Entrepreneurship, innovation, digitization and digital transformation toward a sustainable growth within the pandemic environment

Gavrila Gavrila, S.; De Lucas Ancillo, A.

Purpose: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has taken society, business and industries by surprise leading to a worldwide economic recession, pushing organizations to rethink their business model in order to shift from activity shutdown toward sustainable growth. The purpose of this research is to comprehend the implications and relationship between entrepreneurship, innovation, digitization and digital transformation aspects as the levers to achieve this goal. Design/methodology/approach: Following the existing literature, an empirical approach has been established involving a quantitative analysis of secondary information obtained from official datasets and reports. Findings: The COVID-19 pandemic was found to be an unfortunate accelerator regarding both consumers' habits and organizations' innovation and digital transformation, breaking with the past leading to new sustainable growth business models. Practical implications: The research provides an underlying outcome that addresses how wealth and economic value could be generated within the framework of new economic models in a post-pandemic environment. Originality/value: The research highlights how the pandemic has disrupted what was known about sustainable business growth, and how this affects the future of business beyond the pandemic scenario, transforming the way society, businesses and customers interact. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.