**3.1 Sectors and perspectives: is there a common line?**

In identifying a strategy that can enable businesses to recover optimally from an economic and financial point of view after the pandemic spread, it should first be pointed out that not all sectors have been adversely affected by the crisis. Wanting to subdivide the company sectors between those that have received a positive impact and those that have suffered enormously from the pandemic crisis, it is possible to consider the summary scheme proposed in **Figure 7**, which provides a subdivision that is certainly not exhaustive but still useful to have a general idea:

	- a.primarily incurred expenses in retrofitting their facilities in light of government-mandated health criteria;
	- b.secondly, they had to choose between different levers aimed at recovering immediate losses or dealing with impending difficulties:

*Companies and Covid-19: Emerging Challenges and Recovery Strategies through Technological… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102960*

#### **Figure 7.**

*Sectors affected and sectors that have benefited from the current situation. Source: author's elaboration.*


All this considered, it is our belief that short-term strategic solutions are certainly a *modus operandi* aimed at sustaining the business in a short period of time, but they are not a solution that can really help businesses affected by the pandemic to break the deadlock.

Today, more than ever, we need recovery strategies that are the expression of a medium-long term vision and that are aimed at helping companies regain a specific position in the evolutionary context we are experiencing.

Sudden difficulties have led companies to shelve long-term projects, therefore, to suspend the expansion and value projects that produce the true profit margin. Today, companies aim to carry out short-term interventions, perhaps pending public subsidies and aimed at reducing costs as much as possible and obtaining flexibility.

The opportunity is actually great to definitely understand the company status. Paradoxically, if the repercussions of the crisis have been.

*slight = previous good company status > use of strategic levers in the short term. acute = previous weak corporate status > use of m/l-term strategic levers.*

In the latter case, it is certainly appropriate to use levers that provide immediate economic and financial relief, but a thorough analysis of the status of the company is urgently needed to allow radical changes in the company in order to offer a new and attractive product or service. This can be done by making estimates as soon as possible that define:


We can therefore conclude these reflections by stressing that there is no common line or common strategy. There is only the solution that can be identified by the individual company in light of the backlash received during the pandemic and the company's awareness of its status and positioning on the market.

However, it is our conviction that there is a common need to pursue smart innovation processes, dictated by a constantly evolving economic and social context.

In the light of these forecasts, let us see which specific innovation-related strategic lines can be pursued and in the light of which specific criteria they can best be implemented.

#### **3.2 Strategic lines and operating criteria**

The experiences of the nearly 2 years since the pandemic spread of Covid-19 have taught a key lesson: businesses will never return to their former reality. Profound changes have been imposed both internally and externally on businesses. There is therefore a totally new dimension that requires new approaches to business and, therefore, new models. The companies that over the years have been able to ride the technological wave, anticipating the dramatic moment we are living today, are certainly prepared for the ongoing evolution and to meet the needs of customers by offering innovative services and products. In the short to medium term, these companies will always be able to acquire new market shares. In the presence of new rules, new needs, and new forms of customer relations, it is our belief that companies must set their recovery strategy along the following lines (**Figure 8**).

#### *3.2.1 Study the new trends and tastes of the digital consumer*

Understanding business after the Covid-19 pandemic means observing the mutations that have characterized consumption trends in the Business-to-Consumer and Business-to-Business spheres and understanding which path the national but above all the global market is taking.

In the digital age, it is not possible to focus only on national trends. Global trends inevitably condition national trends, perhaps not in the immediate term but certainly in the medium to long term. The vision of the entrepreneur must therefore be attentive to what is evolving at international level, always drawing new ideas not only to stay in step with the times but also to anticipate the potential repercussions of foreign competition.

In a post-pandemic period, it is worth considering that not all consumer groups have been affected. Like companies, which as we have observed above can be distinguished between positively and negatively influenced, the consumer market also responds with its own particularities.

Employees working in positively influenced business sectors are certainly able to maintain a consumption trend equal to the pre-pandemic period. Lockdowns and restrictions on transport and communications, as well as on leisure, initially saved resources that can now be put back into the economic circuit. Not to mention that the weakness of the markets is also a lure for investors and speculators interested in setting up new businesses.

All of this is obviously part of an evolutionary context defined by new digital approaches.

*Companies and Covid-19: Emerging Challenges and Recovery Strategies through Technological… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102960*

**Figure 8.**

*Elements of intervention for the implementation of a recovery strategy. Source: author's elaboration.*

The transformation of the consumer goes hand in hand with the transformation of companies. Therefore, since the consumers will spend more and more time online and will direct their consumption interests more to products on the web, companies must be able to identify the digital tools available today to understand the new paradigms of consumption, the trends that draw the attention of customers, but above all they must be ready to define solutions that can build consumer loyalty [27].

