Covid 19s effect is very severe on this community where the lives of many people have been dangerously affected resulting in superfluous infections as well as death tolls. In consequence, business activities of the various industries have been adversely affected which is exhibited by the statistics of the lower amount of revenue, profitability, export, investment, etc. But the timely decision of the global policy maker to move towards the digital platform from conventional physical establishment seems to be a very significant issue. Because of the digital presence on one hand enables the business entities to sustain well. On the other hand, develop their business into electronic platform-centric leadership. Bangladesh has also not been an exception to this because the industry leaders of the country prioritized digital transformation with immediate effect. The justification for such a decision is exhibited by the regular flow of business and positive growth of her economy even in this pandemic crisis. With this end of view, the present study is an endeavor to investigate the effect of digital presence on the business development of Bangladesh. Both primary and secondary data were collected for this study. Here, secondary information has been gathered from current research papers and articles related to the studys topic that have been published in refereed journals. Inferential statistical methods are operated in this work to test the main data obtained using a structured, self-administered questionnaire-based lengthy survey that includes open-ended, non-forced, balanced itemized questions utilizing a 5 Likert scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree). This current study has found the feasibility of the effects of digital presence because of its diversified uses in the pandemic situation which include government support to use digital platforms as the best alternative to physical work environment both in the public and private sectors during the pandemic and after the pandemic, Organizations should increase digital presence to reduce fixes cost related with construction and maintenance, the government must ensure IT training facilities to employees so that they can smoothly execute their official activities through digital platforms for facilitating "Digital Bangladesh Vision 2021" and many more. Thus, digital presence can be predicted as effective for business development by which a country can achieve more growth and prosperity.
A "digital presence" for the development of business simply means how businesses are carried on through digital platforms notably with the help of internet.
Deloitte, (2014) and Islam & According to Grönlund, (2011) the popularity of digital workplaces has increased recently. Three underlying trends - information over load, the drive for speed, and worker demographics are to blame for this quickening of change. According to (Casilli & Antonio, 2017) a digital platform is a workplace where there is no existence of physical space. It is usually a network where several work- places are technologically connected without regard to geographic boundaries. According to D. Chaffey (E- Business and E-commerce Management, 3rd edition), digital platforms have experienced significant growth in adoption, diversity, and innovation in the past decade. Many factors have contributed to the rise of platforms, including the expansion of cloud computing, the matur- ing of the online advertising sector, and advances in internet penetration. Additionally, a sharp increase in smart phone ownership has given users more access to platforms. It has beenstatedby (Avanade, 2017; Koeffer, 2015) that for improving operational efficiency and meeting organizational goals, businesses should use digital transformation to create an alignment among technology, employees, andbusinessprocesses. (Berland, 2016), who recommended the digital workplace means any device, software, or platform that staff members use to execute their jobs without the presence of physical office space at all.
According to Gartner Report (2017), through this platform companies can mitigate country boundaries in case of employment or other necessities because cloud services, mobile, and artificial intelligence technologies ensure company information is 24/7 available. However, digital presence is inextricably connected with our modern world and directly influences our economy, especially in the pandemic time when every- body collapsed at home, switched to work from home, and daily life dependent on electronic gadgets.
