Organizational climate for innovation and creativity – a study in Swedish retail organizations

ABSTRACT

Innovation in retailing is under-investigated in academia and yet a highly relevant concern given the current changes in the retail landscape. Although retailing is often characterized by a dynamic and highly competitive environment, retail organizations are not often considered as ‘innovative,’ at least when compared with manufacturing industries, or when using existing innovation frameworks in academic literature. There are many aspects of innovation discussed in literature and a need to consider different ways of looking into retail’s innovativeness. Among them, the importance of organizational climate on influencing creativity and innovation may help explain how to enable innovation in service organizations, such as retailers. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the climate for innovation and creativity and examine how retail organizations perceive it. We applied a mixed-methods approach using an established organizational climate survey and semi-structured, one-on-one interviews regarding the innovation climate and other aspects of innovation management in the companies. The study shows that despite retail organizations still struggling to incorporate innovation on a strategic level and move beyond incremental developments in their operations, retailers score positively on being innovative regarding certain dimensions of the organizational climate survey. This indicates that retailers (especially conventional ones) could benefit from challenging current practices and moving towards becoming more active and strategic innovators since their organizational climate to a certain extent allows for it. Respondents within the organizations also express a need for better innovation support, whether it is through established structures and processes or an improvement in the current conditions of the organizational climate. How retailers could enable themselves to become more active innovators – based on what we know that retailers look more towards entrepreneurship and continuous development as a driving force rather than formalized innovation practices per se – is a potential avenue for further research.     

中国零售业创新研究

中国零售业在近20年的快速发展过程中取得了令人瞩目的成绩。自从2004年零售业全面对外资开放以来,越来越多的外资零售企业进入中国市场,给国内零售企业带来了很大的竞争压力。单纯地依靠学习、借鉴、模仿国外零售业的发展方式已经不能适应当下激烈的市场竞争,因此零售业的创新迫在眉睫。通过对国内零售业现状进行分析,阐明创新对于国内零售业的重要性以及应该走何种创新之路。     

A 20-year evolution of internships: implications for retail interns,employers and educators

For decades, retail educators and companies have agreed that internships play a vital role in students' retail education. Overall, the perceived value of internships/internship programmes and the attitude towards them have remained fairly stable and positive. However, the role of internships, their structure and the way they are administered have changed. After reviewing relevant literature, we identified five dimensions as major trends/changes regarding internships or internship programmes over the past 20 years: 1) internships: the new recruiting tool; 2) increased endorsement of internships by retailers and educators; 3) paid vs. non-paid internships: a legal issue?; 4) structure of internship programmes revamped; and 5) socialization of interns: creating a bond. Each dimension is discussed in detail and practical implications for retail interns, employers and educators are presented.     

Conceptualising innovative customer-facing responses to planning regulation: the UK food retailers

While receiving extensive coverage across a wide range of industries, brand adaptation in the face of regulatory change has been largely under-researched in the field of retail marketing management. This paper seeks to fill this void by reviewing the strategic customer-facing responses of the leading UK food retailers to the tightening of retail land-use planning regulations; in doing so, this paper exposes a highly variable range of strategies that include store format adaptation, new format development, entry into new markets and more controversially the outright challenging of government regulation. The findings underline that although regulatory intervention can serve to restrict continued expansion, it can also encourage customer-focused innovation where well-established retail brands retain market focus but modify the shape of their ongoing growth.     

零售专业技能的跨国转移与零售本土化问题研究

零售专业技能的跨国转移与零售本土化问题是零售国际化理论研究的一个重要环节,对跨国零售商海外经营的成败有着重要的作用。本文对零售专业技能的内涵与构成进行了全新的界定,认为零售专业技能由零售技术、零售文化以及零售业态三部分构成,每一部分又可以分解成固化性与操作性两个层面,在此基础之上构建起零售专业技能跨国转移的理论框架,认为零售专业技能的固化性层面在跨国转移过程中应该进行标准化的复制,而操作性层面则可以进行不同程度的本土化调整,进而论文围绕零售专业技能操作性层面在跨国转移过程中的调整行为深入分析了跨国零售本土化边界与策略问题。     

国际零售业发展趋势及我国零售业发展的对策

2004年底,我国取消了对外商投资商业企业在地域、股权和数量等方面的限制,中国零售业全面对外资开放。随着跨国零售集团的大举进入,我国零售企业面临严峻的挑战。所以,必须考察在经济全球化条件下世界零售业的发展趋势,从中比较分析中外零售业的竞争优势、劣势,从而采取适当的对策来提升我国零售业的国际竞争力。     

