Realizing Resilient Global Market Opportunities and Societal Benefits Through Innovative Digital Technologies in the Post COVID-19 Era: A Conceptual Framework and Critical Literature Review

A contribution to mitigate the disastrous effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been exemplified by the development of innovative product and service applications with the use of digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and Big Data analytics. Applying the transition path problem-solving framework by using the combination of TRIZ Innovation Theory and Theory of Change, this study shows the process of change, starting from the need to tackle COVID-19, through the implementation of new digital technology applications, to permanently change the functioning of societies and facilitate new global market opportunities in the post-pandemic era. From a large pool of relevant research papers and practice reports, nine major application categories were identified and analyzed through the transition path framework. The proposed framework led to the development of an intensity matrix which shows the power of the varying levels of long-term impacts of each application category studied in relation to the global markets and social environment.