First foreign grocery retailer enters the Finnish market—a stakeholder model

Finnish grocery retailing has until recently been dominated by four major domestic retail groups. The first totally foreign grocery retailer, hard discount chain Lidl, was the first entrant into the Finnish market. This paper describes and analyses the entry process of Lidl from the perspective of the stakeholder groups in the host market. The stakeholder model of foreign retailer entry is used as a framework in exploring the stages of the entry as well as the reactions, roles and motives of the relevant stakeholders. Secondary data was collected from articles published in newspapers and business magazines and minutes of the municipal board meetings. The three stakeholder attributes—power, legitimacy and urgency—characterize the reactions of the stakeholders.     

Crafting Integrated Multichannel Retailing Strategies

Multichannel retailing is the set of activities involved in selling merchandise or services to consumers through more than one channel. Multichannel retailers dominate today's retail landscape. While there are many benefits of operating multiple channels, these retailers also face many challenges. In this article, we discuss the key issues concerning multichannel retailing, including the motivations and constraints of going multichannel, the challenges of crafting multichannel retailing strategies and opportunities for creating synergies across channels, key retail mix decisions facing multichannel retailers, and the dynamics of multichannel retailing. We synthesize current knowledge drawn from the academic literature and industry practice, and discuss potential directions for future research.     

Perceived usefulness of innovative technology in retailing: Consumers׳ and retailers׳ point of view

Technology has always played important role in retailing. On one hand, technology enables retailers to improve their services to customers, to improve their management operations and reduce their cost as well. On the other hand, technology brings some benefits to consumers related to short lines at checkouts, higher speed in providing services in the store, no pricing errors, loyalty card programmes, etc. The main purpose of the paper is to discuss the benefits and limitations of technology in retailing in general. For the purpose of getting better insight into the importance of new technological solutions for retailers and consumers, different areas of technology in retailing have been explored in the selected retail context of the Republic of Croatia. The findings of the two-phase study, including a qualitative and a quantitative approach, suggest that innovative technology help consumers to make their shopping decisions, while better understanding of consumer goals and related stored information in turn would help retailers to develop successful retail strategy.     

An Exploratory Framework for Analysing International Retail Learning

It is argued that international retail research has overlooked an essential component of the retail internationalization process, notably learning. This paper proposes an exploratory framework that enables the application of learning theory to the study of international retailing. The paper provides a meaningful starting point for developing an overarching framework which would represent one sort of re-conceptualization of the retail internationalization process, and arguably a new perspective for reinterpreting, re-evaluating and refining the existing literature on international retailing. Alongside this exploratory framework, we present a series of research propositions that might serve as an agenda for research into international retail learning. The paper concludes with a summary of the key themes and ways in which the area of international retail learning may be investigated.     

Is the system reliability profitable for retailing and consumer service of a dynamical system under cross-price elasticity of demand?

Retailing strategy is one of the most crucial factors for industries. A proper retailing strategy can help to enhance consumer service and increase the industry's profit. An improved approach to retailing is suggested in this research to deliver superior customer service while maximizing profits in a dynamic system. The study analyzes a retailing strategy for a demand with cross-price elasticity upon the retail price. A product's cross-price elasticity and the system reliability are critical factors in retailing. Understanding the cross-price elasticity of demand between products helps retailers to make pricing decisions that maximize profits by maintaining demand. Imperfect products are produced due to an imperfect production system. The imperfect ones must be adjusted with some costs to make them perfect for better retailing. The system failure rate is crucial for retailing under cross-price elasticity of demand patterns. Production system reliability, cross-price elasticity of demand, and consumer service are all essential factors that can impact a company's success in the market. The production rate is considered time- and system failure rate-dependent. Contradictory to the literature, a dynamical system is proposed for improved retail management, which is solved using the Euler-Lagrange theory. Finally, one can achieve the expected maximum profit for this retail system with optimum selling prices for different products by reducing the system failure rate. Some numerical illustrations with graphical representations are provided to validate the current study. Numerical examples show that applying cross-price elasticity of demand for more than two identical products provides 35% more profit for the retail industry than a single type of product.     

