Digital transformation of work: Swiss MSEs working from home behaviour during COVID-19 – pioneers leading the pack

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to better understand technology adoption and working from home (WFH) behaviour of micro and small enterprises (MSE) with 4 to 49 employees during the first (2020) and second (2021) COVID-19 lockdowns in Switzerland. Design/methodology/approach This study uses two data sets gathered using computer-assisted telephone interviewing surveys conducted with 503 managing directors of Swiss MSEs after the first and 506 MDs after the second COVID-19 lockdown period. Findings The study revealed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, WFH arrangements are related to the adoption of technology by Swiss industry groups. Furthermore, industry characteristics and technology adoption strategies are also associated with the long-term prospect of WFH. The overall result confirms the predominant role of technology pioneers. Research limitations/implications The study focuses on MSEs in Switzerland during a specific period. The data set includes mainly quantitative data. Future studies could investigate larger enterprises in international contexts, integrating employees’ viewpoints founded on long-term gathered qualitative data. The implications of this study include predictions about future WFH behaviour in Swiss MSEs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study collecting data in Swiss MSEs after the two COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. As a result, this study offers a unique perspective on a specific business segment, which accounts for around 70% of global employment.

The workplace of the future: the COVID-19 pandemic and working from home in Swiss small businesses

“…Data for the research project were collected using the well-established approach of a computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) survey (Kim and Couper, 2020;Peter et al, 2023). A survey of thirteen questions was designed that allowed the collection of information about MDs from Swiss MSEs to analyse patterns regarding the changeover to WFH during and after the first COVID-19 lockdown from March to June 2020.…”