Convergence and divergence in consumer behavior: implications for international retailing

Converging technology and disappearing income differences across countries will not lead to homogenization of consumer behavior. Rather, consumer behavior will become more heterogeneous because of cultural differences. As consumer incomes converge across countries, the manifestation of value differences will become stronger. This phenomenon makes it increasingly important to understand values of national cultures and their impact on consumer behavior. Retailing strategies for one country cannot be extended to other countries without adaptation. Hofstede’s model of national culture is applied to understand differences in consumer behavior across countries. Examples are provided of consumption differences, their relationships with culture discussed, and selected implications for international retailing management detailed.     

郑州市零售业态的优化策略

近几年,郑州市零售业发展迅速,但对业态演变的规律及结构认识不足,导致新兴业态的零售企业竞争优势不明显,应该把业态创新放在战略高度,根据不同地区经济发展水平、消费群体需求层次和消费习惯,适时发展新型零售业态,提高业态应变能力。     

外资零售企业在中国的经营战略研究

外资零售企业的进入 ,是影响我国零售业未来发展态势和我国本土零售企业未来经营状况的一个关键因子。对外资零售企业进入中国市场后在中国市场的经营战略体系进行了较为全面和深入研究的基础上 ,剖析了外资零售企业经营战略的组成特点。     

零售业的公司品牌化趋势——基于英国零售业品牌战略演变分析

本文以英国零售业品牌战略演变为个案研究对象，提出了零售业的公司品牌化趋势的观点。同时结合文献研究进一步印证了零售业日益清晰和普遍的公司品牌化意识。最后结合零售业业务特点和公司品牌内涵对该趋势形成动因进行了充分讨论。     

The Paradox of Competition in the World of Volatility

Abstract

This paper analyses the mechanism in which fashion is produced, marketed, and consumed from the viewpoints of the consumption and supply-side, in the midst of an increasingly complex meaning of fashion and dress in modernity. The focus of the study is a theoretical account of the paradoxical consequences of market orientation and supply chain management in the middle market of international fashion retailing in the light of the idiosyncrasy of the restraints that are innately embedded in the fashion industry. The result gleaned from this study has an implication for an alternative approach of market orientation in international fashion retailing especially in the industrial economies.     

全渠道零售：演化、过程与实施

近年来,传统零售企业业绩持续下滑,迫使其重新思考并创新现有零售渠道模式,全渠道零售受到理论界及企业界越来越多的关注,但很少有学者对全渠道零售行为过程进行全面而深入的剖析。梳理零售渠道演化过程可以发现,全渠道零售是零售渠道从单渠道、多渠道向跨渠道发展演化的高级阶段,零售企业的零售过程可分布于不同的零售渠道类型中,且多个渠道的零售过程可以任意相互整合,最后构成消费者完整的全渠道零售购买过程。在全渠道零售中,消费者在购买过程的每个阶段都面临着多种类型的渠道选择,其排列组合非常复杂,以消费者为中心的全渠道零售的实施可以更好地契合新的消费行为,为消费者带来更高的体验价值。为更好地实施全渠道零售,全渠道零售企业可基于全渠道零售过程的各个阶段,从全渠道信息传递、全渠道订单管理、全渠道支付、全渠道物流配送、全渠道服务以及全渠道数字客户关系管理等方面入手加以改进和完善。     

Barriers and stimuli to the use of information technology in retailing

The retail marketing environment is continuously changing. Changes in retail format, retailing processes and the competitive environment continue to create problems for retail management. This article examines the barriers and stimuli to the adoption of innovation in infonnation technology. Our objective is to demonstrate how managers might anticipate the problems associated with managing significant change and develop appropriate strategies to deal with such problems. Previous research has indicated that it is important to explore the views of a range of managers in the organization. Much of the previous research has relied on a single respondent from many organizations to provide an accurate picture. This research does not follow that tradition. It uses the views of more than one hundred managers within one organization. The research explores the relative attractiveness of the innovation to individual managers, the organization's receptivity to change and the presence or absence of a 'product' champion. It ends with recommendations on ways of improving the rate of acceptance of such technologies.     

