The covid-19 pandemic crisis presents unprecedented challenges and has profound implications for the way people live and work. Information and communication technologies have been playing a crucial role in ensuring business continuity as lockdown measures have suddenly forced employees from across the globe to telework, often leaving them unprepared and ill-equipped. This paper develops an epidemic-induced telework adjustment model derived from the theory of Work Adjustment and the Interactional Model of Individual Adjustment. It is tested on a sample of 1574 teleworkers in France. The results demonstrate the superiority of the influence of crisis-specific variables that are professional isolation, telework environment, work increase and stress. Implications for research are discussed while concrete and actionable recommendations for organisations are provided.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the inadequacies of current business education in the tackling of the educational challenges inherent to the advent of a data-driven business world. It presents an analysis of the implications of digitization and more specifically big data analytics (BDA) and data science (DS) on organizations with a special emphasis on decision-making processes and the function of managers. It argues that business schools and other educational institutions have well responded to the need to train future data scientists but have rather disregarded the question of effectively preparing future managers for the new data-driven business era. Design/methodology/approach: The approach involves analysis and review of the literature. Findings: The development of analytics skills shall not pertain to data scientists only, it must rather become an organizational cultural component shared among all employees and more specifically among decision makers: managers. In the data-driven business era, managers turn into manager-scientists who shall possess skills at the crossroad of data management, analytical/modeling techniques and tools, and business. However, the multidisciplinary nature of big data analytics and data science (BDADS) seems to collide with the dominant “functional silo design” that characterizes business schools. The scope and breadth of the radical digitally enabled change, the author are facing, may necessitate a global questioning about the nature and structure of business education. Research limitations/implications: For the sake of transparency and clarity, academia and the industry must join forces to standardize the meaning of the terms surrounding big data. BDA/DS training programs, courses, and curricula shall be organized in such a way that students shall interact with an array of specialists providing them a broad enough picture of the big data landscape. The multidisciplinary nature of analytics and DS necessitates to revisit pedagogical models by developing experiential learning and implementing a spiral-shaped pedagogical approach. The attention of scholars is needed as there exists an array of unexplored research territories. This investigation will help bridge the gap between education and the industry. Practical implications: The findings will help practitioners understand the educational challenges triggered by the advent of the data-driven business era. The implications will also help develop effective trainings and pedagogical strategies that are better suited to prepare future professionals for the new data-driven business world. Originality/value: By demonstrating how the advent of a data-driven business era is impacting the function and role of managers, the paper initiates a debate revolving around the question about how business schools and higher education shall evolve to better tackle the educational challenges associated with BDADS training. Elements of response and recommendations are then provided.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the need to engender a positive attitude toward business analytics in order for firms to more effectively transform into data-driven businesses, and for business schools to better prepare future managers.Design/methodology/approach: This paper develops and validates a measurement instrument that captures the attitude toward business statistics, the foundation of business analytics. A multi-stage approach is implemented and the validation is conducted with a sample of 311 students from a business school.Findings: The instrument has strong psychometric properties. It is designed so that it can be easily extrapolated to professional contexts and extended to the entire domain of business analytics.Research limitations/implications: As the advent of a data-driven business world will impact the way organizations function and the way individuals think, work, communicate and interact, it is crucial to engage a transdisciplinary dialogue among domains that have the expertise to help train and transform current and future professionals.Practical implications: The contribution provides educators and organizations with a means to measure and monitor attitudes toward statistics, the most anxiogenic component of business analytics. This is a first step in monitoring and developing an analytics mindset in both managers and students.Originality/value: By demonstrating how the advent of the data-driven business era is transforming the DNA and functioning of organizations, this paper highlights the key importance of changing managers’ and all employees’ (to a lesser extent) mindset and way of thinking.