Retail corporate groups: Challenges of omnichannel management in Japan

Abstract

The omnichannel varies across countries due to different retail environments and retailers’ growth strategies. The Japanese big retailers’ omnichannel can be characterized by having multiple retail formats, such as department stores, general merchandise stores, convenience stores, specialty stores, Internet stores, and so on. They have grown by multiplying retail formats to appeal to different customer segments, and they have unique challenges in managing an omnichannel with many retail formats. These are (1) extremely wide variety of merchandise, (2) enormous quantity of data from transaction, inventory, logistics, and customers, (3) different organization structures and management, and (4) unique organizational capabilities in each retail format. From these challenges, we could propose further research issues as follows: (1) theoretical consideration of boundary-spanning functions among retail formats, (2) international comparative analysis reflecting the different conditions in each country, and (3) clarifying the characteristics of the omnichannel shopper in the Japanese omnichannel environment.     

Evolution of retail formats: Past,present, and future

In this paper, the authors review current literature on retail formats and propose a new customer-centric framework for retailers to focus on as they continue to innovate and evolve. Specifically, they review the literature on how formats compare in their attributes and compete with each other; the role of customer behavior in format choice; and developments in multichannel and omnichannel retailing. They propose a framework for retail formats suggesting two paths – either reduce friction in the customer journey or enhance customer experience. They discuss the challenges faced by offline (physical store-first) and online (digital-first) retailers and elaborate on strategies each type of retailer is pursuing to address these challenges. Finally, they offer directions for future research in this domain. They conclude by calling for newer digital-first and physical-first players to continue coming up with different customer-centric formats, which they predict will slowly morph into integrated retailers, leaving space for newer players to enter the market and hence keep the wheel of retailing spinning.     

Market and Product Diversification: The Evidence From Retailing

This study explored the number of international regions in which retailers operate, the assortment of product categories they offer their customers, and the effects of these market and product category diversification strategies on retail sales volumes. The analysis used sales data about 246 global large-scale retail stores from diverse industries and countries of origin. We found that both strategies have positive effects on retail sales volumes. The two strategies interact such that the positive effect of market expansion on retail sales volumes is larger for retailers who also follow a strategy of greater product category diversity.     

British co-operative societies as retail innovators: Interpreting the early stages of the self-service revolution

This article examines the early stages of the self-service and supermarket innovations in post-war Britain. It does so in the context of co-operative retailers and in particular investigates both why such organizations were pre-eminent in the adoption of self-service as well as how they interpreted the innovation. These ideas are framed within a more general discussion of the ‘models’ of retail innovation and especially the notion of format innovations.     

Latin American retail: where modernity blends with tradition

Latin America's retail landscape has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. Attracted by deregulation and a sizable and growing market, modern retailers arrived looking for the next El Dorado. But signs of maturity appeared much before expected. Traditional retailers modernized their offer, while keeping their appeal to the emerging consumers. While chain retail has concentrated earlier than expected – and faster by the hand of crisis that are usual in emerging markets –, local chains have developed formats which add modernity to their understanding of their customers' base. By providing better access through convenience and credit to a broader range that even includes affordable design and quality, local chains are showing the way to the growing mass customers that form Latin America's new emerging middle class. And leveraging on this customer understanding, they are redefining concepts like convenience and crossing borders to grab the opportunity of the new emerging consumers. This article covers the evolution of retailing in Latin America over the past two decades, and provides insights on the segment that has brought the most significant growth: emerging consumers.     

业态变迁学说及其促进我国流通创新的政策建议

本文认为零售业态的变迁是一个国家和地区社会发展、经济增长和技术变革的必然产物,探讨了零售业态的各种学说,分析了我国零售业态的发展现状,提出促进我国零售业态发展和流通创新的政策建议.     

Re-imagining retailers’ co-operatives

This article gives clarity to the area of retailers’ co-operatives. It provides a discussion on the different types of co-operatives and their identifying characteristics. This is to clear up common misunderstandings and misapplication of the word retail co-operative in the literature and popular culture and allow for further research in the area of retailers’ co-operatives. This article also provides a discussion of the drivers and developmental path for retail co-operation as a strategy for independent retailers. Three types of retail co-operation are discussed in this way namely buying groups, retailers’ co-operatives and retailers’ co-operative retail chains. The differences between a retailers’ co-operative retail chain and a corporate retail chain are then elucidated. Finally, managerial implications are provided surrounding retail strategy. This research is important as it provides greater understanding of a very successful retail format that has not been studied in depth, a format that allows for sustainable retail development and growth. This article enables further study in the area along with clarity on terms and dimensions.     