Background of the study
In 11th March of 2020, a declaration has been anno- unced by World Health Organization (WHO) regarding COVID-19 pandemic. By this time the WHO has declared Coronavirus as a pandemic, Bangladesh had only confirmed three imported cases and was considering various options to lessen the spread of this virus. A few days after Bangladesh government also declared the whole country under lockdown procedure after the first coronavirus death occurred and its local transmission rapidly grownup. Overall business activity was shut down and the economy was in a distressed situation. But it cannot be allowed to continue like this
to save the people and economy as well. So several companies ordered their employees for working from their home, students are bound to attend classes through the digital platform, shopping completely depended online, and most importantly peoples lives were dependent on virtual media. Many giant companies like Unilever, Grameenphone, Robi, Banglalink, and Beximco confirmed their employees to stay home and work remotely. In response to the "lock-down" measures put in place in Bangladesh and other nations to combat the COVID-19 epidemic, many individuals are reportedly working from home during this quarantine period, according to the newspaper (The Independent/editorial, 2020). But labor must continue, whether it is done offline or online. The authorities set up online video conferences to link individuals living in any part of the world even when members of an office or commercial organization are unable to participate in a meeting in person (with an internet connection). Though Bangladesh governments vision is to make a digital Bangladesh and it is near to success of the "Digital Bangladesh Vision - 2021". The main goal of this vision is to bring every home under the digital network and digitalize government services. For implementing this, the government has taken lots of initiatives like launching Sheikh Hasina Software Technology Park, Bangabandhu Satellite-1, High tech park, etc. Our present study directly interlinks to the effects of digital presence on business development through government is trying to convert the whole country under digital transformation and corona pandemic also accustomed us to exercise it in our daily uses. So it has been justified that, this background of the study highly recommends there is a high necessity for present research work.
Research gap
There appears to be limited study on how and why digital platforms are utilized to provide value to the business, despite of this fact that an increasing number of companies are using them to provide outstanding service. Because of the corona virus, digital presence for the development of business is a little bit new concept for Bangladesh. People are trying to habituate to it. Moreover, there is no sufficient information regarding the topic though the pandemic situation has occurred after more than hundreds of years. There seems to be little research on how this platform is used to add any value to business development. As a result, it is clear that there is a research gap because so few studies have looked into how digital platforms are adapted. It will need thorough study to close this gap, and it also needs the input of researchers. It is crucial to comprehend the motivations behind and mechanisms by which digital presence will alter Bangladeshs corporate environment.
Research question
The current study explores the research question with this objective in mind: "Is there any effect of digital presence on the business development of Bangladesh in the pandemic situation?" To fully explore the promising impact of digital presence on Bangladeshs company development, a detailed inquiry is required, assisted by a complete literature analysis. A primary survey is necessary to determine whether there is any impact of Bangladeshs digital presence on the countrys commercial development in the event that the literature currently available does not explore responses to the formulated research question.
Hypothesis and objective of the study
The descriptive component of the study states the following hypothesis, which is based on the study of the literature review of a primary feasibility study: H1: there is a positive relationship between digital presence and business development in Bangladesh and It is predicted that a comfortable workplace will have an impact on the pandemic, either favorably or effectively, avoiding high payment involvement, unemployment solution, enrichmen toflivingstandard, avoiding transportation cost, increasing global competition, efficient business interaction, employee productivity, reduction of fixed cost and technological orientation. In light of the aforementioned claim, the foremost goal of this study is to determine whether or not digital presence has any real impact on Bangladeshs company development during the pandemic. The goal of this study is to identify the influencing factors that support business growth and have a beneficial impact on business development. In this regard, the present study is significant and deserves credit because this paper incorporates around 13 variables from multiplex studies that affect the digital presence in the business development of Bangladesh.
