The dynamic in online retailing has been apparent since before the Covid-19 crisis: there is no retail concept that cannot be digitalised. But what about physical retail space? What should remain, what should disappear, what needs more space?

"All retailers could benefit from being a bit more paranoid and protective of their turf." This is what Sucharita Kodali, Vice President at the American market research company Forrester, says. This means that they should invest more in protecting their intellectual property and lobbying for laws in their favour, just like Google, Facebook and Co. are doing. Read an interview here. Sucharita Kodali spoke at the 71st International Retail Summit on 9 and 10 September 2021.

How do you manage your staff during a pandemic of unprecedented magnitude? What doesn't work at all in such a situation? One person who should know is Erich Harsch. As CEO of the Hornbach DIY group, he is responsible for 23,000 employees. How did his employees inspire him during the pandemic? Harsch discussed it all here in an interview, and at the 71st International Retail Summit.

Zoom, virtuelle Konzerte, Livestreams: Nach der Pandemie werden wir für unser Zusammenkommen mehr Optionen haben als je zuvor. Aber wie wird uns das als Menschen verändern? Folge 28 des GDI-Podcasts taucht ein in virtuelle Welten und analysiert den Mensch als soziales Wesen.

Laut GDI-Forschungsleiterin Karin Frick sind Online-Plattformen wie Zoom gekommen, um zu bleiben. Rund die Hälfte der virtuellen Meetings dürften nach Ende der Pandemie wieder in der realen Welt stattfinden, schätzt die Forscherin in der SRF-«Tagesschau».

Die Klassenunterschiede vergrössern sich zusehends – trotz steigender Einkünfte. War es in den 1960er Jahren einem Taxifahrer noch möglich, sich bescheidenen Wohlstand zu erarbeiten, liegt das heute in weiter Ferne. Folge 27 des GDI-Podcasts geht den Ursachen der neuen Klassengesellschaft auf den Grund.

What are the new challenges facing bosses in an age of working from home, and what does good leadership from home look like? International speakers provided answers at the 8th Academy of Behavioural Economics. The video recording is available online.

Creative ideas aren’t born in a stark and uninspiring office space. Real estate developer Fredrik Carlström is convinced of this. At the 17th European Trend Day on 10 March, Carlström demonstrated how he creates workplaces for innovation, and how we can expect to be working after the pandemic.

Raffaella Sadun, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, surveyed over 1,000 CEOs across six countries to answer questions about CEO effectiveness. At the 8th Academy of Behavioral Economics on 27 January 2021, Sadun will elaborate on what good leadership in pandemic times looks like.

Was müssen wir für die Zukunft können? GDI-Forscher Jakub Samochowiec stellt im Podcast des Eidgenössischen Hochschulinstituts für Berufsbildung die Ergebnisse der Studie «Future Skills» vor.

Erste Firmen führen einen Chief Remote Officer ein: einen Vorstand, der sich um das Wohl und eine gute Infrastruktur seiner MitarbeiterInnen im Homeoffice kümmert. Laut GDI-Forschungsleiterin Karin Frick braucht es diese Funktion aber höchstens übergangsweise.

The world has entered a new state of paralysis, as no one knows when things will return to normal, argues economist and former GDI guest speaker Tyler Cowen in an opinion piece for the news agency Bloomberg.