A man, Husam; Al-Fulaij, Shaikha; al-Qudsi, Sulayman S.; Alawadhi, Ahmad; AlAli,
Mohammad
A icle
COVID-19 e ec on accele a ing echnology and
inno a ion in businesses
O ganiza ions and Ma ke s in Eme ging Economies
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Facul y o Economics and Business Adminis a ion, Vilnius Uni e si y
Sugges ed Ci a ion: A man, Husam; Al-Fulaij, Shaikha; al-Qudsi, Sulayman S.; Alawadhi, Ahmad; AlAli,
Mohammad (2024) : COVID-19 e ec on accele a ing echnology and inno a ion in businesses,
O ganiza ions and Ma ke s in Eme ging Economies, ISSN 2345-0037, Vilnius Uni e si y P ess,
Vilnius, Vol. 15, Iss. 1, pp. 27-50,
h ps://doi.o g/10.15388/omee.2024.15.2
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O ganiza ions and Ma ke s in Eme ging Economies ISSN 2029-4581 eISSN 2345-0037
2024, ol. 15, no. 1(30), pp. 27–50 DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.15388/omee.2024.15.2
COVID-19 E ec on Accele a ing
Technology and Inno a ion in Businesses
Husam A man (co esponding au ho )
Kuwai Ins i u e o Scien i ic Resea ch, Kuwai
ha man@kis .edu.kw
h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-3546-1718
Shaikha Al-Fulaij
Kuwai Ins i u e o Scien i ic Resea ch, Kuwai
s ulaij@kis .edu.kw
Sulayman Al-Qudsi
Kuwai Ins i u e o Scien i ic Resea ch, Kuwai
squdsi@kis .edu.kw
Ahmad Alawadhi
Kuwai Ins i u e o Scien i ic Resea ch, Kuwai
aawadhi@kis .edu.kw
Mohammad Al Ali
Kuwai Ins i u e o Scien i ic Resea ch, Kuwai
maali@kis .edu.kw
Abs ac . This pape assesses empi ically he COVID-19 e ec on businesses and he po en ial dynamic
changes ega ding pos -COVID-19 au oma ion and echnology pene a ion using a ious logis ic e-
g ession models. A ield su ey was used o collec he necessa y da a o es ing a ious hypo heses. This
s udy demons a es he se e i y o he pandemic on businesses and how i has changed hei pe spec i es
on echnology as a c i ical aspec o su i al and u u e success. The esul s showed ha capi al-in ensi e
i ms a e mo e esilien o he c isis. In addi ion, he i ms ha we e a ec ed se e ely in e ms o employ-
men due o he pandemic belie e ha echnology will signi ican ly impac hi ing, in es men , and alue
Recei ed: 4/6/2023. Accep ed: 23/1/2024
Copy igh © 2024 Husam A man, Shaikha Al-Fulaij, Sulayman Al-Qudsi, Ahmad Alawadhi, Mohammad Al Ali. Published
by Vilnius Uni e si y P ess. This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion
Licence, which pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal au ho and
sou ce a e c edi ed.
Con en s lis s a ailable a Vilnius Uni e si y P ess
28
ISSN 2029-4581 eISSN 2345-0037 O ganiza ions and Ma ke s in Eme ging Economies
added. This pape in es iga es a unique phenomenon ep esen ed by COVID-19, i s impac on businesses
in a esou ce- ich con ex and hei esponsi eness conce ning echnology deploymen and au oma ion.
Keywo ds: inno a ion, COVID-19, au oma ion, echnology, p oduc i i y
1. In oduc ion
The COVID-19 pandemic c ea ed a public heal h c isis and igge ed a signi ican eco-
nomic c isis, immedia ely dis up ing p oduc ion and consump ion. Thus, he COV-
ID-19 pandemic deli e ed a double whammy o economic ac i i y. The pandemic led
o a educ ion in labo supply (which leads o a d op in ou pu ) due o es ic ions on
people’s mo emen s and he loss o labo due o COVID-19 dea hs, qua an ine, and
hospi al admissions labo e s. Con ainmen measu es such as o al o pa ial lockdowns
exace ba e he loss o labo . On he o he hand, consume s los hei income due o
con ainmen measu es and wo ke s’ layo s. Howe e , some sec o s, such as ou ism,
leisu e cen e s, en e ainmen , es au an s, and anspo a ion, we e a ec ed mo e han
o he s.
Many i ms op ed o echnology as a li e-sa e o ca y on hei business ac i i-
ies o minimize dis up ion o hei ope a ions. This su ge in he use o digi al ech-
nologies enabled people and o ganiza ions wo ldwide o adjus o new ways o wo k
and li e (B em e al., 2021; C uz-Cá denas e al., 2021; Pandey & Pal, 2020). Cloud
compu ing, In e ne -o -Things (IoT), A i icial In elligence (AI), and au oma ion a e
key examples o wha o ganiza ions adop as pa o hei ans o ma ional jou ney. Fo
ins ance, he In elligen In e ne o Things which applies IoT join ly wi h A i icial In-
elligence has eme ged as a key ac o in he pandemic’s wake, especially in he heal h
sec o (López-Va gas e al., 2021).
