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Teleworking as an Eco-Innovation for Sustainable Development: Assessing Collective Perceptions during COVID-19

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  • Francesca Loia

    (Department of Economics, Management and Institutions, Federico II University of Naples, 80126 Naples, Italy)

  • Paola Adinolfi

    (Department of Management & Innovation Systems, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy)

Abstract

Due to the spread of COVID-19, new challenges and opportunities for business innovation have emerged, including the way work is organized and designed. In particular, pandemic created the conditions for the most extensive mass teleworking experiment in history. While there is a wide literature on the effects of teleworking as a business innovation, mainly from an environmental perspective, there are few studies investigating the public perceptions regarding teleworking and, in particular, studies that draw from social media analyses. Based on these considerations, a big data analysis has been carried out in order to frame the public perceptions about teleworking on Twitter. The six-months sentiment analysis of about 11,000 tweets shows that the ecological value of telework is not perceived by people; surprisingly, in a pandemic context of growing ecological concern, there is no significant evidence of environmental awareness in relation to teleworking. However, the positive and negative concepts which emerge in relation to teleworking and similar terms can be assimilated to the benefits and pitfalls highlighted in the literature, which are related to economic or social sustainability. This has important implications for practice in organizations employing teleworking, which are highlighted in the conclusion, together with the limitations and future research avenues.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesca Loia & Paola Adinolfi, 2021. "Teleworking as an Eco-Innovation for Sustainable Development: Assessing Collective Perceptions during COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:9:p:4823-:d:543193
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    1. Ed Burton & David John Edwards & Chris Roberts & Nicholas Chileshe & Joseph H. K. Lai, 2021. "Delineating the Implications of Dispersing Teams and Teleworking in an Agile UK Construction Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-21, September.
    2. Pavel Stanciu & Daniela Mihaela Neamțu & Iulian Alexandru Condratov & Cristian-Valentin Hapenciuc & Ruxandra Bejinaru, 2023. "Dynamics of Teleworking and Impact on Stakeholders in the Current Pandemic Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-21, April.
    3. Aarthi Raghavan & Mehmet Akif Demircioglu & Serik Orazgaliyev, 2021. "COVID-19 and the New Normal of Organizations and Employees: An Overview," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-19, October.
    4. Adomako, Samuel & Nguyen, Nguyen Phong, 2023. "Eco-innovation in the extractive industry: Combinative effects of social legitimacy, green management, and institutional pressures," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. Andreja Mihailović & Julija Cerović Smolović & Ivan Radević & Neli Rašović & Nikola Martinović, 2021. "COVID-19 and Beyond: Employee Perceptions of the Efficiency of Teleworking and Its Cybersecurity Implications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-26, June.
    6. Peter Karacsony & Kornél Krupánszki & Imrich Antalík, 2022. "Analysis of the Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on the Hungarian Employees," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-14, February.

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