC, Auk o and Lidl Czech Republic. The esea ch sample he e o e ep esen s mo e han 1.5 mil. use s in he ollowing s uc u e: Table 1. S uc u e o he esea ch sample Sou ce: Au ho s’ calcula ions. Legend: * Numbe o use s / ans as o May 2020 Da a collec ion was ca ied ou by he in e es ed esea che s who o ou mon hs on a daily basis eco ded he numbe , ype and na u e o use in e ac ions, as well as he numbe and na u e o con ibu ions- pos s published on he p o iles o selec ed e-comme ce en i ies. The in e ac ions o cus ome g oups ( o he pu poses o he analysis) ep esen he in e ac ion o he indi iduals o he e-ma ke ing communica ion /pos s/, which he subjec / p o ile manage o he e-comme ce subjec published du ing he obse ed pe iod on he Facebook p o ile use s/ ans* Alza.cz 264,865 Mall.cz 207,747 CZC.cz 232,694 Auk o.cz 110,021 Lidl Czech Republic 778,673 To al 1,594,000 142: MMCKS Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 134-151, ISSN 2069–8887| Managemen & Ma ke ing. Challenges o he Knowledge Socie y o icial p o ile o he moni o ed company. The eac ions /in ou case use en i led like use in e ac ions/ ook he ollowing o ms: commen , like, pos and sha ing. The ime and da e o he published pos we e eco ded. Scales om he poin o iew o he week we e p e-c ea ed o subsequen da a p ocessing, in his case he scales we e in he o m o se en days a week. Scales we e also p e-c ea ed om he poin o iew o he day, whe e he day was di ided in o i e ime in e als as ollows: - 00:00-08:00, - 08:00-12:00, - 12:00-16:00, - 16:00-20:00, - 20:00-24:00. Reco ds we e made in p ede ined ime ames wi h he ime necessa y o gene a e he inal numbe o cus ome g oups in e ac ions. Due o he a ailable esou ces, i was no echnically possible o eco d he exac ime o each indi idual in e ac ion, we ex apola ed he alues based on he exac imes o publica ion o each indi idual con ibu ion, o which he use s esponded wi h hei in e ac ions. We assumed ha mos in e ac ions occu immedia ely a e he con en is published. The analysis is p ocessed in h ee s ages, esp. pa s, using he ollowing appa a us o ma hema ical-s a is ical me hods including: - Shapi o-Wilk ex 𝑊 = (∑𝑎𝑖𝑥(𝑖))2 𝑛 𝑖=1 ∑(𝑥𝑖−𝑥)2 𝑛 𝑖=1 , H0: da a a e no mally dis ibu ed, H1: da a a e no no mally dis ibu ed, whe e (wi h pa en heses enclosing he subsc ip index i; no o be con used wi h xi) is he i- h o de s a is ic, i.e., he i- h smalles numbe in he sample, 𝑥 - he sample mean. - Mann-Whi ney es 𝑈´ = 𝑛𝑦𝑛𝑥𝑛𝑦(𝑛𝑦+1) 2− 𝑅𝑦, 𝑈 = 𝑛𝑦𝑛𝑥− 𝑈´, H0: wo samples come om he same popula ion (i.e. ha e he same median), H1: wo samples come no om he same popula ion (i.e. ha e di e en median), whe e 𝑛𝑥 is he numbe o obse a ions o he ange o he x- h ile, 𝑛𝑦 is he numbe o obse a ions wi h espec o he o he y- h ile, 𝑅𝑦 - he sum o he anks o he y- h ile, and U, U´ a e es s a is ics. - Kolmogo o -Smi no es 𝐾𝑆 = 𝑠𝑢𝑝|𝐹1,𝑛1(𝑥)− 𝐹2,𝑛2(𝑥)| −∞ < 𝑥 < ∞ , H0: wo samples a e om he same con inuous dis ibu ion, H1: wo samples a e om di e en con inuous dis ibu ion, whe e 𝐹1,𝑛1(𝑥) is an empi ical dis ibu ion unc ion o he i s selec ion, 𝐹2,𝑛2(𝑥) is an empi ical dis ibu ion unc ion o he second selec ion. 149: MMCKS Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 134-151, ISSN 2069–8887| Managemen & Ma ke ing. 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