Business (un)usual: Critical skills for the next normal

The impact of COVID-19 on global human resource (HR) management has been swift, dramatic and has fundamentally changed HR processes. The prompt online migration of business has altered the skills required by employees to succeed in the workplace of the future. This research examines the hard and soft skill gaps that exist in the digital marketing and advertising industry. Through the use of two data collection points in 2019 and 2020, the research identified a renewed importance being placed on soft skills in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Soft skills and the development thereof have become a key focal area of training for new employees as a result of remote working. The identified hard skill gaps are indicative of the future growth areas of the industry, focusing on data analytics, marketing automation and user experience. Future research should consider an expansion to other industry-specific skills and contrast country-level skill gaps.     

Unleashing the potential of online learning in Spain: An econometric analysis

Online learning and training continue gaining momentum worldwide resulting in the reduction of the traditional form of face-to-face education with its temporal and spatial limitations. Online education improves access to education and training, as witnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic. This article focuses on online education adoption in Spain. A representative survey on ICT use in households conducted annually by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics is used to construct a panel database for the years 2008–2020. The first objective is to provide an econometric model for adopting online education using this panel data. Next is to measure the effects of relevant observable individual socioeconomic variables on adoption. A Heckman selection model allows for estimating the impact of gender, age, education, digital skills, habitat, and income. The article also measures the effects of Covid-19 in 2020 on different population groups. The drivers and impediments have the expected signs and plausible sizes. The paper concludes with policy recommendations and suggestions for further research.     

Transformative value co-creation with older customers in e-services: Exploring the influence of customer participation on appreciation of digital affordances and well-being

This study challenges the negative assumption that older customers struggle to adapt to e-service by exploring the positive influence of their participation on transformative value co-creation. A two-phase mixed-methods approach was adopted to develop and validate the research model. The results found that customer participation, including information sharing, responsible behaviors, and in-role feedback, promotes older customers' digital skills and basic needs satisfaction, leading to higher appreciation of digital affordances and well-being. Additionally, online employees’ customer orientation positively moderates the above relationships. This study provides insight for service providers to include older customers in e-services.     

Practice Makes Better: Using Immersive Cases to Improve Student Performance on Day 1 of the Common Final Examination*

In the context of an accredited CPA program, we investigate whether an immersive case delivered over several weeks in a team-based environment in the Performance Management elective module improves student performance on Day 1 examinations and whether all students benefit equally from the immersive case. Results show that using an immersive case prior to Capstone 1 significantly improves student performance on practice Day 1 examinations and Day 1 of the Common Final Examination (CFE). Although high-ability students and non-English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students with co-op experience perform better regardless of whether an immersive case is used, ESL students benefit from using an immersive case when evaluating performance on Day 1 of the CFE. In addition, spending six to eight weeks preparing extensively for the CFE after graduate classes end in July seems to contribute to closing performance gaps between students. This study benefits the education process by identifying a tool that educators can use to improve performance on the CFE. It provides insights that may prove useful to CPA Canada and accredited post-secondary institutions as they revamp their programs to align with Competency Map 2.0.