Hypermarkets and the Small Retailers in Malaysia: Exploring Retailers' Competitive Abilities

The emergence of multinational retailers, especially in grocery retailing, has changed the retail scenario in Malaysia over the last decade. In the past, grocery retail formats such as supermarkets, minimarkets, and night markets dominated the Malaysian retail scene, consumers are now given the choice of shopping in large retail outlets where new retail formats such as hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, and superstores now thrive and are increasingly gaining in popularity. Interestingly, large retail concepts are predominantly associated with multinational retailers such as Carrefour, Makro, Giant, and Tesco. The presence of large retailers brings with it the question of dominance and implications of changing customer preferences. This study assesses the perception of small retailers toward their abilities to compete effectively in an industry where large, multinational retailers appear to be dominating. It appears, however, that the small retailers possess distinctive qualities in relation to their strategic inputs that can essentially differentiate them from their larger competitors. It is suggested that some regulatory measures especially by local authorities are necessary, but this must not be to a point of curbing healthy competition among the different types of retailers.     

我国零售业国际化战略研究

目前,相比外资零售业,我国零售业在国际竞争中处于劣势.文章分析了我国零售业国际化的必要性与可行性,认为本土零售业要想在国际市场上取胜,必须走国际化经营之路,并且有针对性地提出了跨国经营的战略.     

我国零售业电子商务发展探讨

当前,我国零售业电子商务发展存在的问题,主要体现在信息不对称影响消费者决策,交易双方的信用难以确保,支付安全问题令人担忧,物流体系滞后制约零售业电子商务发展等方面.政府应从完善信用体系,保障支付安全,加强物流系统建设,重视人才培养等方面入手,切实解决零售业电子商务在发展过程中存在的问题,从而实现我国零售业电子商务的新发展.     

传统零售模式与网络零售模式的融合

互联网在商业上的广泛应用 ,已从根本上改变了零售业的运作 ,网上购买使顾客的购买活动不受时间的限制 ,而且可使顾客获得定制化的产品和服务。传统零售商们已认识到他们不能再忽视网上零售的重要性及其发展的潜力 ,应建立一个多渠道的包括传统零售和网上零售的商业模式 ,以便更好地为顾客提供增值服务。     

消费行为与企业战略的融合——不同零售业态的价格定位及其市场细分战略

现代零售业态发展趋于多元化,零售企业针对不同消费者的价格敏感程度来定位零售商品的价格,从而选择不同的销售渠道即经营业态,通过不同产品线的组合来满足不同层次消费者的需求。以此来体现企业的市场细分战略,形成顾客忠诚,实现其经济效益的最大化。     

Congruity's role in website attitude formation

Retailers with physical stores that also have an online presence (one form of multi-channel retailers) have unique challenges. Consumers bringing their prior attitudes towards the retailer to the site is one such challenge. However, researchers studying website issues focus only on consumers' evaluations of website characteristics, failing to account for how prior attitudes towards the firm and congruity of the website with the retailer's physical store image might affect information processing and attitude formation. The current study draws on categorization theory, by proposing that increases in the congruity between the retailer's known offline and their online presence should decrease the emphasis new visitors place on website characteristics (a piecemeal process) and increase the influence of their prior attitudes towards the firm (an attitude transfer process). Results support predictions and provide guidance for multi-channel retailers.     

Factors That Distinguish Proactive Versus Reactive Exporters: Decisions by Export Firms in a Developing Country

This study explored factors that distinguish proactive versus reactive export marketing strategies of Zimbabwean export companies. It identified key variables that contributed most to the discrimination between proactive firms with high levels of adaptation of export marketing strategy against reactive exporters with low levels of adaptation of export marketing strategy. Data were collected through a structured multi-item questionnaire involving a randomly selected sample of 105 exporting organizations. The overseas experience of management and strategic orientation of the company, cultural values, and legislation were found as key variables that discriminated between reactive exporting firms using low adaptation of export marketing strategy from those proactive exporters with high adaptations.     

Determinants of website traffic: the case of European fashion apparel retailers

The globalization process together with the extraordinary growth in the use of Internet offer firms new growth opportunities. Retail firms are using a multichannel approach, involving the Internet, in their internationalization strategies. Website traffic as measured by unique users and online awareness is among the measures for assessing the success of the online channel. There is little evidence, however, linking website traffic and the characteristics of the retail multichannel internationalization process. In order to fill this gap, this paper analyses the factors explaining the retailer's international website traffic. Website traffic data for a sample of European fashion apparel retailers are modelled as dependent on characteristics of the organization and of its physical and virtual internationalization strategy. Following the results of several linear regression models, we infer the complementarity of online and offline channels in the international operation, as well as the contribution of social networks as traffic generators.