A as low o li e a u e documen s he accumula ed eno mi y and d agging e ec s
o he COVID-19 pandemic shock and i s widesp ead impac on global businesses
(Apedo-Amah e al., 2020; Bloom e al., 2021). Locally, in he case o Kuwai , he pan-
demic has p o oked se ious heal h, social, and economic dis up ions, including s ic
social dis ancing, cu ews, and a el es ic ions ha culmina ed in a se ious ecession
whe e GDP con ac ed by a ound 9%, and i s p o ac ed se e i y las ed longe han
any o he his o ical ecessions ha Kuwai had expe ienced be o e (Al-Qudsi e al.,
2021). In he p i a e sec o , he pandemic hi Kuwai ’s business and labo ma ke ha d
and displaced many o eign wo ke s, es ima ed a 200,000 by 2021. Kuwai i businesses
ushed o au oma ion as a subs i u e o physical labo in he wo kplace o sa egua d
hei businesses du ing cu ews and s ic social dis ancing. They deployed emo e
wo king, aining, and lea ning in schools and uni e si ies.
Acco ding o Mishna e al. (2021) and Singh e al. (2020), ICT adop ion appea ed
as a business s a egy o mic o, small and medium-sized en e p ises (MSMEs) du -
ing he COVID-19 pandemic. Se e al s udies epo ed ha i ms bene i ed om ICT
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Husam A man, Shaikha Al-Fulaij, Sulayman Al-Qudsi, Ahmad Alawadhi, Mohammad Al Ali.
COVID-19 E ec on Accele a ing Technology and Inno a ion in Businesses
adop ion du ing he c isis (Guo e al., 2020; Shi alka e al., 2021; Wend e al., 2021).
Mo e speci ically, Kuma e al. (2023) aimed o in es iga e he impac o ICT adop ion
ac o s on MSMEs. A o al o 393 esponses om Indian small and medium-sized en-
e p ises (SMEs) we e collec ed; 48.6% o esponden s belie ed ha COVID-19 accel-
e a ed he p ocess o digi iza ion, and 70% indica ed inc eased use o ICT due o he
COVID-19 condi ions. Also, abou 64% indica ed ha hei digi iza ion expenses had
inc eased due o COVID-19. Also, Wicaksono and Simangunsong (2022) a gue ha
he COVID-19 epidemic appea s o ha e accele a ed digi al echnology adop ion in
Indonesia as digi al echnologies helped MSMEs handle he COVID-19 shock be e .
Thei p elimina y analysis sugges s ha u iliza ion o he in e ne and being pa o he
supply chains we e c i ical de e minan s o lessening he impac o COVID-19.
Zu shi e al. (2021) examined how SMEs can deal wi h he COVID-19 c isis
h ough a e iew o 34 a icles. They sugges ha new echnological ad ancemen s can
enhance SMEs’ abili y o su i e in he con ex o he COVID-19 pandemic.
Se e al s udies ha e sugges ed ha Indus y 4.0 adop ion enabled manu ac u e s o
deal wi h he e ec s o he COVID-19 pandemic (Akpan e al., 2021; Hopkins, 2021;
Spieske & Bi kel, 2021). Mo e speci ically, Bianco e al. (2023) s udied whe he In-
dus y 4.0 implemen a ion imp o ed companies’ esilience, pe o mance and s abili y
du ing he COVID-19 shock. They u ilized s uc u al equa ion modeling o analyze
da a collec ed om 207 manu ac u ing companies in B azil om Oc obe o Decembe
2020. Thei indings sugges ha ope a ional esponses based on Indus y 4.0 helped
manu ac u e s o sus ain hei pe o mance du ing he COVID-19 c isis, which sup-
po s he de elopmen o esilience cha ac e is ics o a company ( lexibili y, eliabili y,
obus ness, and esponsi eness). Thei s udy sugges s ha manu ac u e s’ esilience
cha ac e is ics helped ease he e ec s o he COVID-19 c isis.
As discussed abo e, he li e a u e en e ained he idea ha COVID-19 has con ib-
u ed o accele a ing echnology deploymen and digi iza ion in pa icula (Ku njak,
2021). Fo ins ance, Egana-delSol e al. (2021) examined how COVID-19 ca alyzed
he au oma ion p ocess. This pape con ibu es o his di ec ion o wo k and es s spe-
ci ic hypo heses ega ding he po en ial o au oma ion due o COVID-19 based on he
pe spec i es o he businesses in Kuwai . Unlike p e ious s udies, his pape links he
se e i y o he impac o COVID-19 wi h in luencing he business pe spec i e o he
ou look o AI, p oduc i i y, and c ea i i y, which a e key u u e capabili ies o any i m.
Limi ed published s udies ha e in es iga ed he possible link be ween COVID-19
and au oma ion, especially in a esou ce- ich economy con ex . This s udy add esses a
con empo a y issue explo ed in ecen li e a u e conce ning he co ela ion be ween
COVID-19 and he adop ion o echnology and au oma ion. The li e a u e e iew has
highligh ed a consensus on he signi ican impac o COVID-19 on businesses. Howe -
e , i s ole in expedi ing echnology deploymen , including AI, is s ill unclea , and he e
is a sca ci y o empi ical s udies add essing his aspec .
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2. Backg ound
2.1 The Impac o COVID-19 on Business Pe o mance
Nume ous schola s ha e in es iga ed he e ec o he COVID-19 pandemic on he
o e all mac oeconomic pe o mance o an economy and business. Apedo-Amah e al.
