Technologies of Translocality: Vegetables,Meat and Dresses in Arab Muslim Detroit

The diversification of US suburbs in terms of race, ethnicity and immigration has created invaluable opportunities for scholars to study technologies of translocality‐in‐the‐making. Translocal landscapes are described as spaces of ‘here' studded with ‘parts of elsewhere' (Allen and Cochrane, 2007 )—but which pieces of the landscape count as meaningfully ‘of elsewhere', how do those parts get there, and what range of meanings can they signify? This article is based on qualitative, in‐depth interviews and explores these questions in the context of an Arab Muslim ethnic enclave and retail district in an inner‐ring suburb of Detroit. The findings indicate that ‘parts of elsewhere' are more internally pluralized, multifunctional, multidirectional and aesthetically diverse than commonly recognized. The implications of these findings challenge scholars to develop more robust frameworks to explain how translocal geographies are produced, why they matter, and how they can be recognized.     

‘I didn't feel like I was alone anymore’: evaluating self‐organised employee coping practices conducted via Facebook

The long‐term fracturing of the labour movement has led to increased attention to employee coping practices under new management practices and labour processes. However, the literature caters little for the recent rise of employees taking to social networking sites (SNSs), such as Facebook, to find ways to cope with the pressures of contemporary employment. To explore the self‐organised coping qualities of SNSs, interviews were conducted with front line workers, employed by a large anti‐trade union US retailer, who contribute to a self‐organised Facebook group set up as a place for fellow employees to deal with collective employment‐related problems. The main findings suggest employee self‐organised Facebook groups represent an important development and extension to the coping practices available to individual and groups of employees. The main implication of the findings is that Facebook groups appear to strengthen and widen the options for employee resilience in an age of continuing trade union retreat.     

Growth factors of store brands in different store formats in Italy

Since the beginning of the consumer crisis, which in Italy can be traced back to the second half of 2008, there has been a significant development of store brands? market share which has reached close to 25% in some leader groups (for example Coop, Conad, Esselunga). The acceleration of the rate of penetration of store brands differs by category and store format. The main reason for this result is the different consumer purchase behavior. In this framework, this work aims at analyzing the elements that have determined the store brands success in the main store format (hypermarket, supermarket, convenience store), through analysis of single retail mix levers management. The factors that have mostly influenced the growth in store brands, in each store format, are investigated throughout a complete informative retail database. The aim of this study is to verify whether the management of the individual retail mix levers produces the same results in different store formats. Additional enhancement to the understanding of store brands management and further support to modern distribution management policies are also provided. A relevant finding is that the performance of store formats depends on the use of specific retail mix levers.     

Standalone CSR reporting by U.S. retail companies

We investigate first-time use of standalone CSR reporting in the U.S. retail industry. We find it is limited to publicly traded companies and that environmental rather than other social disclosures are most prominent. We document that firms focus on discussing CSR initiatives and programs as opposed to providing performance data, suggesting the reports are more about image enhancement than transparent accountability. We explore impacts of the choice to disclose, and our findings suggest that standalone CSR reporting by the retail companies appears to positively influence perceptions of company reputation, and may be leading to increased appeal to socially responsible investors.     

Relationship Commitment and Ethical Consumer Behavior in a Retail Setting: The Case of Receiving Too Much Change at the Checkout

In this study, we conducted two experiments to examine the effect of relationship commitment on the reaction of shoppers to receiving too much change, controlling for the amount of excess change. Hypotheses based on equity theory, opportunism and guilt were set up and tested. The first study showed that, when the less committed consumer is confronted with a large excess of change, he/she is less likely to report this mistake, compared with a small excess. Conversely, consumers with a high commitment towards the retailer are more likely to tell when they receive too much change, especially when the amount is large. The second experiment provided an explanation for these findings: the less committed consumer is driven by opportunism, whereas guilt-related feelings play an important role in a high commitment relationship. These results have several implications for both retail management and future research.     

日本《大店法》的形成与废止

日本制定<大店法>的初衷是为了调整大规模零售店铺的零售业务活动,协调超市、百货店及中小零售商业者的业务范围,而不是抵挡限制外资流通企业的进入.本文认为,<大店法>在日本是一部自相矛盾,违背自由竞争原则,阻碍流通现代化,抑制日本零售业国际竞争力的法律,其预期目标与实际效果大相径庭,其教训和经验值得我们深思.文章指出,在零售业发展阶段,政府用调整的手段往往是事与愿违.     

政府规制行为异化的理论分析--以中国零售业为例

在开放条件下,为提高本土零售业对外资的抗衡能力,政府本应采取一定的产业保护政策,并对外资的不正当竞争行为进行规制;但事实上,部分地方政府却对外资进入给予“超国民待遇”。本文对地方政府规制行为异化的根源进行的理论分析认为:地方政府规制行为异化与政府规制机构的产生、人员的任命与构成、政绩的评价体系以及本土零售业的多数劣势有关。文章最后分析了WTO架构下政府对零售业的规制选择。     

零售企业的物流模式及其影响因素研究

本文以零售企业的物流活动作为研究对象,通过实地走访调查和案例分析,研究了零售企业在中国目前条件下所采用的物流模式,以及影响零售企业选择物流模式的主要因素。调查与分析结果显示:第一,在目前的零售物流中,供应商主导的物流模式占居主导地位,而其中又以M12(供应商→零售商→消费者)最为普遍;第二,被调查的大部分零售企业使用了两种以上的物流模式,其中一种是主要的,其他则是辅助的;第三,即使采用相同的物流模式,各个企业的具体操作方法也有很多不同。第四,一些因素(如供应商的规模与实力、物流成本、产品特点和环境条件)被普遍认为对零售企业选择物流模式有影响,而另外一些因素(如零售企业的规模和实力、物流对零售企业成功的影响程度、零售企业的经营组织形式和业态等)则只被个别企业认为对其选择物流模式有影响。本文最后对这些结果的意义进行了讨论。     

B2C网站整合传统连锁零售企业的探讨

B2C网站整合传统连锁零售业,可解决B2C电子商务发展过程中遇到的物流难题,通过这种整合,连锁经营企业也快速拓展了电子商务业务,两者的结合,可实现优势互补,资源共享,应进一步探讨整合的实施对策。     

新形势下出境游发展应处理好几个关系

2002年7月1日《中国公民出国旅游管理办法》的实施，将我国出境旅游带入一个历史新阶段，表现出五大发展特点。因此，现阶段出境游发展需要重新认识形势，重新定位市场，重新思考发展策略。在此基础上，对出国游组团社提出了五个建议：珍惜特许经营权；加强自律，规范经营、网络化、品牌化发展；三大旅游市场全面推进；努力争取进行跨国经营。文章分析认为，出境游组团社之间实行互为代理，有利于促进旅行社在营销层次的网络化，推动形成批发与零售的专业化分工体系。