The Role of Big Data and Predictive Analytics in Retailing

The paper examines the opportunities in and possibilities arising from big data in retailing, particularly along five major data dimensions—data pertaining to customers, products, time, (geo-spatial) location and channel. Much of the increase in data quality and application possibilities comes from a mix of new data sources, a smart application of statistical tools and domain knowledge combined with theoretical insights. The importance of theory in guiding any systematic search for answers to retailing questions, as well as for streamlining analysis remains undiminished, even as the role of big data and predictive analytics in retailing is set to rise in importance, aided by newer sources of data and large-scale correlational techniques. The Statistical issues discussed include a particular focus on the relevance and uses of Bayesian analysis techniques (data borrowing, updating, augmentation and hierarchical modeling), predictive analytics using big data and a field experiment, all in a retailing context. Finally, the ethical and privacy issues that may arise from the use of big data in retailing are also highlighted.     

Retail formations: tracing the fluid forms of an online retailer

ABSTRACT

Change has often been said to characterise retailing, and research on retail change is extensive. However, though much of that research has focused on retail formats, it has not sufficiently addressed the fluid nature of retailing and how its formats emerge. This paper offers a more dynamic conceptualisation of retail format change by introducing the concept of retail formation. Taking a constructivist market studies approach and drawing upon an ethnographic study of a Swedish consumer electronics retailer, the paper shows how retail formations are continually being made in a dynamic process that can be initiated by various actors, does not necessarily follow a logical order, and commonly produces unexpected results. The concept of retail formation allows us to better understand the increasing fluidity of retailing enabling us to trace complex market processes, examine multiple actors simultaneously, and taking into account the socio-historical and socio-cultural dynamics involved in shaping retail markets.     

Banks,grocers and the changing retailing of financial services in Britain

The entry of the three largest grocery retailers into retail financial services marks an escalation of competition in financial services retailing in Britain. This paper explores the increasingly porous boundaries between banking and retailing, focusing on changes in the economics of information gathering, shifts in the production, marketing and consumption of retail financial services, and a series of changes in the competitive and regulatory environment of grocery retailing. The paper argues that grocery retailers’ moves into financial services raise important issues concerning both the management of strategic alliances and their impact on social inclusion and exclusion. The paper elaborates on this argument by examining four potentially problematic issues arising from the alliances between banks and retailers: the shifting geographies of financial services provision, the development and maintenance of brand leadership, the production and use of management knowledge and consumers’ access to financial services.     

Innovations in Retail Business Models

A retail business model articulates how a retailer creates value for its customers and appropriates value from the markets. Innovations in business models are increasingly critical for building sustainable advantage in a marketplace defined by unrelenting change, escalating customer expectations, and intense competition. Drawing from extant strategy and retailing research, we propose that innovations in retail business models are best viewed as changes in three design components: (1) the way in which the activities are organized, (2) the type of activities that are executed, and (3) the level of participation of the actors engaged in performing those activities. We propose six major ways in which retailers could innovate their business models to enhance value creation and appropriation beyond the levels afforded by traditional approaches to retailing. We also describe the drivers of business model innovations, the potential consequences of such innovations, and numerous examples from retail practice that highlight our concepts and arguments. In doing so, we provide a starting point for academic research in a domain that is deficient in theoretical and empirical research, and offer retailing managers a framework to guide retail business model innovations for sustainable competitive advantage.     

The Influence of Moral Philosophy on Retail Salespeople's Ethical Perceptions

The relatively minimal literature on ethics in a retail selling context indicates that retail sales personnel perceive that their job creates ethical dilemmas. However, what drives those beliefs is virtually unknown. Investigations in non‐retailing venues have found that employees’ moral philosophy (or ideology) influences whether they view a particular situation, action, or behavior as unacceptable (ethically inappropriate). The present study extends previous retail sales ethics research by examining the impact of retail salespersons’ moral philosophy on their perceptions of situations that are potentially ethically troublesome. Findings reveal some evidence that moral philosophy does indeed have an effect on retail salespeople's ethical beliefs. The impact of these results on the consumer is brought out through a discussion of the various implications from the vantage point of consumer welfare.     

