Technological Innovation and Circular Economy Practices: Business Strategies to Mitigate the Effects of COVID-19

Syed Abdul Rehman Khan, Pablo Ponce, Muhammad Tanveer, Nathalie Aguirre-Padilla, Haider Mahmood () and Syed Adeel Ali Shah
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Syed Abdul Rehman Khan: School of Engineering and Management, Xuzhou University of Technology, Xuzhou 221018, China
Muhammad Tanveer: Prince Sultan University, Rafha Street, Riyadh 11586, Saudi Arabia
Nathalie Aguirre-Padilla: Carrera de Agronegocios, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja 11050, Ecuador
Syed Adeel Ali Shah: Department of Supply Chain and Logistics Management, College of Business Management, Karachi 75190, Pakistan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-17

Abstract: The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a tough test on companies in the global food sector supply chain, exacerbating the realities and deficiencies it presents in developing economies. This situation has been reflected in the firm’s performance (F.P.) due to the lack of business conditions to respond to the current pandemic. However, in some companies, the adverse effects of COVID-19 have been counteracted due to endowment and technological capabilities. Thus, this study examined the role of technological innovation (T.I.) and business data analytics (B.D.A.) in the F.P. of foods in Ecuador during COVID-19. A questionnaire collected the information from the food firms. Then, Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modeling processed the collected information. We found that (B.D.A.) mechanisms and different levels of T.I. within the developing market significantly shape the F.P. The results showed that the B.D.A. enables circular economy (C.E.) practices and the improvement of product delivery services, which constitutes an improvement of the F.P. The COVID-19 outbreak did not significantly affect T.I., unlike what happened with B.D.A. This study concluded that firms with the most extraordinary technological production processes have been the least affected during COVID-19. This study suggested that policy measures should boost food firms’ technological endowment to improve their resilience in uncertainty and risk scenarios.

Keywords: technology innovation; supply chain disruption; digital enterprises; business data analytics; firm performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (23)

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