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.     

我国零售业公司价值特征影响因素研究——基于零售上市公司的实证分析

自我国零售业全面对外开放以来,本土零售商在拥有更广阔发展空间的同时必须面对外资零售商的进入带给其的竞争压力。因此,零售企业不再只关注其目前获利情况,更为关注的是公司的长远利益,即公司价值。文章将公司价值与零售业相融合,力求探讨一个行业代表性的价值因素,使本土零售企业能够明确自身定位。研究选取零售业全面开放后2005-2010年六年零售上市公司的年报数据为样本数据,在国内外学者研究基础上从资本结构、股权结构、规模经济、人力资本、产业因素及财务因素综合分析零售业公司价值的特征因素,为今后有关零售业进一步研究提供参考价值并对其未来发展提出合理化建议。     

Traces of foreign retailers – local knowledge-spillovers and strategy adaption within retail internationalization

ABSTRACT

Since the 1990s certain retail companies have evolved into some of the largest and most dispersed transnational corporations worldwide. However, within the ‘new era of retail distribution’ retailers are increasingly divesting from foreign markets. This study addresses these recent and under-explored dynamics by revealing the traces transnational retail corporations leave after divesting from a country. It explores the aspect of learning of host market retailers from entering transnational corporations (TNCs) and examines how foreign knowledge is adjusted in the business strategies of these local actors. It takes a fresh empirical slant using qualitative interviews with host market retail managers including former TNCs’ subsidiaries operating under domestic ownership. The emerging economy of Turkey serves as an empirical example. The paper finds that foreign retailers transfer firm-specific resources to the local retail through (1) demonstration and imitation, (2) vertical linkages with suppliers, (3) joint ventures and acquisitions, and (4) labor turnover of TNC trained staff. Certain successful local companies adjust the foreign knowledge based on their local knowledge and strengths, their high level of flexibility and deep territorial embeddedness, and create ‘hybrid’ business strategies. These findings suggest that dynamic capabilities are crucial to successful retailing in an international competitive environment. TNC managers should work with local staff in partnerships of equals and managers of locally operating companies should incorporate new knowledge by hiring TNC trained staff.     

电商化转型零售商的品牌权益提升机制与路径研究——基于双渠道品牌形象驱动的视角

网络零售强烈冲击下的国内传统零售业面临行业生存危机,电商化转型已经成为行业的必然发展趋势。文章通过界定电商化转型零售商及其品牌形象、品牌权益的概念,提出其“实体-网络”双渠道品牌形象结构的概念模型,并进一步构建其“双渠道品牌形象——品牌权益”驱动机制模型,以结构方程结合信度分析、效度分析等方法进行了实证分析。研究发现：电商化转型零售商的实体品牌形象各维度变量对网络品牌形象的对应维度变量都具有非常强的直接积极影响（即支撑效应）,价值维度、价格维度、供应维度的支撑效应由强至弱;实体品牌形象各维度变量对品牌权益产生明显的总积极影响（即提升效应）,价格维度、价值维度、供应维度的提升效应由强至弱,但供应维度无直接影响;网络性品牌形象各维度变量对品牌权益产生明显的直接积极影响（即提升效应）,供应维度、价格维度、价值维度的提升效应由强至弱。     

The changing structure of Hungarian retailing: Prospects for foreign retailers

Since the mid‐1980s many innovations and developments have taken place in Hungarian retailing, notably because of the recognition by the government that weaknesses in the distribution system can be a fundamental handicap to the efficiency of the whole economy. Some of the changes in Hungarian retail organization date back to the two periods of reform in 1968 and the early 1980s. Those reforms which in the retail sector were designed primarily to encourage innovation and diminish the bureaucracy of large organizations are examined, as well as the major factors in the economy which continued to frustrate many of their beneficial effects.

The subsequent effects of deregulation measures since 1985 on retailing are analysed, particularly the main changes which have occurred in the structure of retailing, e.g. accelerated establishment of private retailers; the expansion of self‐service; the forward integration of importers, manufacturers and wholesalers; the hiving off of the small units belonging to large state multiples and cooperatives. In addition, how these governmental market‐oriented policies have affected the marketing strategies of some of the major Hungarian retailers, and the relationships they arc now forging with foreign retailers are also examined. Finally, the various entry methods utilized by foreign retailers are assessed, and the constraints in the retail infrastructure which still remain to be overcome if more foreign retailers than hitherto are to be encouraged to enter this market.