#### *3.2.2 Set up an upgrade or transformation of the business model*

Digital innovation must become an imperative for any business. The business needs to follow innovative protocols, looking to achieve an upgrade (if the impact of the pandemic has been limited) or a full transformation if the conditioning has been larger. We are not talking here about diversification [28], which often arises from a prospect of enlargement, but of evolution aimed at redevelopment.

In order to make an accurate assessment of the need for such a measure, it is essential to carry out different analyses.

Without wishing to have any claim to exhaustiveness, leaving any further indepth study on the subject to the vast literature of reference, since the present work aims to investigate the challenges experienced by businesses today, it is possible to summarize some key points:


First of all, it is essential to realize to which specific activity, good, or service has connected the business model to be restructured and for which company needs a real digital upgrade. In the case of small and medium-sized enterprises, there are no complex forecasts from an analytical point of view, whereas in the case of larger enterprises, which have several production lines or a diversified business, it is necessary to identify the activities to be examined and which will be the main beneficiaries of the restructuring. At the same time, the risks must be estimated. The previous risks must be compared with the potential risks following the redevelopment in order to verify the feasibility of the project. From this point of view, the feasibility study is primarily the tool that must provide valid alternatives to the managerial class for a more prudent choice of options. Secondly, it is essential to verify the conditions for the reorganization of the entire operation. The reformulation of internal communication and human resource management—nowadays dedicated to the understanding of new horizons of *smart* working—are very delicate phases, too often misunderstood by both company leaders and employees [29, 30].

A third fundamental analysis is then referred to the reallocation of profitability expected following the company reorganization and the reconversion of production and services.

How will corporate value be distributed? What will be the new horizons and prospects promoted by the achievement of corporate value?

These are just some of the fundamental questions that the company must ask itself in order to define the strategic lines aimed at pursuing a correct reformulation of the business model. The answers to these questions come in part from the monitoring and control of the performance achieved, which must take place in a constant manner and always keeping in mind that the evolution today must take place in a "responsible" and "sustainable" key [31].

A few different examples of intervention may be eloquent in this regard (**Table 1**).

Then, both in the event of a good corporate status and in the event of a compromised economic-financial situation, traditional businesses must approach a conversion of their offering models in a *smart* and *lean* way.

Although outlined in their essential points, these steps and macro-areas of intervention are a valid point of reference for companies wishing to draw up well-considered plans to restructure their business in order to respond to the new challenges of the market, to contain the impact of an increasingly ruthless international competition, and still to regain a relationship with customers and collaborator lacerated by the global pandemic and an incessant evolution in a digital key.


#### **Table 1.**

*Example of interventions according to firm's status and sectors. Source: author's elaboration.*

*Companies and Covid-19: Emerging Challenges and Recovery Strategies through Technological… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102960*

#### *3.2.3 Investing in digital and innovative tools for a firm 4.0*

Investing in digital assets means first of all understanding what digital means, studying its impact on the business model and on the relationship with the customers. Digital technology not only enhances socialization as it amplifies opportunities for relationships, but above all it removes the constraints of space and time. Let us think of a company engaged in agribusiness that has to take care of monitoring the fields, checking the health of the crops.

This requires the use of staff, more or less specialized, and time (full days if the company is of medium or large size). If major forces, such as storm events, come into play, these tasks can be made even more complex and sometimes completely obstructed.

The technology that makes the company *smart* or 4.0 can facilitate this through information systems that make the entire production and control process interconnected with each other [32].

Traceability throughout the supply chain makes supply processes clearer, providing an additional service of transparency to the consumer in addition to a quality product on time.

We've been talking about digital and the *smart company* for several years now, yet the number of businesses benefiting from such systems is really limited.

We believe that this is an opportunity to accelerate those renewal projects that had already been planned and that today join, indeed strengthen, the strategic solutions to combat the emergency.

It's time for businesses to become visible, join the network, and benefit from a renewed digital image.

But in order to do this, a major investment in 4.0 tools is needed.

Investing in digital assets means having a previously described upgrade or transformation plan well in mind.

Now is the time to verify the applicability of new technologies in the company and design innovation processes, thus reducing the *techno-corporate gap* that limits the expansion potential of the company.

In fact, *smart* innovation makes it possible to achieve a quality product, making the most of the resources available to the company (thus reducing costs for raw materials, capital goods, and HR) in a working environment that is not only safer but also leaner (**Figure 9**).

And in a post-pandemic context what better opportunity could there be to provide the consumer with that peace of mind when consulting and purchasing.

In a time of health uncertainty, there is no greater impact factor than transparency that provides peace of mind by increasing trust.

And this trust can be ensured thanks to 4.0 tools along the entire supply chain, during the production phase, the service provision phase, up to the moment of purchase by the consumer.

Giving peace of mind and security to the consumer is in itself a qualifying factor that helps businesses stand out in the market environment to win the competition.