(2020) in es iga ed he sho - e m e ec s o he pandemic on o e 100,00 businesses
ac oss 51 de eloping coun ies. The au ho s concluded ha he shock o he pandemic
had had a se e e and pe sis en nega i e impac on sales ac oss a ious sec o s. The
indings indica e ha o e 90% o he open i ms show an 84% educ ion in sales and
employmen . Simila nega i e impac s o SMEs on liquidi y, business ac i i y, and clo-
su e a e demons a ed in he li e a u e (Ba e o e al., 2020; Ba ik e al., 2020). Bloom
e al. (2021) used su ey da a o a ound 2,500 US small businesses o gauge he bea ing
o COVID-19 on businesses. They ound ha sales plumme ed s eeply in he second
qua e o 2020 by an a e age o 29%. They o ecas ha hese impac s seem o be pe -
sis en up o he middle o 2021. Thei analysis unco e s he e ogenei y in he impac
o COVID-19 on di e en ypes o i ms and owne s. Fi ms wi h li le o no in e ne
p esence expe ienced a decline o o e 40% in sales compa ed o less han 10% o on-
line i ms. Alessa e al. (2021) su eyed 445 male and emale en ep eneu s in Riyadh,
Saudi A abia, using a simple andom sample o e ou mon hs. They ound ha he
pandemic nega i ely impac ed business p oduc i i y and p o i s, o cing many busi-
nesses o physically close pe manen ly in Saudi A abia.
2.2 COVID-19 as a Ca alys o Digi iza ion and Au oma ion
The lockdowns and he heal h es ic ions o he pandemic o ced businesses e en
in de eloping coun ies o shi om con en ional sales o digi al sales. Pa ma e al.
(2020) s udied he adop ion o in e ne and e-business echnology on he pe o mance
o SMEs du ing he pandemic by applying s uc u al equa ion modelling-based a i-
ance pa ial leas squa e on 123 SMEs in Indonesia. The indings ob ained in his s udy
showed a posi i e impac o adop ing e-business echnology o boos p o i s and sales.
E iom and Ede (2020) ha e assessed Nige ia’s adop ion o inancial echnologies. The
s udy applied an au o eg essi e dis ibu ed lag me hodology o in es iga e he e ec
o au oma ed inancial clea ing on business pe o mance. The esul s indica e ha au-
oma ed inancial clea ing can posi i ely impac i ms’ p oduc i i y and pe o mance.
The COVID-19 pandemic seems o ha e ca alyzed digi iza ion. New echnolo-
gies ha e eplaced he mode o ope a ions in almos e e y indus y and ha e changed
consume beha io . C a en e al. (2020) indica e a subs an ial su ge in e-comme ce, a
change in b and p e e ences and a decline in non-essen ial expendi u e. Acco ding o
Pu aiah e al. (2020), he e has been an ex eme inc ease o business and ideocon e -
encing apps, and 58% o US consume s indica ed ha hey ha e been spending mo e
money online since he s a o he COVID-19 pandemic.
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Husam A man, Shaikha Al-Fulaij, Sulayman Al-Qudsi, Ahmad Alawadhi, Mohammad Al Ali.
COVID-19 E ec on Accele a ing Technology and Inno a ion in Businesses
2.3 Technology Pene a ion Impac on Businesses due o COVID-19
COVID-19 came ou o he blue and allegedly accele a ed he new e a o in eg a ed
echnologies (Indus y 4.0), which include obo ics, a i icial in elligence, 3D p in ing,
and he In e ne o hings (Ma inelli e al., 2021). Apa om i s echnological impac ,
i is expec ed o a ec job oppo uni ies in he u u e (WEF, 2016).
Du ing he pandemic, he p essu e due o he supply sho ages o c i ical medical
equipmen o ced coun ies o econside he global alue chain o hese p oduc s and
o he s in he u u e. Localized supply sou ces and Indus y 4.0 echnologies such as big
da a a e key examples o e ec i e s a egies o o e come he challenges posed by COV-
ID-19 (Belhadi e al., 2021). Such a shi could change he global manu ac u ing game
and inc ease pola iza ion wi hin and ac oss coun ies, especially i hese new echnolo-
gies educe he impo ance o low-wage labo (Hallwa d-D iemeie & Nayya , 2017).
A ecen econome ic s udy on Indus y 4.0 showed ha back-sho ing is linked wi h
high echnology indus ies (Dachs & Adnan, 2019). Hence, he R&D-in ensi e i ms
a e he ones ha a e keen o b ing back ope a ions ha can be pe o med e ec i ely
u ilizing Indus y 4.0 capabili ies.
The ini ial indica ion is ha COVID-19 will mos likely induce echnological change
and ad ance au oma ion (Lund e al., 2021). This will inc ease p oduc i i y and wages
in some occupa ions and nega i ely a ec o he wo k o ce g oups (Wa man & Che -
no , 2020). The nega i ely a ec ed jobs a e he ones ha a e usually iden i ied as jobs
a isk in he nea u u e. These include jobs such as mo gage b oke s, pa alegals, ac-
coun an s, and some back-o ice s a , acco ding o a McKinsey s udy (Manyika e al.,
2017), which sugges s ha by 2030, om 75 million o 375 million wo ke s will need
o swi ch occupa ional ca ego ies, bu his a ies ac oss coun ies.
