Innovation in the ‘New Normal’ Interactions, the Urban Space, and the Low Touch Economy: The Case of Rio de Janeiro in the Context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine how innovation was implemented in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, regarding the “new normal” interactions, the urban space and the low touch economy. The main argument indicates that the use of new information and communication technologies to interact with others allowed people to develop social and emotional ties in the light of health precautions. Although many of these precautions were ignored by people using the urban space, some people made new uses of the open natural spaces in Rio de Janeiro to release anxiety and depressive feelings, but the city still faces problems regarding the privatization of public spaces. In the light of the development of the low touch economy, innovation was necessary for many companies to overcome obstacles such as broken relationships with customers, the instant drop in demand, the constraints in supply and production, the political instability and the cash-flow/financial constraints. These solutions included the improvement of the logistic process and alternative branding, the switch to a similar but digital/remote service and the creation of products for other needs of the existing clients.

Research on the Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic on the Global Trade Economy Based on Big Data Analysis

“…Theoretically, when the economy is subject to both a demand shock and a supply shock, if the longterm supply curve is affected by the shock and shifts to the left, the shock on the demand side of the economy will not be restored. In the real economy, with the continuous growth of investment and technological progress, the potential output of the economy is also continuously increasing, that is, the long-term supply curve continues to shift to the right (de Jesus et al, 2020).…”

Untitled

“…According to [Ivanov, 2020] 94% of the Fortune 1000 companies experienced coronavirus-driven supply chain disruptions and that at least 5 million companies globally rely on at least one tierone or tier-two supplier in the Wuhan region of China, COVID-19's origin. Beyond the disruption of the direct supply chain activities, the coronavirus measures led to the creation of the Low Touch Economy [Santos Vieira de Jesus et al, 2020] and caused simultaneous disturbances in both supply and demand, initiating a ripple effect and performance degradation in terms of revenue, service level, and productivity [Ivanov, Dolgui, 2020]. The Low Touch Economy refers to a new state of the economy, a result of the COVID-19 pandemic control and mitigation health measures that led to behavior shifts and economic disruption [Santos Vieira de Jesus et al, 2020].…”

“…Beyond the disruption of the direct supply chain activities, the coronavirus measures led to the creation of the Low Touch Economy [Santos Vieira de Jesus et al, 2020] and caused simultaneous disturbances in both supply and demand, initiating a ripple effect and performance degradation in terms of revenue, service level, and productivity [Ivanov, Dolgui, 2020]. The Low Touch Economy refers to a new state of the economy, a result of the COVID-19 pandemic control and mitigation health measures that led to behavior shifts and economic disruption [Santos Vieira de Jesus et al, 2020]. Companies in the context of the Low Touch Economy have to adapt their business models, create high impact innovations, and flexibly navigate the pandemic's aftershocks in the global economy, and do so with respect to the new hygiene measures and constraints on business-as-usual.…”

“…Companies in the context of the Low Touch Economy have to adapt their business models, create high impact innovations, and flexibly navigate the pandemic's aftershocks in the global economy, and do so with respect to the new hygiene measures and constraints on business-as-usual. These measures include the substitution of offline events for virtual ones, the reduction of physical interactions between employees and consumers, the use of online tools and apps to interact and work, travel bans, limitations on large gatherings, and the isolation of vulnerable groups [Santos Vieira de Jesus et al, 2020]. The low touch aspect is very important for understanding the impact and entrepreneurial opportunity that the COVID-19 crisis presents, and it has a profound impact on both the content and the process of the business practices as we know it.…”

“…Worldwide lockdowns limited global and domestic flow of travel and trade [Ho, Maddrell, 2021]. FFurther significant changes have been observed in how business is conducted creating the Low Touch Economy that practitioners and academics alike are debating about to determine whether it will sustainably shape future consumer behavior [Santos Vieira de Jesus et al, 2020;Sheth, 2020]. As socioeconomic, cultural, and political relations are being reconfigured due to the pandemic, we witness disruptions in business practices, leading to major uncertainty about the future.…”