In the days leading to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, open innovations in the form of the deployment of digital marketing tools in the management portfolio were an option; in a time of forced closing of economies, they suddenly became a necessity. The aim of the comprehensive research, in which the presented study is prepared, is to describe the changes in e-consumer behavior that occurred in the market during the COVID-19 pandemic. The presented study examines the seasonal and regional specifics that characterize the markets of Central and Eastern Europe. In a sample of almost 14,000,000 Facebook users, the user interactions with ten selected representatives of the e-commerce sector were recorded daily during the 2020/2021 Christmas season lasting 49 days. By analyzing the nature and timing of interactions, it was possible to identify the geographical specifics of e-consumer behavior, as well as basic seasonality indicators based on a comparison with the reference period of the first half of 2020. The synthesis of the findings provided a knowledge base for compiling a preliminary version of the model of the COVID-19 pandemic impact on e-consumer behavior. In terms of changes in e-consumer behavior, it can be stated that the step change in e-behavior patterns caused by the pandemic merges with pre-pandemic behavior patterns. In general, it can be stated that the evolutionary process of the transition from offline to online the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be a significant acceleration factor of inevitable changes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has redefined procedures in every business sector. In the first half of 2020, companies had to face an unexpected and unpredictable situation that resulted in both threats and opportunities in real time. Almost overnight, brick-and-mortar establishments of most stores closed, and the dominant part of transactions and activities moved from offline to the online environment. The main goal of the paper is to identify changes in the interactions of digital customer communities of selected e-business representatives in the Czech market. Within a sample of almost one and a half million Facebook users, during the first spring COVID-19 lockdown (March to May 2020), the interactions of the five largest Czech e-shops and their customers were recorded on a daily basis. The data were then subjected to a thorough statistical analysis in order to identify the specifics that resulted from the highly non-standard market situation. The results suggest that during the pandemic, there was a major reallocation of interactions in terms of their timing. Most interactions take place during the working week. From a day-to-day perspective, most of the interactions occur at around noon. In view of the findings, it can be stated that in order to maintain the competitiveness resulting from efficient management of corporate resources, it will be necessary to modify the usual procedures of e-marketing communication, as well as human resources management procedures in terms of the optimization of work of employees working from home.

The study presented in this contribution deals with the issue of using modern methods of data collection for the purposes of analysing consumer behaviour. Professional literature as well as business practice offer us an enormous number of approaches, traditional or innovative, with which it is possible to obtain and then evaluate data in order to understand specific patterns of consumer behaviour. Following on from our previous research in the field, we have applied a method of collecting and evaluating customers e-data in real time. As a source of data, we used the virtual social network Facebook. As a sample we selected customers of the five largest e-shops operated in the Czech Republic. On a sample of more than one and a half million users we monitored the B2C communication of e-shops and subsequently the C2B Facebook interaction of their customers during the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the observed period we analysed hundreds of thousands of interactions and then outlined basic trends and specific characteristics of consumer behaviour suitable for further research. The selected findings resulting from the implemented analyses contribute to the creation of a knowledge base of a qualitative nature, which can help to define research goals in the future process of examining the effects of the pandemic on various aspects of business.

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The reputation of companies is one of their key success factors. It is therefore necessary to value this intangible asset. In order to detect possible threats quickly, continuous monitoring of corporate reputation plays an important role in this valuation process. Family businesses are an ideal object for reputation management research, as through their brands they integrate tradition and addressability at the same time. The main aim of the paper is to discuss the issue of innovative approaches to the online reputation management. We performed an in-depth analysis of online reputation through an Advanced sentiment analysis on the significant sample of ten largest family-owned businesses in the world. Taking into account all relevant determinants of reputation such as Google as well as major social networks, namely Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. As there is a noticeable difference between the marketing communication of the parent company and the marketing communication of the brand owned by the company, the findings of the analyses will provide a better insight into the issue of sustainable brand development. By identify good practices, as well as highlighting weaknesses, our research has the ambition to contribute to the shift of knowledge in the field of reputation management.