The digital workplace is very convenient because it has no specific location, here employees are thus able to interact in a collaborative working environment regard- less of where they are located (Casilli & Antonio, 2017). They also stated that value-adding activities provided by persons on the Internet platforms design- nate as digital labor. (Maxwell, 2017) recommended that though the occupational opportunities of digital labor moved from traditional ones, internet-mediated precarious on-demand jobs and it has a significant effect on business. Again (Han et al., 2016) said in their research digital or virtual workplace is an aug- mentation workplace where no office building or no room is needed to run daily operations. According to Euro pound (2017), persons concerned in employment relations and policymakers have begun to understand the effects of the "anytime, anywhere character of ICT- based work." Forde et al. (2017) have focused that the global pool of workers through digital technologies creates competition among workers around the world and digital presence allows businesses to pay wages that are below the national minimum because there is the availability of workers in this platform crossing the national boundaries. They started growing evidence regarding low payment to many platform workers which is below the minimum wages, (Huws et al., 2017; Irani & Silberman, 2013) found that wage dumping has commonly taken place on online plat-forms that serve local communities and rely on offline work that is very easily managed online. Another research by Euro found, (2015) stated that sometimes in the recruitment process there is an oversupply of comparing demand for jobs and that oversupply of workers allows them to reduce payment rates. Digital platforms like freelancing can be a way of solution to the ever- increasing unemployment problem because the existing scenario of the freelance market in Bangladesh is a result of digital platforms (Bahman & Rahman, 2017). A significant number of unemployed people have been receiving training in web development and design and creative field for ending their unemployed life. While the other areas of training including sales and marketing, customer service, etc. are losing their existence because of increasing fascination with digital phenomena (Alam et al., 2021). Again (Seung Nam, 2017) showed that a virtual work-place enables individuals to work from any place in the world at any time, so individuals can spend much time on other work. This is advantageous not just for the worker but also for the customer (Shin, 2016). Once more, it is essential for a global firm to provide great and prompt customer service. Multirange industries with multi-job types use the advantages of universal digital benefits that make employees available virtually anywhere with technology access resulting in less reliance on their physical presence. According to Eurofound, (2017) due to the advantages of digital presence, workers may now commute less frequently. Higher productivity, a better overall work-life balance, and more organizational flexibility are all correlated with independence. A virtual training session allows the business to save money on traveling costs if only a few of its employees receive the necessary training, as well as in the long term where all of its employees may obtain the necessary training and be more productive with a more acute learning curve (Eurofound, 2017). Another way, the home-based virtual workplace has reduced the most sustainable and competitive modes of commuting in terms of travel time, cost of transportation, and flexibility of the macro environment (Seung - Nam, 2017). They tried to focus that virtual work-places are advantageous in an information age where technology is expanding rapidly and consumer needs are being met from around the world without transportation hassle. According to (Gilson et al., 2015), virtual workplace reliefs one individual from sharing office space, client office except this it limits transport hassle through a home or a comfortable place for an employee is used as a workplace here.
V. Lehdonvirta, (2016), who found an important factor of digital presence that always attempts to reduce the country boundaries and regulations between the employer and the employee and it t is also rare that national labor laws are applied to digital workers. (Standing, G, 2016), where it is narrated that within 2025 all labor transactions will be negotiated by digital platforms which will increase global competition. While the digital platform will undoubtedly offer opportunities and income for many people and also it is a public platform, so that anyone can easily excess here (DCruz and Noronha, 2016). For business collaboration, virtual work interactions are more
qualitative though it is connected with virtual com- munication (Alam et al., 2021). A digital work-place can involve any device, tools, software, program or may be platform that any business person can use this use to efficiently execute their tasks easily (Forde et al., 2017). Digital platforms offer employers and employees flexibility; it helps to reduce time to market, resulting in better work outcomes than conventional work teams, and increase employee productivity (Freifeld, 2012). Knowledge workers mean highly qualified employees, often in managerial and professional positions. And this type of knowledge worker will increase the production volume of an organization (Eurofound, 2015). Through digital phe- nomena, one company can very smoothly grab the opportunity of a knowledge worker. In addition, successful virtual team leader-ship is distinguished by team or group leaders who can take feedback from the team easily, can provide structure, can frankly communicate in digital media and also can create a situation of trust and assistance (Daim et al., 2012; Salminen & Karlsson, 2013; Basak, 2021; Symons, J. & Stenzel, 2007).