COVID-19 b ough a new dimension o he equa ion whe e jobs in wo k a eas
wi h highe le els o physical p oximi y a e likely o see a g ea e ans o ma ion a e
he pandemic (Lund e al., 2021). Howe e , he au oma ion s o y in he Uni ed S a es
and he pas hype did no mee he expec a ion. Acco ding o Acemoglu and Res epo
(2020), adding one addi ional obo pe 1,000 wo ke s educed he na ional employ-
men - o-popula ion a io by abou 0.2 pe cen om 1990 o 2007.
2.4 AI, P oduc i i y, and C ea i i y
P oduc i i y gains encou age accele a ing echnology deploymen u he , and COV-
ID-19 is ano he new incen i e. Howe e , only hose de eloping, in es ing, and wo k-
ing in Indus y 4.0 echnologies will bene i by accumula ing capi al and inc easing
hei income signi ican ly, inc easing he wage gap and income inequali y (P e ne &
S ulik, 2020).
Apa om he speci ic impac o COVID-19 due o he added incen i es o au o-
ma e o p o ec wo ke s’ heal h and mi iga e isks o hei ope a ions, ecessions p o ed
o esul in an economic ans o ma ion. Pieces o e idence om he US and Canada,
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ISSN 2029-4581 eISSN 2345-0037 O ganiza ions and Ma ke s in Eme ging Economies
o ins ance, showed ha he main ou ine job losses ha e occu ed o e he las h ee
ecessions and ha hese jobs do no e u n (Bli , 2020). Howe e , he COVID-speci ic
incen i es a e going o a ec sec o s di e en ly. Fo example, in he e ail sec o , he e
has been a signi ican impac on he e ail eal es a e business in gene al (Nanda e al.,
2021), and hence he jobs associa ed wi h high s ee s o es.
AI has been an essen ial pa o Indus y 4.0, and COVID-19 has inc eased i s im-
po ance due o i s b oad applica ions, including heal hca e, such as Digi al heal hca e
wea ables, which we e used hea ily du ing he pandemic (B em e al., 2021). The de-
elopmen o mode n AI is ela ed o he ecen ad ancemen in compu ing echnolo-
gies and machine lea ning p ocesses (Ma inelli e al., 2021). Such de elopmen is es-
sen ial since he echnology is becoming su p isingly capable in domains ha a e only
o humans and no jus o subs i u e o ou ine manual and cogni i e asks (Au o e
al., 2003). Pedo a and Pisci ello (2022) a gue ha new dynamics o complemen a i y
a e also likely o eme ge and ise in impo ance. The complemen a i y, acco ding o
Pedo a and Pisci ello, ep esen s a ela ionship be ween wo en i ies ha enhance he
alue o each o he as pa o c ea i e asks ha a e a subse o non- ou ine cogni i e
asks. The e o e, he demand o c ea i i y o businesses is no jus o e ed by humans
bu also he machine-made compe encies (Ki s e e e al., 2013). Amabile (2020) an-
icipa es ha AI migh e en ually yield c ea i e b eak h oughs wi h a high impac on
businesses and socie y. The e o e, esea ching empi ically he AI ou look is necessa y,
and his s udy con ibu es o his e o .
3. eo e ical F amewo k and Hypo heses
As discussed in he Backg ound Sec ion, COVID-19 and simila e en s a ec ed he
economy, spu ed au oma ion, and inc eased echnology adop ion in gene al (Belha-
di e al., 2021; B em e al., 2021; Lund e al., 2021). The e iew o p e ious s udies
demons a ed a consensus on he nega i e impac o COVID-19 on he pe o mance
o en e p ises (Apedo-Amah e al., 2020; Ba e o e al., 2020; Ba ik e al., 2020).
Howe e , unlike mos e iewed s udies, ou s udy es ed such phenomena using h ee
dimensions: he e ec on sales, liquidi y and employmen . In a ew s udies ha ha e
in es iga ed he po en ial o COVID-19 o accele a e echnology deploymen in gen-
e al, he emphasis was mainly on how COVID-19 “pushed” digi al ans o ma ion in o
speci ic indus ies (Ku njak, 2021). This pape examined hose i ms se e ely a ec ed
by COVID-19 and measu ed he expec ed esponse and ou look o echnology deploy-
men . This pa ills he gap in he li e a u e by ocusing on he impac o COVID-19 on
accele a ing echnology adop ion using mic o-le el da a ha dis inguishes be ween he
iews o hose a ec ed by he pandemic and hei p ospec i e eac ion. Fo ins ance,
he pape links he impac o COVID-19 on businesses wi h u u e demand o c i ical
eme ging echnologies such as AI.
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Husam A man, Shaikha Al-Fulaij, Sulayman Al-Qudsi, Ahmad Alawadhi, Mohammad Al Ali.
COVID-19 E ec on Accele a ing Technology and Inno a ion in Businesses
The wo cen al esea ch ques ions o his pape a e as ollows:
Ques ion 1: How did COVID-19 impac on business pe o mance in Kuwai ?
In he i s ques ion, he pe o mance was measu ed in e ms o sales, liquidi y, and
employmen . The co esponding hypo hesis o his ques ion was de eloped as ollows:
Hypo hesis 1: The impac o COVID-19 (measu ed by sales, liquidi y, and employmen ) di e s
based on i m age, sec o , labo /capi al in ensi y.
Ques ion 2: Wha is he an icipa ed impac on echnology deploymen ?.
