E-commerce Orientation and Post-Pandemic Recovery: Evidence from Polish Textile Firms Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange

Tomasz Czajkowski; Sergio Luis Nanez Alonso; Ricardo Reier Forradellas; Anna Bacciarelli-Ulacha

doi:10.23762/FSO_VOL14_NO2_3

Published : 2026-06-24

Vol. 14 No. 2 (2026)

E-commerce Orientation and Post-Pandemic Recovery: Evidence from Polish Textile Firms Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange

Tomasz Czajkowski

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3449-2096

Sergio Luis Nanez Alonso

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5353-2017

Ricardo Reier Forradellas

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4790-0351

Anna Bacciarelli-Ulacha

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7988-0300

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23762/FSO_VOL14_NO2_3

Abstract

This research analyses the financial resilience of Polish textile and clothing firms listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW) during the period of the pandemic known as the “COVID-19 shock” and the subsequent recovery. A comparative, year-to-year analysis of ten firms’ net revenues, net profits, total assets, equity, and profitability ratios (ROA and ROE) was conducted using publicly available annual financial statements for 2017–2023, complemented by profitability heatmaps, a growth–profitability strategy map, and fixed-effects panel contrasts to assess post-pandemic recovery patterns. The findings indicate a widespread decline in performance in 2020, subsequently followed by a strong (but uneven) normalisation in 2021–2022 and a deceleration in 2023, with considerable variation among firms and business models. These patterns are consistent with the view that differences in firms’ strategic positioning, including the ability to sustain sales and operations under mobility restrictions, may be associated with faster recovery. In addition, the study operationalises digital/omnichannel orientation using public disclosures and online-sales intensity, finding that higher pre-pandemic online intensity is associated with stronger post-2020 performance in fixed-effects contrasts, while non-parametric “rebound” tests yield more mixed evidence, underscoring that the relationship is not automatic. The evidence suggests that listed firms were largely able to restore profitability after the initial shock, but financial outcomes diverged markedly across companies.

Keywords:

textile-clothing companies, financial results, Warsaw Stock Exchange, COVID-19, comparative analysis, firm performance, pandemic shock, e-commerce.

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Czajkowski, T., Nanez Alonso, S. L., Forradellas, R. R., & Bacciarelli-Ulacha, A. (2026). E-commerce Orientation and Post-Pandemic Recovery: Evidence from Polish Textile Firms Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Forum Scientiae Oeconomia, 14(2), 50–70. https://doi.org/10.23762/FSO_VOL14_NO2_3

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