High-quality talent across the world can be managed through Virtual or digital teams and it can promptly respond to customer needs (Kirkman et al., 2012). Digital platforms be able to utilize a broader range of skill sets and members are available for 24/7 opera- tions where one person maynt be available in the organizations physical locations for 24/7 services. Additionally, a lot of workers connect with coworkers through computer-mediated communication to some measure, regardless of the issue that mobile technology has entered every area of our life (Makarius & Larson, 2017). Organizations create work-life balance for employees, minimize real costs, and retain high-quality talent through digitalization namely telecommunicating, video conferencing, etc (Gajendran, Harrison, 2007; Freifeld, 2012). The application of information and communication technology (ICT) in education system has led to broad digitization in education sectors, claim (Islam S., 2018; Islam M., and Grönlund A., 2011). Virtual Teaching and Learning Environments (VLE) gained a lot of space in higher education institutions as a teaching and also learning tool (Dahlstrom et al., 2014). Moreover with some limitations of the important mediation education process is going on online. But time management and techno- logical skills face a great challenge for education through digitization (Robb and Fisher, 2015). It is tempting to suggest that smart phones and social media bring a digital presence inside schools and the presence of digital gadgets like smart phones, and laptops in schools and colleges, today seems self-evident (Hohti et al., 2019). Companies are increasingly promoting telework, also known as telecommuting, as a way to help workers balance their work and personal lives while also successfully lowering real estate costs (Gajendran & Harrison, 2007). Additionally, they are capable of to draw in and keep top talent because the fixed costs of an industry can be lowered by using digital platforms (S. Raghuram et al., 2001).
Virtual work is described as the best output for business because work is done by using digital technologies is indeed new and quite interesting for people through its easy operating system (Holts, 2013). The features of the digital platform have shown that it is a part of larger market trends that involve extreme adaptability, and the shifting of risks to workers by using digital technology (Huws, 2017). (Moshe & Marvitz, 2014) have tried to focus that the digital workplace means that the businesses must use the digital transformation to synchronize business procedure, employees, and technology to meet organizational goals and at the same time another important factor to improve operational efficiency.
Conceptual model of the present study
As the following Fig. 1 was created for the analysis to show the analytical model of the importance of digital presence on the business development of Bangladesh during the pandemic condition based on the substantial literature review.
Fig. 1: Research Model for the effect of digital presence on business development.
The current study combines primary and secondary data collecting and analysis, with the secondary data coming from current research papers and articles that have been published in reputable publications related to the studys topic (DCruz, P., & Noronha, 2016). A structured, self-administered questionnaire-based ext- ended survey with open-ended, non-forced questions utilizing a 5-point Likert scale was used to gather the primary data from a sample size of 500 respondents,
including users of the digital platform, between January 1 and February 28, 2022. The main data that was gathered has been analyzed using inferential statistical procedures. From the literature study, 12 questions that are directly or indirectly connected with the pandemic- related impacts of Bangladeshs digital presence on company growth have been selected as variables. These variables are shown in Table 1 from variable 1 (V1) to Variable 2 (V12).
Table 1: Identification of Variable.
Sample size
The sample frame of the research refers to the indivi- duals of the total number of population to be quest- ioned, thus, the sample size of this analysis consists of 500 respondents including lower, middle, and higher class people of Bangladesh. For this collection of variables, there are 500 valid samples. With 500 samples and 12 variables, the case-to-variable ratio is 42 (app) to 1, which is more than the recommended 4:1 ratio (Malhotra & Dhas, 2011).
Sampling adequacy
Table 2 exhibits that the importance of Kaiser Meyer- Olkin (KMO) Measure is .694 which is mediocre suggesting the adequacy of the sample size for the factor analysis. The estimated chi-square statistic, which is bigger than the table number, is 5103.904 with 78 degrees of freedom, according to the findings of the Bartletts Test of Sphericity. This indicates that the Bartletts test of Sphericity rejects the null hypo thesis that the population correlation matrix is an identity matrix. The population was not an identity matrix, according to the significant outcome of Bartletts sphericity test. Bartletts Test of Sphericity is significant.
Table 2: KMO and Bartletts Test.
Therefore, the current research has gained a unique proposal that supports the credibility of the suggested model by adding distinctive characteristics from the relevant studie.