Th ee sub-ques ions we e de i ed om he second cen al esea ch ques ion, each
ela ing o di e en aspec s o he u u e impac o COVID-19 on echnology deploy-
men . Co esponding hypo heses we e de eloped om he h ee sub-ques ions. These
h ee sub-ques ions and hypo heses a e explained below.
Sub-Ques ion 2.1: Wha is he po en ial o au oma ion due o COVID-19?
This esea ch ques ion ies o de e mine whe he au oma ion was a empo a y
solu ion du ing he pandemic o whe he i will ex end beyond o achie e o he objec-
i es, such as p oduc i i y imp o emen .
Hypo hesis 2.1: The se e i y o he impac o COVID-19 in luenced he i ms’ iews o he speed
o au oma ion an icipa ion.
Sub-Ques ion 2.2: How will echnology deploymen a ec employmen (in Kuwai and else-
whe e), in es men , and alue added?
This esea ch ques ion add esses he iew o he business on he ole o echnology
pene a ion in changing employmen , in es men and alue added, and whe he COV-
ID-19 played a ole o no .
Hypo hesis 2.2: The se e i y o he impac o COVID-19 in luenced he i ms’ iews o u u e
employmen , in es men , and alue added due o echnology pene a ion.
Sub-Ques ion 2.3: Wha is he impac o COVID-19 on he demand o AI, p oduc i i y, and
c ea i i y?
AI has been on he ise ecen ly, along wi h c ea i i y and p oduc i i y. This esea ch
ques ion akes ca e o his ecen end and checks i COVID-19 has enhanced his
pe spec i e.
Hypo hesis 2.3: The se e i y o he impac o COVID-19 in luenced he i ms’ iews o he de-
mand o AI, p oduc i i y, and c ea i i y.
4. Me hodology
The pape u ilizes su ey da a o de e mine he COVID-19 impac on Kuwai ’s busi-
nesses and how he pandemic a ec ed echnology deploymen . The da a was analyzed
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ISSN 2029-4581 eISSN 2345-0037 O ganiza ions and Ma ke s in Eme ging Economies
s a is ically using STATA so wa e o es a se o hypo heses men ioned in he Theo e -
ical F amewo k and Hypo heses Sec ion.
4.1 The Da ase
The ield su ey o a sample comp ising 262 CEOs (business leade s) was polled be-
ween Sep embe and Decembe 2020. The sample b oadly ep esen s Kuwai ’s o e -
all business leade s in e ms o size o business companies, paid-up capi al and b oad
indus ial and sec o classi ica ions. The esponse a e was 66% (262 i ms ou o 397
a ge ed i ms). Due o he COVID-19 pa ial lockdown and es ic ions, di e en da a
ga he ing app oaches we e u ilized, al hough he objec i e was o conduc ace- o- ace
in e iews. The addi ional app oaches included elephone in e iews and an online
ques ionnai e while main aining he same con en s o opics discussed in he in e iew
ques ions. The in e iews we e conduc ed wi h CEOs o senio manage s.
The su ey collec ed in o ma ion on he impac o COVID-19 on he Kuwai i econ-
omy and i s ami ica ions on hei companies in e ms o speci ic indica o s such as
sales, liquidi y, and employmen . Also, he su ey sough o glean in o ma ion om
Kuwai ’s CEOs ega ding he an icipa ed ole o echnology in hei ope a ions, em-
ploymen o Kuwai i and non-Kuwai i wo ke s, in es men and alue added.
4.2 The Speci ica ions o he Models
Se e al logis ic models we e de i ed o es he hypo heses iden i ied in he Theo e ical
F amewo k Sec ion (Woold idge, 2006). The i s g oup o hese models we e designed
o measu e he impac o COVID-19 on sales, liquidi y, and employmen using bina y
logis ic eg ession models, as was he case o he second g oup, which we e designed o
measu e au oma ion po en ial and i s ela ionship wi h he COVID-19 impac .
The logi model was as ollows:
P (Yi = 1 ∨ Xj ) = F(B0 + B1X1 + ⋯ + BiXj)
whe e
Yi is he dependen a iables ep esen ing he impac o COVID-19 in he i s
g oup o models and au oma ion in he second g oup as desc ibed in Table 1;
Xj is he independen a iables ep esen ing indica o s such as i m age in he i s
g oup o models and he same o indica o s in he second g oup, bu including he
impac o COVID-19 as desc ibed in Table 1;
B1 o Bi a e coe icien s o be es ima ed.
The hi d g oup ocused on measu ing he ela ionship be ween he se e i y o
COVID-19 and i s impac on u u e employmen , in es men , and alue added. In con-
as , he ou h measu ed he demand o AI, p oduc i i y and c ea i i y pos COV-
41
Husam A man, Shaikha Al-Fulaij, Sulayman Al-Qudsi, Ahmad Alawadhi, Mohammad Al Ali.
