Flappers, digitisation, life in lockdown, personality for leadership and tips for working from home. See which articles our readers flocked to during 2020.
2020 has been a different year. It has affected the way we work and many have felt the need for staying up to date. Before we wrap up 2019, we went back and looked at what you, our readers, were most captivated by this year.
As previous years, Christine Myrvang’s five-year-old article on a 100-year-old phenomenon, is still topping the list:
1) How flappers rebelled through feminism and consumerism
“It’s spring time, and teenagers are graduating from secondary school. It’s the time to get annoyed over the helpless youth, a well-known practice through history. The 1920s, especially, was the provocative girls’ era”.
The runner-up is about the current situation with the coronavirus: Carlos Velasco's article of how the pandemic has had an impact on almost every aspect of our everyday lives, especially the acceleration toward digital experiences:
2) Life after corona and the rapid digitisation of human experiences
"All in all, it is reasonable to assert that we are witnessing an accelerated digitisation of human experiences. We are yet to understand its long-term impacts on our society as a whole. In the meantime, we need to prepare for a brave (and rapidly more digitised) new world."
Rounding out the top three is about the same topic: Anders Gustafsson is writing about seven interesting ways our behaviour has drastically changed over the months:
3) 7 ways life in lockdown is changing our behaviour
"We should cherish and build on the positive qualities and behaviours that have flourished in these difficult times. Looking ahead, we should also be aware and be more proactive so that some of the less flattering behaviours do not linger on when all of this is over."
Next up is another article on leadership qualities: Øyvind Lund Martinsen on the important role of personality in management:
4) Personality for leadership
“The best leaders are in the public sector and female leaders are better suited for leadership than men, indicates a study of nearly 3000 managers”.
The corona virus puts working from home to an extreme test. In 2020, readers enjoyed learning more about how good communication norm and re-clarifying roles are keys to success in an article by Sut I Wong and Gillian Warner- Søderholm:
5) 5 tips for working from home during the pandemic
"Status quo is constantly changing during a pandemic, therefore teams are in need of continuous updates. We recommend creating the best home office environment by ensuring daily communication opportunities among team members and between teams and managers via Skype calls, messaging, company social media platforms or other digital communication tools."
Amoung the top six is one of our Top Published Researchers of the Week this year: Ole- Kristian Hope and John Christian Langli, together with Limei Che from USN School of Business, about why EY, KPMG, Deloitte and PwC give the best audits:
6) Why the Big Four provide higher quality audits
"In summary, auditors who switch from non-Big Four firms to Big Four firms are among the best in the non-Big Four market, and they become even better after joining a Big Four firm were they can benefit from the Big Four firms’ wealth of resources through enhanced learning and stronger incentives and monitoring."
In economically difficult times it is useful to know which marketing activities give the highest bang for their buck. In this next article, Auke Hunneman gives us tips on what actions are most effective?
7) The do's and dont's for marketing in a recession
"It is high time companies start developing marketing strategies for the difficult times ahead."
Øyvind Kvalnes certainly engaged readers in his article about etchical dilemmas of social media for organizations and employees:
8) Ethical Dilemmas of Social Media - and How to Navigate Them
"Social media provide opportunities for organizations and employees to publish their opinions, without an editor. But tempo, trolling, and tricky role confusions leave social media officers with digital dilemmas. How should they deal with them?"
Another BI Business Review classic: Jan Ketil Arnulf’s 2014 piece on motivation and performance-related pay:
9) Money as a motivator
“When the most powerful motivators for people’s behaviour lose their power because everyone has them, it becomes necessary to find other ways to increase the stakes”.
Rounding out our top ten of 2020 is a story on advances in marketing: Carlos Velasco and Francisco Jose Barbosa Escobar's piece on the ultimate coffee drinking experience:
10) What is the ultimate coffee drinking ecperience?
"Last year, the global specialty coffee market was valued at more than USD 35 billion in revenue and is expected to reach USD 85 billion by 2025. We set out to discover if imagery and new technology can enhance how much we enjoy our morning brew."