Reliability analysis
Table 3 shows that all variables (12 independent vari- ables and 1 dependent variable) evaluated in the present article have an overall alpha value of .765, which is more than 0.6 and within the acceptable range of .60 to .70 (Cooper & Schindler, 2006; Malhotra & Birks, 2007). This supports the studys accuracy.
Table 3: Reliability Analysis.
Multiple regression analysis
Multiple regression analysis has been used to examine whether there is any positive effect of digital presence on the business development of Bangladesh during the pandemic situation or not. The dependent variable (Positively affecting business development of Bangladesh) has been regressed against First, the multiple correlation coefficients (R) of the 12 independent variables (v1 to v12) on the dependent variable (????????????) in Table 4a are 0.882, indicating that the 12 independent variables or factors have an importance at digital presence. In other words, the R-value 0.882 shows 88% multiple correlation coefficients which means that there is an 88% correlation between the predictors or
Table 4a: Model Summary.
12 independent variables and the dependent variable (DV). Secondly, the Square multiple correlation coefficients (R2) is 0.778, suggesting that more than 77.8% of the variation or variance in the dependent variable (DV) has been explained by the 12 predictors or independent variables. Thirdly, the adjusted (R2) value of 0.773, which is just 0.005 off from the (R2) value, is ideal for generalizing the model successfully (0.778 - 0.773). This indicates that 5% less variation in the results would be accounted for by the model if these were considered for the population.
It is clear from Table 4bs F ratio, which is 142.320 and highly significant (P<0.001), that the model greatly enhances the capacity to predict the result variable. The P value in this table is 0.000, which is less than 0.05 and indicates that the model signifi- cantly fits the total set of data. This indicates that internet platforms have a favorable impact on Bangladeshs economy.
Table 4b: ANOVAa.
Dependent Variable: Contribution to the Business Development of Bangladesh Predictors: (Constant): v12, v7, v2, v9, v1, v10, v3, v6, v5, v11, v4, v8 The application of the beta-values in the multiple regression model equation (???????????? = β0 + β1v1+ β2v2 + β3v3+β4v4+ β4v5 + β4v6 + β4v7 + β4v8 + β4v9 + β4v10 + β4v11 + β4v12 Or, =.824+.185+.045+(-.105) +.285 (.108)+.015+.146+.162+.085+.009+.078+.445) takes this model to indicate that the importance of digital presence on Bangladeshs economy would positively improve by 0.185 for every increase of one unit in v1, if the impacts of v2 to v11 are maintained constant. The favorable influence on Bangladeshs business development would increase by 0.045 units for every unit higher v2, if the effects of the other com- ponents effects were held constant. On the other hand, being other components held constant a single unit increase in v4, v6 to v12 would lead to a .285, 015, .146, .162, .085, .009, .078, .445 will positively affect Bangladesh as well. Again v3 and v5 lead to a negative effect of digital presence in business development but in a little manner. As far as the relative importance of the 12 dimensions is concerned, v12: (Beta= 0.445) followed by v1: (Beta=0.185), v7: (Beta=0.146), v4: (Beta=0.285), v9: (Beta=0.085), v8: (Beta=0.162), v2: (Beta=0.045) v1: (Beta=0.78), v6: (Beta= 015), v10: (Beta=.009). And rest of the variables like v5: (Beta= -.108), and v3: (Beta= -.105) have a positive effect of digital presence on the business development of Bang- ladesh in the pandemic situation.
Table 4c: Coefficientsa.
a. Dependent Variable: Contribution to the Business Development of Bangladesh
Again, there is more than one predictor (independent variables), and the magnitude of the t-value in conjun- ction with the significance has been considered to assess the overall contribution to the model. Based on the decision rule "the greater the t-value, the greater the contribution of the predictor", it is seen that v12: (t=8.011) followed by v1: (t=6.554), v7: (t=5.389), v4: (t=4.746), v9: (t=2.956), v8: (t=.2.582), v2:(t=.1.678), v11: (t=.1.500), v6: (t=.289), v10: (t=.178), v5: (t= -.2443), v3: (t= -2.877) are all significant predictors or independent variables have a positive effect of digital presence on the business development of Bangladesh in the pandemic situation. In this respect, it can also be deduced from the t-values that v12 has a bigger effect on the result (i.e., DV) than other independent vari ables. The result suggests that a significant positive relationship between digital presences on business development in Bangladesh during the pandemic situation exists. In summation, it may be said that every underlying dimension is good and hence important.