COVID-19 E ec on Accele a ing Technology and Inno a ion in Businesses
Table 4
The Rela ionship Be ween COVID-19 and Technology Pene a ion
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
VARIABLES echk echk echk echnk echnk echnk echi echi echi ech ech ech
lin ens 0.0658 0.0778 0.0576 0.395 0.394 0.357 -0.789** -0.783** -0.852** -0.212 -0.190 -0.218
(0.350) (0.350) (0.350) (0.363) (0.362) (0.366) (0.356) (0.355) (0.366) (0.350) (0.351) (0.357)
cin ens 0.0159 0.0248 -0.0136 0.448 0.374 0.405 -0.327 -0.351 -0.349 -0.125 -0.0934 -0.196
(0.342) (0.338) (0.335) (0.350) (0.344) (0.345) (0.342) (0.338) (0.342) (0.342) (0.340) (0.338)
i mage 0.00169 0.00256 0.00250 -0.00467 -0.00449 -0.00341 0.00939 0.0102 0.00995 -0.00131 -0.000452 -0.00107
(0.00864) (0.00868) (0.00870) (0.00860) (0.00859) (0.00874) (0.00906) (0.00904) (0.00929) (0.00844) (0.00852) (0.00858)
Impac se s 0.266 0.429 0.504 0.488
(0.340) (0.337) (0.343) (0.334)
Impac se l 0.495 0.167 0.486 0.898***
(0.324) (0.318) (0.325) (0.323)
impac se e 0.581* 0.811** 1.326*** 1.145***
(0.327) (0.334) (0.365) (0.360)
AIC 322.6166 320.8781 320.0404 317.1782 318.517 312.6457 308.7544 308.6775 296.3101 323.2069 317.5061 314.3012
BIC 341.03 339.2915 338.4538 335.8139 337.1527 331.2814 327.28 327.2031 314.8357 341.6954 335.9945 332.7897
Pesudo R
-Squa e 0.0024 0.0079 0.0106 0.0157 0.0113 0.0303 0.0338 0.0340 0.0743 0.0115 0.0296 0.0398
P ob > chi2 0.9471 0.6497 0.5074 0.3023 0.4751 0.0521 0.0345 0.0334 0.0001 0.4580 0.0533 0.0138
Obse a ions 159 159 159 165 165 165 162 162 162 161 161 161
No e. S anda d e o s in pa en heses. *** ep esen s p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1.
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In esponse o he likely impac o echnology pene a ion on in es men in he
pos -co ona i us e a, a sizeable majo i y (62%) o CEOs indica e ha company in-
es men will decline. This is consis en wi h he su ey conduc ed on 500 i ms in 10
eme ging ma ke s, which showed ha COVID-19 encou aged i ms o educe in es -
men (Beck e al., 2020).
In he in e en ial analysis, he se e i y o he impac o COVID-19 in luenced he
i ms’ iew abou he impac o echnology pene a ion on hi ing, in es men and alue
added. S ill, i a ied among he i ms a ec ed by COVID-19 in e ms o sales, liquidi y
and employmen . The se e i y measu ed by employmen can p edic he echnology
pene a ion impac on hi ing non-Kuwai i wi h signi icance (p < .05) and less signi i-
cance wi h hi ing Kuwai is (p < .1). This shows how he pandemic has in luenced hose
a ec ed se e ely in e ms o employmen o he u u e impac o echnology, no jus
ega ding hi ing bu also in es men and alue added, and bo h a e highly signi ican
(p< .01), as shown in Table 4. The se e i y in e ms o liquidi y was he only signi ican
p edic o o he alue added. I is wo h men ioning ha all he models we e es ed
using he cus omized GOF Hosme -Lemeshow (HL), Pulks enis-Robinson (PR), and
Lipsi z es (Fage land & Hosme , 2017).
5.3 The Fu u e Demand o AI, P oduc i i y, and C ea i i y
Acco ding o ou esul s om he logis ic eg ession models, he impac o COVID-19
canno explain he demand o AI, p oduc i i y and c ea i i y. None o he impac
measu es showed a signi ican p edic o . Howe e , a i m’s age was signi ican (p < .05)
in p edic ing he demand o AI, and capi al-in ensi e i ms a e also signi ican (p <
.05), bu in p edic ing he demand o p oduc i i y and c ea i i y. Acco ding o he
Global AI Adop ion Index 2021 o IBM, 43% o in e iewed i ms hink ha he COV-
ID-19 pandemic has accele a ed hei ollou o AI, and la ge i ms we e 31% mo e
likely han smalle ones o epo ha hei company had accele a ed hei AI deploy-
men p og ams as a esul o COVID-19 (IBM, 2021).
The li e a u e indica es ha mixed e ec s di e conside ably ac oss economic sec-
o s and coun ies (Dümcke, 2021; Flo ida & Seman, 2020; T a kina & Sacco, 2020).
The In o ma ion Technologies (IT) sec o is expe iencing posi i e e ec s (Kim e al.,
2020), while lib a ies, museums, and a s and en e ainmen indus ies ha e expe i-
enced nega i e e ec s (Agos ino e al., 2020; Macho ec, 2020). Acco ding o Beli ski
e al. (2021), he IT indus y has expanded due o inc eased demand o IT and so -
wa e (e.g., online digi al pla o ms). Addi ionally, he IT indus y has aided he comple-
men a i y e ec wi hin o he indus ies, bu essing i ms’ esilience and pe o mance.
Fo ins ance, sales and deli e y, educa ion, and mee ing mig a ed o online ope a ions
(Soni, 2020).
In ou su ey, mo e han 85% o i ms ha a e mo e han 20 yea s old indica ed ha
demand o AI is medium and abo e. So al hough he e is a consensus on he AI ends
43
Husam A man, Shaikha Al-Fulaij, Sulayman Al-Qudsi, Ahmad Alawadhi, Mohammad Al Ali.
