Financing during the Covid-19-Pandemic. Is Leasing an Alternative Option for IT Equipment?

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2021 in the subject Business economics - Investment and Finance, University of applied sciences, Düsseldorf, language: English, abstract: The purpose of this paper is to introduce leasing as a financing alternative for IT equipment during the Corona pandemic and to provide an answer to the following research question: Did leasing gain relevance as a financing alternative during the Corona pandemic, and was it the appropriate type of financing for the companies? The Corona pandemic, which broke out in 2020, has endangered not only the health of many people but also the economic stability in Germany; many companies have become economically unstable as a result of the pandemic, as shown by the 4,8% drop in gross domestic product (GDP) in Germany. As a result, the federal government called for an economic shutdown to protect the population from the increasing number of Corona infections. The result was a massive drop in sales in many sectors like aviation and tourism. In addition, the German government's Corona Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance stipulates that employers are obliged to offer home offices, provided there are no operational reasons to the contrary. Therefore, the necessary IT equipment for the employees was usually unavailable and had to be procured. This is in direct contrast to the lack of liquidity of the companies due to the multiple slumps in sales. This resulted in resorting to alternative financing options, such as leasing.