Does management experience change the ethical perceptions of retail professionals: A comparison of the ethical perceptions of current students with those of recent graduates?

The purpose of this study was to extend the previous research on ethics in retailing. Prior research of Dornoff and Tankersley (1985–1976), Gifford and Norris (1987), Norris and Gifford (1988), and Burns and Rayman (1989) examined the ethics orientation of retail sales persons, sales managers, and business school students. These studies found the college students less ethically-oriented than retail sales people and retail managers. The present study attempts to extend the research on ethics formation to a geographically and academically diverse sample, and to determine if retail management experience in the form of a professional practicum or internship, or entry level management training programs, such as experienced by recent graduates, are critical factors in the formation of business ethics. The sample consisted of thirty-three students majoring in Human Ecology with a concentration in Retail Merchandising and 51 recent graduates of the retail Merchandising program. The series of fourteen vignettes developed by Dornoff and Tankersley (1975–1976) was used. An acknowledged limitation of this study is the validity of the questionnaire developed by Dornoff and Tankersley due to the method of development and new laws concerning warranties and credit etc. which have occurred since 1976. The instrument was used, however, to maintain consistency with earlier studies for the purpose of comparison of groups. No significant differences were found in the students' perceptions of the fourteen actions presented in the vignettes, but the range of the responses in the post-internship tests increased in many cases. The alumni appeared to be slightly more ethical than the students but not as ethical as the managers surveyed in 1986 by Norris and Gifford. Indications are that the critical point of ethics formation may be at the mid-management level and that internships and management training programs have little effect on the ethical perceptions of participants. These findings are consistent with studies such as Gable and Topol (1988), and Jordan and Davis (1990) which showed high Machiavellian scores among young retailing executives, often buyers, as opposed to upper level retailing management. Scales with measure Machiavellianism, or manipulativeness, have been used as an alternative method of examining business ethics.Dr. DuPont is director of the Retail Merchandising Program at The University of Texas at Austin. She held numerous executing retailing positions with Federated Stores and Associated Dry Goods before entering academia. Dr. DuPont has established and supervised retail merchandising programs at two state universities. She has published work related to retail internships, human relations, and employer evaluation and motivation.Dr. Craig teaches in the Textiles and Apparel area at The University of Texas at Austin. She did a dissertation concerning entrepreneurship in the apparel industry.     

Beyond adoption: sustaining online shopping

Online retailing has the potential to offer remote areas a wider marketplace for their retail products and also a concomitant increase in income. Drawing on secondary Internet-based research, this paper considers the fortunes and future of online retailing in a number of the remote British Overseas Territories. It will become apparent that Internet retailing is an important strategic option for retailers in such isolated locations, but greater attention needs to be paid to issues surrounding operations and logistics, payment systems and merchandising. It is also seen how, despite its apparent ‘placelessness’, the Internet and associated online selling cannot escape the realities of space and distance.     

Strategizing Retailing in the New Technology Era

The world of retailing is being reimagined and transformed at breakneck speeds due to new technologies, as well as due to changes in consumer purchasing behavior resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This dynamic retail marketplace is forcing retailers to strategize how to best position themselves to survive and flourish in this environment. Recognizing that we are at a critical inflection point in the world of retailing, we conceptualize a Strategic Wheel of Retailing in the new technology era that emphasizes technology as the core enabler of the strategies related to the 6Ps of retailing (retail place and supply chain management, product, pricing, promotion, personnel, and presentation). In particular, the articles calls for retailers to carefully their review their competitive ecosystem as they adapt to the new technologies, raises some issues, and offers new directions for further research on how technology can be leveraged to design profitable retail strategies.     