COVID-19 E ec on Accele a ing Technology and Inno a ion in Businesses
Table 5
O de ed Logis ic Reg ession (COVID-19 Impac on Demand o AI, P oduc i i y and C ea i i y)
(19) (20) (21) (22) (23) (24) (25) (26) (27)
VARIABLES demai demai demai demp od demp od demp od demc ea demc ea demc ea
lin ens -0.421 -0.440 -0.447 0.154 0.161 0.188 -0.527 -0.522 -0.501
(0.335) (0.334) (0.333) (0.348) (0.349) (0.349) (0.354) (0.351) (0.352)
cin ens -0.127 -0.168 -0.200 -0.666** -0.673** -0.610* -0.771** -0.778** -0.750**
(0.317) (0.315) (0.314) (0.332) (0.331) (0.324) (0.331) (0.328) (0.327)
i mage 0.0177** 0.0177** 0.0174** 0.00356 0.00229 0.00312 0.0127 0.0123 0.0124
(0.00822) (0.00823) (0.00822) (0.00869) (0.00869) (0.00870) (0.00931) (0.00927) (0.00929)
Impac se s 0.361 -0.341 -0.174
(0.313) (0.323) (0.311)
Impac se l 0.116 -0.413 -0.430
(0.295) (0.311) (0.302)
impac se e -0.321 -0.319 -0.162
(0.302) (0.308) (0.304)
AIC 475.2119 476.3984 475.4158 441.7191 441.0597 441.746 463.9115 462.186 463.9397
BIC 499.5593 500.7458 499.7632 466.1179 465.4586 466.1449 487.9966 486.2711 488.0248
Pesudo R -Squa e 0.0146 0.0120 0.0142 0.0104 0.0120 0.0104 0.0221 0.0259 0.0221
P ob > chi2 0.1469 0.2300 0.1589 0.3440 0.2725 0.3472 0.0382 0.0184 0.0387
Obse . 155 155 155 156 156 156 150 150 150
No e. S anda d e o s in pa en heses.*** ep esen s p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1.
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and po en ial impac , i seems i s economic impac and alue o p oduc i i y a e less
conclusi e (Damioli e al., 2021).
6. Discussion
The e ec o COVID-19 was con agious, and de eloping coun ies exhibi ed economic
ulne abili y du ing he COVID-19 c isis due o he dis up ions in global alue chains,
educing GDP up o 5.4% o coun ies in sub-Saha an A ica, Asia and La in Ame ica
(Pahl e al., 2021). The an icipa ed long- e m e ec ega ding he supply chain was ha
i ms in de eloped coun ies s a ed o amend u u e s a egies and accele a e in es -
men in echnologies o lessen dependence on de eloping coun ies (Hallwa d-D ie-
meie & Nayya , 2017). The Resho ing Ini ia i e in he Uni ed S a es is an example o
inc easing in es men s in Indus y 4.0 echnologies o educe dependence on China
in manu ac u ing (Sau e & S ebbins, 2016). 3D p in ing is one o he key enabling
echnologies o coun ies wi h a s ong manu ac u ing base in he pas o e i e he
manu ac u ing sec o and c ea e new jobs in ad anced manu ac u ing niches. I can also
be an excellen oppo uni y o de eloping coun ies o leap og echnological de elop-
men s and indigenize hei manu ac u ing indus y, especially hose wi h he inancial
esou ces o such ambi ious goals as Kuwai .
Fo Kuwai , al hough he di ec nega i e impac measu ed by he inancial aspec
(e.g., sales and liquidi y) was he p ima y conce n, his pape a gues ha he long- e m
e ec is he one ha needs a en ion. This includes job c ea ion and imp o ing he hu-
man capi al o Kuwai , which is he co ne s one o Kuwai ’s 2035 Vision and i s u u e
socio-economic de elopmen pa h.
La ge i ms in Kuwai seem mo e inno a i e, signi ican economic con ibu o s, and
mo e esilien o c ises (A man e al., 2022). The esul s o his s udy showed ha hese
i ms, he capi al-in ensi e ones in pa icula , we e be e equipped o ace all he ypes
o nega i e impac s o COVID-19.
Business leade s a e usually awa e o he impo ance o u u e ends and he apid
pace o echnological de elopmen s. S ill, he i ms a e habi ually lacking when i comes
o ac ions and implemen a ion. In his s udy, mos o he CEOs o Kuwai i i ms belie e
and an icipa e he high ole o au oma ion o be embedded in hei ope a ions, and he
possibili y o eplacing labo is high, ye e y ew ini ia es a e aking place on hei shop
loo o di e en easons. Fi ms had a simila iew o he u u e o au oma ion ega dless
o he ecen impac o COVID-19, excep hose i ms wi h a la ge numbe o employmen
(labeled in his s udy as labo -in ensi e i ms). This could mean ha e en hose i ms who
we e poo ly a ec ed by COVID-19 ha e wi nessed he pandemic wa e on businesses,
which has changed hei hinking and inc eased he u u e au oma ion ou look.
The analysis and he insigh s om he s udy highligh he di e ence in he impac
o echnology pene a ion on he wo ypes o employmen in he unique con ex o
Kuwai and GCC a la ge. I seems businesses belie e ha na ional employees will be
45
Husam A man, Shaikha Al-Fulaij, Sulayman Al-Qudsi, Ahmad Alawadhi, Mohammad Al Ali.
