[Part 2] IÉSEG Faculty outline some business trends to follow in 2023
01/05/2023
4 min
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From the metaverse to the circular economy and trends impacting financial management or quantum technology, four members of faculty outline their views on some of the key issues they are looking out for in their fields in 2023.
In the first article in this series, four faculty members highlighted their views relating to the commodity prices, corporate and diversity & inclusion strategies and legal trends in 2023.
The metaverse: opportunities, risks and the consumer experience
Thomas Leclercq – Professor of Marketing
“The emergence of metaverse has undoubtedly marked 2022. This technology opens the door of a new digital world offering unlimited opportunities for education, business, tourism and society. Yet, the actual usage of the metaverse remains unclear for many observers. Will it replace social media, become a gaming room or the future co-working space?
Research on similar virtual spaces (e.g., Fortnite, League of Legends) has shown that they may be a ground for new cultures and communities, but also entails the risk of certain toxic practices (e.g., harassment, identity, theft). How consumers will seize the metaverse and integrate their ‘digital twins’ (avatars in the metaverse) into their daily practices is therefore a pivotal challenge for companies. Without such understanding, I believe the risk is the metaverse may become an amazing but uninhabited world. Accordingly, designing a compelling customer experience in the metaverse and connecting it with the overall journey will be the key for 2023.”
Circular economy: The rise and rise of used and refurbished products
François Maon – Professor of Strategy and Sustainability
“In these times of economic instability and growing eco-consciousness, I believe the market for second-hand goods will reach new heights. Beyond the booming trend in the fashion and apparel sector, the rise of used and refurbished products will further accelerate across product categories, from electronics and home goods and furniture to vehicles and outdoor equipment. Brands and retailers will increasingly endeavor to take control of their own re-commerce potential and develop circularity initiatives, to capture value from these growing markets.
Second-hand markets certainly have a massive role to play in the movement towards sustainability by limiting waste and reducing the sourcing of new materials. Yet, the mounting sales of cheaper second-hand products are also likely to generate negative sustainability impacts, including via ‘rebound effects’. They might, for example, stimulate more indulgent consumption and increase demand of other products that would originally not have been bought. The ‘dark sides’ of a priori virtuous second-hand markets will thus also represent key challenges to follow and tackle in 2023.”
Financial management: the need for assurance of reporting and qualitative information
Christof BeuselincK, Professor of Accounting
“In 2023, I believe that digitalization and efficiency through innovation will continue to dominate the corporate landscape, and particularly in the field financial management, tax, audit and advisory functions.
In the post-pandemic era, we have already embraced a broader set of technological support tools that enhanced operating business models including techniques like process mining, cloud solutions, or robotization. Also, in 2023, I expect that the need for assurance of corporate reporting will continue to increase and that more and more emphasis will be put on interpretation of qualitative information related to environmental, social and governance risks.
This phenomenon is a direct outcome of changing stakeholder reporting demands from a society that is evolving from a quantitative, ‘check-the-box’ financial model to one with more qualitative interpretation of purpose-driven entities. Against this backdrop, it was worth noting that technology is only a tool in helping organizations in reaching their broader goals and it will be important to balance the human side of the workplace (e.g., employee engagement, human capital pool, etc.) with technical efficiency gains.”
Technology and operations: Quantum computing – a breakthrough for applications in 2023?
Stefan Creemers, Professor of Operations Management
“In the past years, we have seen a dramatic spike of interest in quantum computing. Governments and companies alike have invested billions of dollars in the development of quantum technologies. Quantum technologies have been touted for their potential applications for dealing with complex tasks and problems in a wide range of sectors including manufacturing, engineering and finance.
Last year, for example IBM launched a quantum computer that has a 127-qubit processor and if all goes well, it will launch a 1121-qubit processor in 2023. In parallel, D-Wave plans to launch a 7000-qubit quantum annealer (a quantum computer dedicated solely to solving optimization problems) in 2023. Despite such investments and advances, we are still waiting for the first real practical applications of quantum computing.
One of the reasons for this may be the lack of powerful quantum algorithms. Even though the number of quantum algorithms is rapidly increasing (see e.g., https://quantumalgorithmzoo.org/), the most important algorithms are still those that have been published decades ago. I believe we are due for a breakthrough, and I hope this will happen in 2023.”