Multiple regression analysiss findings support hypothesis (H) and demonstrate that Bangladeshs company development throughout the pandemic has benefited from its online presence. As a result, the link exists as predicted. According to the above - mentioned R, R2, Adjusted R2, F ratio, beta, and t values, the regression model successfully predicted the variance of DV pertaining to the 12 predictors or independent vari- ables. In other words, at least one of the 12 independent variables or predictors of the DV plays a significant role in the beneficial impact of digital presence on Bangladeshs company development during the pandemic condition.
The study has investigated the influence of digital presence on business development in Bangladesh, especially during the pandemic situation. A survey has been conducted among 500 Bangladeshi people and put the survey data on SPSS found a significant impact on the business development of Bangladesh. Through a scrutinized investigation, it has been seen that the people of Bangladesh are not anymore confined to the physical work environment. Despite having various difficulties, they have adjusted themselves to digital platforms during this corona pandemic. A significant effect of it has fallen on the business sector of Bangladesh. It is seen that after the announcement of lock- down conditions, most number of the people of Bangladesh have started the best application of the virtual platform in the following sectors - Virtual office, telemedicine, virtual classroom, online business, online payment, virtual court, diplomatic meeting, e-ticketing, online skill development course, online groceries, celebrating social and religious festivals, webinar, virtual monitoring of development project, govt. Cash relief distribution, online advertising, etc. Such uses of digital media have been accelerating the business development activity of Bangladesh during corona pandemic.
Though Bangladesh has entered into a new era of rapid development in digital methods, a large portion of rural people is far away from this development. Bangladesh government must enact the recommended activities to avail the overall positive effect of digital presence on business. Digitization has pervaded every aspect of life in this 21st century. Particularly in light of the corona epidemic in Bangladesh, the growing in- integration of digital technology into every area of our lives presents both opportunities and difficulties for businesses, employers, and employees. Organizations are gaining advantages from this digital transformation, which includes digitizing the workplace. These advantages include higher productivity, cost savings, a more mobile and adaptable workforce, and enhanced flexibility and market adaptability. Businesses are working with a more diversified and international workforce and cooperating worldwide. Employees might work remotely, stay connected via cell phones, collaborate with coworkers, and keep up with emerging technologies. Due to avoid of losing customers, productivity, and workers during and after the corona epidemic, organizations should be proactive in developing new systems and regulations and rethink- ing their culture around digital changes of the workplace. Directly or indirectly, the Covid-19 pandemic situation has enforced the people of Bangladesh to adjust to the digital work platform and brought them into the systematic chain. This pandemic situation has brought revolutionary effects in the working environment. Though Bangladesh is one of the best technology based growing economies in Asia, it has to bring developmental changes in digital presence. Such as –
I admire the proper guidance provided by Dr. Surajit Sarbabidhya, Dean and Chairman of the Business Administration Faculty at Britannia University in Cumilla, Bangladesh, as well as the excellent support of my family members and my dear students in the data collection process.
I affirmed that I would have no conflicts of interest that would prevent me from publishing this work.
Academic Editor
Dr. Doaa Wafik Nada, Associate Professor, School of Business and Economics, Badr University in Cairo (BUC), Cairo, Egypt.
Assistant Professor, Department of Finance & Banking, Comilla University, Cumilla, Bangladesh
Saha T. (2022). Effects of digital presence on business development: a study from the perspectives of pandemic situation in Bangladesh, Can. J. Bus. Inf. Stud., 4(6), 125-136. https://doi.org/10.34104/cjbis.022.01250136