The Role of Intangibles in the Economic Recovery Post-COVID-19 Pandemic

The strategic use of intangibles can create unlimited jobs globally. Intangibles are lucrative non-physical assets that every business enjoys but very few utilise effectively. By 2007, early value management studies had proven that businesses with exponential growth had achieved those record performances after shifting their organising models. Today, there is new evidence to support further growth while addressing the societal issue of unemployment. Unemployment in this instance goes beyond the definition used in economics and includes facilitating the ease of an employee’s transition from education to job or from job to job. Creating new jobs is especially important for countries facing tremendous development challenges, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the International Labour Organization, the world’s job loss due to the pandemic in 2020 was equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs. At the same time, corporations globally have been taking a deeper look at governance practices and are closely examining the impact that commercial strategies have on the environment and society. In addition, the future of work is taking shape as hybrid work from home options are being explored for some roles. While the political and ethical implications of addressing global unemployment cannot be oversimplified, in theory, there can be open accessibility to jobs globally. Today’s availability of education, the relative ease of international trade of services and technological advancement make this possible. This paper shares qualitative research that proposes the role of intangibles in solving unemployment, so a research university might consider furthering this vital work in intangibles.