#### **3.3 Raise or fold? How to relaunch the company according to the "strategy poker"**

Once we have defined the criteria and key elements for understanding the context of a corporate relaunch aimed at facing the countless challenges that everyday life brings, we like to conclude this work with some singular but far from trivial reflections. Apologizing in advance to "pure" theorists for the association proposed

#### **Figure 9.**

*Strengths of an investment in technology 4.0. Source: author's elaboration.*

here, we think it is really interesting to share many common aspects between business strategies and strategies adopted in the game of Poker that can help us to understand the *forma mentis* adopted by an entrepreneur—or a board of directors in certain situations.

In poker as in business life, players and companies face a probabilistic challenge to the success of their initiative or investment, whether initial or mid-course. It is true that in the corporate world there are countless systems for risk forecasting, but it is always good to remember that the company is created by man to work among men. Therefore, there are no exact formulas for predicting the future but mathematical conjectures as close to the truth as possible that must be confronted with the human psyche, with the changing moods of man (tastes and tendencies), and with the many unforeseen events such as natural disasters, pandemics, collapses of governments, etc.

Those who are familiar with this card game will not miss the choice of "raise," which defines an aggressive, proactive playing strategy clearly in opposition to "fold." In fact, the fold solution determines a choice aimed at buffering, thus limiting potential damage or losses. The player knows he does not have any winning cards and, intimidated by the probabilistic weight, throws his cards on the table, thus giving up the pot and proceeding with the next pot.

But how long can such a policy continue?

The *fold* solution is then associated with and compared with cases in which companies—in order to cope with impending difficulties—choose:


If left unchecked, these strategies can lead to a worrying corporate weakening.

*Companies and Covid-19: Emerging Challenges and Recovery Strategies through Technological… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102960*

This point of view is inherent not only in economic and financial principles but also in social and environmental ones. Living in an economic and social context in which reputation plays an increasingly relevant role [33], a company that adopts *fold* tactics demonstrates loss of control, weak governance, thus demonstrates an image that is likely to heavily intimidate investors, sponsors, and stakeholders.

On the contrary, a "raise" strategy demonstrates confidence in what company does, but also it demonstrates business strength and robustness even in those cases (such as the current post-pandemic one) where business status has been heavily weakened, but it is appropriate not to demonstrate it (*bluff* technique).

The *raise* strategy includes solutions such as:


This technique scares competitors, reducing the likelihood of takeovers, implicitly increasing the potential investors and sponsors.

Stakeholders are also induced to work better or to continue the collaboration with a proactive and relaunching company rather than with a submissive company that focuses on downsizing.

Human resources, especially those who can make a significant contribution to business progress, are qualified to work in a company that aims for growth and relaunch rather than *fold* solutions.

With all this, we do not want to emphasize that cost containment strategies or the sale of unused or obsolete assets are to be avoided.

Here we want to link the *raise* strategies that can support companies instead of intimidating them to the principle of transformation or upgrade 4.0.

In this work we do not want to advise the company to constantly live in *bluff*, deceiving the customer or the entire category of stakeholders.

We want to emphasize that the strategies must consider the potential repercussions that a *fold* policy can entail, especially in certain situations such as the current ones.

Innovation in 4.0 key can therefore constitute a real proof that allows the company to experience a dramatic post-pandemic and constantly evolving reality.

Given the requirements of this work, we will still have the opportunity to further deepen these affinities between the corporate strategy and the strategies adopted in Poker in subsequent works.

#### **4. Conclusions**

The experiences that companies are having today show that the emerging challenges due to the pandemic spread of Covid-19 converge extraordinarily with an evolutionary path already started and due to the so-called 4.0 revolution.

The prospects for businesses are manifold and are determined by the economic and financial status with which companies have had to face the pandemic.

This work wanted to emphasize the fact that, contrary to what one might think, the time has come for companies that have received the greatest repercussions to take a bold step. The time has come to relaunch the business with decisive investments aimed at giving the company a new face.

Today exists a substantial literature aimed at demonstrating the multiple positive effects for companies that adopt technologically advanced systems. This is certainly a point of reference to try to understand the potential solutions and, therefore, in support of the thesis set out in this work.

The new company profile must have 4.0 traits and must allow the company to offer innovative, fast, and competitive services using the technology available on the market today.

This is further demonstrated by the fact that, unlike the most affected companies, those that have not received particular setbacks have been able to benefit from already innovative business models or are part of already digital sectors.

The time has come for "traditional companies" to take the next step, what we have considered a technological upgrade, while those that have remained completely away from technological innovation criteria should carry out a real transformation of the business model.

Decisions in this sense, however, must come from corporate governance, the only real driving force for achieving innovation and aimed at reducing the so-called *techno-corporate gap* with respect to competing companies.

Besides through the description of the relationship between the *techno-corporate gap* and the technological gap, this strategic solution has been analyzed through the description of what we have called "Strategy Poker." With this principle we have defined a clear will to relaunch the company through propositive solutions that influence the image stakeholders have of the company and aimed at acquiring new assets in a digital key.

Obviously, this being the first appearance and description of the concept of *Strategy Poker*, we leave to the following works a greater study of this theory.
