THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ON CHANGES IN BUSINESS MODELS. WILL COVID-19 ACCELERATE CHANGE?

Purpose: Technological changes determined by the development of Industry 4.0 significantly change the business models of modern organizations. The Covid-19 pandemic is also influencing changing organizational systems and dynamic progress in technological transformation. The main purpose of the paper is to present the impact of digital transformation on changes in business models and to answer the question if Covid-19 will accelerate change. Design/methodology/approach: The paper contains the literature review on business model concept, Industry 4.0, Digital Transformation and Covid-19. In this paper the empirical study is also presented. The main research problem was to determine the impact of the digital transformation (technological progress) following the Covid-19 pandemic on changes in the business models of Polish enterprises and public sector institutions. Findings: A research confirmed that the digital transformation (processes connected with digitization, automation, robotization and artificial intelligence) resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on the business models of both Polish enterprises and public sector institutions. The research also confirmed a discrepancy between the opinions of experts and management when it came to assessing the impact of technological progress associated with Covid-19 on the business models of the surveyed organizations. Originality/value: The presented work is an important contribution when it comes to the post pandemic economic reality. Paper assesses the impact of technological progress induced by Covid-19 on changes in the functioning of individual processes, which can be an important guide for management practitioners, helpful in implementing modern technological solutions in organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]