Can remote working be the next great thing for companies within the E-commerce industry? : A qualitative study analysing how beneficial it is for companies in the E-commerce industry to permanently adopt remote working.

Abstract: Research problem and objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a rise in remote working due to various restrictions, which meant that the managers and companies had to adapt to a new virtual environment and attempt to make the best out of the situation. The e-commerce industry has the particularity of being run mostly online, making it a suitable field to research implementing permanent remote work. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to explore if it is beneficial for companies in the e-commerce industry to permanently switch to remote work. Method: This qualitative research gathered information primarily by interviewing six managers within the e-commerce industry in a semi-structured manner. Additionally, to examine the data collected, themes and codes were used to analyse the trends. Key results and arguments: Findings and analysis of the data gathered, show that there are certainly benefits to the change to an online working environment. However, there are multiple factors present that make it difficult for remote working to be considered beneficial enough to commit to the shift. Conclusion: The gathered data indicates that as of now, permanently switching to remote working is not beneficial for the companies within the e-commerce industry. Based on the results, it is recommended to focus on and develop control systems along with having sufficient preparation and planning before the transition is carried out to make the change to remote working beneficial.