COVID-19 E ec on Accele a ing Technology and Inno a ion in Businesses
sa egua ded e en wi h high echnology pene a ion in Kuwai . This could be a ibu ed
o he businesses’ iew o he expec ed ole o go e nmen o p o ec hese jobs, o he
skill le el is wi hin he ca ego y ha is immune o echnology change impac . Howe e ,
he ad e se eac ions o in es men and alue added due o echnology pene a ion a e
expec ed o bounce back, bu he ime and shape emain unce ain.
Al hough CEOs hink highly o AI and a e willing o in es in imp o ing hei hu-
man capi al h ough aining, i seems COVID-19 did no spu high demand o AI in
businesses in Kuwai , acco ding o ou su ey esul s. Only well-es ablished i ms ha
ha e been in business o a long ime (mo e han 20 yea s) p edic he u u e accu a ely
compa ed o he esh eyes o he new i ms.
7. Conclusions
This pape made a signi ican con ibu ion by add essing he ecen ly explo ed issue
o how COVID-19 has in luenced companies, ei he by p omp ing hem o a imes,
necessi a ing hem o in es in echnology and au oma ion. This in es men is aimed a
adap ing o u u e dis up ions while enhancing business pe o mance. Ou analysis e-
ealed ha he majo i y o he su eyed companies, e en hose minimally impac ed by
COVID-19, sha e he belie ha echnology and au oma ion will become inc easingly
p e alen in he u u e. Howe e , limi a ions o he s udy dic a e cau ious in e p e a ion
o he esul s since he da a was collec ed in he middle o he c isis. Hence, he e is a
need o eplica ion s udies o es i such a end is pe sis ing and i he e ha e been any
s uc u al changes pos he c isis.
The demand o p oduc i i y and c ea i i y is pa o he u u e plans o businesses
in Kuwai , and capi al-in ensi e ones seem o be leading he way owa d building p o-
duc i e human capi al in Kuwai . The esul s ega ding he impac o echnology on em-
ploymen a e unique in GCC, including Kuwai as a case, due o Kuwai ’s labo s uc-
u e dicho omy o na ional and o eign labo . Hence, he ea men o such phenomena
needs o be unique. The eliance on low-skilled labo seems o slow he adop ion o
new echnologies in p oduc ion and ope a ions. Al hough he e is awa eness o he new
echnologies and hei u u e such as ha o AI, Kuwai businesses a e s ill eluc an o
in es and pu sue such echnological de elopmen s. The lack o skilled labo and he
abili y o a ac alen s is also a ac o .
A ew manage ial implica ions can be de i ed om his s udy. These include ad anc-
ing he i ms’ unde s anding o he an icipa ed ole o echnology and au oma ion in he
u u e o hei business and how hey can ake ad an age o such ans o ma ion. Fi ms
in Kuwai should accele a e hei in es men in Indus y 4.0 echnologies such as AI
and 3D p in ing o imp o e hei esilience o c ises. These echnologies can enhance
e iciency and educe dependence on labo , making i ms mo e adap able o sudden
dis up ions such as he COVID-19 c isis, which has highligh ed he ulne abili y o
de eloping coun ies, including Kuwai , in global supply chains. Hence, Kuwai i i ms
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ISSN 2029-4581 eISSN 2345-0037 O ganiza ions and Ma ke s in Eme ging Economies
should conside di e si ying hei supply chains and educing dependence on a single
sou ce, especially o c i ical inpu s. This can mi iga e he isk o u u e dis up ions. An
impo an p ac ical implica ion is he need o in es in skill de elopmen and c ea ing
employmen oppo uni ies o con ibu e o job c ea ion and enhance human capi al.
Gi en hei esilience, la ge i ms can play a c ucial ole in his. Finally, in he wake o
COVID-19, i ms should ocus on building esilience ega ding supply chains and ech-
nology adop ion and inancial s abili y, liquidi y managemen , and c isis p epa edness,
such as in oducing business con ingency managemen sys ems.
Despi e igo ous in e en ial analysis and empi ical indings o his s udy, some lim-
i a ions mus be acknowledged. Fi s , he empi ical pa only included Kuwai , and i
would be ideal o ma ching he GCC analysis wi h c oss-coun y su eys. Second, a
mo e ex ensi e su ey sample could ha e inc eased he co e age o sub-sec o s. Thi d-
ly, he s udy elied only on quan i a i e analysis; a complemen a y quali a i e da a ap-
p oach could ha e highligh ed addi ional business insigh s.
This pape has opened he doo o u u e s udies. A quali a i e s udy can be con-
duc ed o dig deepe in o how businesses conside isks and a e able o de elop s a e-
gies o be eady o o he u u e dis u bances; o ins ance, whe he COVID-19 encou -
aged i ms o adop business con inui y managemen sys ems. Since his su ey did no
include s a -ups, i will be in e es ing o see hei iews on his opic in u u e s udies
ocusing on high- ech i ms. Mo eo e , a dedica ed s udy on AI po en ial and challeng-
es in Kuwai is ecommended o u u e s udies o examine Kuwai ’s po en ial o ca ch
up wi h he wa e o de elopmen and no be le behind.
Acknowledgemen
The au ho s wish o ex end hei since e hanks o he Kuwai Founda ion o Ad ance-
men o Sciences (KFAS) o hei pa ial inancial suppo o his s udy ela ed o P o-
jec TE062C—Resea ch G an (PN20-171C-07)- (CORONA PROP-92).
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