The outbreak of novel coronavirus COVID-19 introduced new challenges to the business environment. Almost all global supply-chains were affected at some level. Its impact has been widely noticed at a global economy scale, particularly in tourism, aviation, education, and hospitality being the most affected industries. Realistically, many sectors were and will be affected to different degrees, with many organizations implementing policies that limited employees’ travel and prepared employees to work from home to ensure their safety. Virtual teams became a new reality of working environment at all levels. The outbreak spread quickly amidst 2020, and most countries tried to respond swiftly to contain the impact. Some succeeded while others didn’t. The release of covid-19 vaccines gave some hopes to restore things back to normal. However, the experience with COVID-19 virus created new norms to follow in some industries that found remote work appealing particularly when facing economic situations forcing them to downsize or find alternatives to reduce cost. Accordingly, institutions from different industries found themselves in front of new business models, strategies, structures, etc.

The spread of the virus lingered throughout the past year and despite the release of various vaccines, its impact on the operations of many industries does not seem to come soon to an end and might linger for months to come. Accordingly, how various industries are going to deal with such pandemic that has extended “octopus” effect?

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES

CREBS 2021-2022 virtual international conference offers a platform for experts from different academic backgrounds, industries, NGOs to share, discuss, and project the main effects of coronavirus COVID-19 being from a social, demographic, managerial and economic perspectives. The main aim of this virtual conference is to try to answer the following questions: how did COVID-19 change business models and what forms will economies take after such pandemic? What are the proposed guidelines to face the post-COVID-19 pandemic repercussions?

The primary aim is, but not restricted, to reflect on business models and how such pandemic has altered them or will alter them consequently. Accordingly, macro and micro effects of COVID-19 pandemic will be assessed. Virtual discussions and presentations of academic cases and real case studies are invited to reflect on:
- how things have changed from business models, to marketing campaigns to strategic plans and processes;
- how collaborations are being affected and did such pandemic lead to more collaborative ventures;
- what is the effect on supply chains; will the hotel industry be sustained and is there a need for new business models at this level given that it is one of the most affected industries?;
- what are the long term consequences on the labour market and employment and how the labour market will be able to overcome and survive the snowball effects of the pandemic;
- what is the effect on start-ups and entrepreneurship ventures; etc.

Main sessions are primarily related but not restricted to the following sectors/themes: labour market and employment, social structures, tourism and hotel management, supply chain, entrepreneurship and start-ups that were mostly impacted by the covid-19 pandemic.