Partial Utilitarianism as a suggested ethical framework for evaluating corporate mergers and acquisitions

Prior literature on ethical concerns in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) has often concluded that many stakeholders, such as workers and communities, have unjustly suffered as a result of takeovers and associated defences and that their rights as stakeholders have been violated. However, very few papers provide any guidance on how to evaluate a merger or acquisition from an ethical standpoint. This study looks at how ethical frameworks could be used to assess the ethical impact of a merger or acquisition and gives practical guidance. It is proposed that decision makers should consider the impact on four stakeholder groups: shareholders, employees, customers and directors. We call the proposed method for doing this Partial Utilitarian analysis. We suggest two possible ways of applying the Partial Utilitarian analysis. One approach could rely on the evidence from a sample of recent deals. For this, empirical analysis is conducted on a sample of large M&As in the United Kingdom in the period 1993–2003. Alternatively, a better approach, requiring considerable management time, requires forecasting of the economic impact on the four groups of stakeholders. The paper shows how to do this.     

The ‘online high street’ or the high street online? The implications for the urban retail hierarchy

The U.K. has the greatest proportion of online sales in Europe. This study seeks to explore the differential effects of online retailing on the (evolving) hierarchy of shopping centres by examining current trends and underlying forces. The overall objectives of the paper are to qualify and explore the influence of online retailing in the decision-making processes of leading retailers today; and to assess how virtual influences become manifest in the tangible built environment and have impacted the retail hierarchy? It differentiates online retail trends by sector and retailer size, and examines the consequences for different types of shopping centres. The empirical research is based on the changing location of stores of a major fashion retailer and interviews with three of Britain’s leading retailers that have seen the more substantial increase in online turnover in recent years. Major retailers are found to have integrated online offerings, such as click and collect, into a ‘multi-channel’ retailing approach. Online retailing has therefore become an inherent and central element within large retailers’ business and therefore real estate strategies, with considerations such as online marketplace penetration and possible ‘cannibalisation’ coming to the fore in decision-making about store location. Online retail sales are, to a degree, drawing sales away from shopping centres but its impact on the existing shopping hierarchy is largely to reinforce established long-term trends driven by the motor age and the shift to out of town retailing. This is symbolised by the largest ‘high street’ fashion retailer now having more branches in retail parks than town centres. Out of town shopping centres for example are benefitting because of the ease of goods collection offered by these locations.     

The response of the UK's eight largest grocery retail organizations to growing environmental concern

Environmental issues have had an impact on grocery retailing in the UK, with all the large organizations responding to growing public concern for the environment. The proposition of ‘choice’ availability in large retail outlets is such that the demands of the greener consumer have led to the sourcing and supply of greener products and the provision of a greener retail environment.     

Economic Success Factors in Spanish Small Retail Businesses. An Analysis Based on Sector-Relative Definitions

The purpose of this study was to carry out a sectorial analysis of the strategic profile of successful small businesses in Spanish retailing. First, a one-dimensional statistical formalisation of the concept of small business was proposed, based on yearly sales revenue and relative to the sector. Likewise, some statistical formalisations of the concept of economic success were proposed, based on profit margins and also relativised according to sector. Once a conceptual framework was established, a sectorial model of strategic characterisation of successful small retailing firms was developed. The results of applying these proposals to the Spanish retail industry confirmed the importance of a sectorial approach as opposed to an overall analysis. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The market orientation-performance link: the role of service reliability

International alliances in retailing are a fairly new phenomenon. A range of relationships is being formed between retailers in order to take advantage of new opportunities and to counter the threats created by the internationalisation of retailing. This paper proposes a taxonomy of the range of alliances being formed between and among retailers, giving evidence from the UK retail sector to support the taxonomy. A comprehensive identification of UK retailer presence in international alliances is presented, along with a discussion on the potential advantages that accrue from membership of an alliance. We conclude by highlighting further issues for discussion.     

How Technology is Changing Retail

Retailing is undergoing a remarkable transformation brought by recent advances in technology. In this paper, we provide a deep discussion of and look ahead on how technology is changing retail, starting with a classification of technologies that impact retailing, in particular, in the COVID-19 and beyond world. We discuss different theoretical frameworks or lenses to better understand the role of technology in retailing. We identify and elaborate on the drivers and outcomes of technology adoption by shoppers, retailers, employees, and suppliers. We speculate on future retail scenarios and outline future research avenues on technology and retailing. We close by concluding that technology is not only reshaping retailing, but also allowing retailing to pivot in the face of new and unforeseen circumstances.