Retail Organizations Research Articles

Role of Ethical Marketing in Driving Consumer Brand Relationships and Brand Loyalty: A Sustainable Marketing Approach

This research is focused on studying the impact of ethical marketing practices on value-adding product sustainability and customer brand relationship sustainability. It further investigates the consequent effects of value-adding product sustainability and customer brand relationship sustainability on brand loyalty. Data for this study were collected from a sample of 1500 customers having multiple interactions with goods and brands of retail organizations in Pakistan. We employed structural equation modeling (SEM) using SPSS 24.0 to analyze our data. The findings of this paper provide empirical support to the proposed relationships. More specifically, ethical marketing practices were found to have a significant impact on value-adding product sustainability and customer-value brand relationship sustainability. The findings also support a positive impacts of value-adding product sustainability and customer-value brand relationship sustainability on brand loyalty. This study provides some valuable implications for the theory and practice in that it identifies and empirically validates key ethical marketing factors affecting loyalty in business-to-consumer interactions. Besides, this study advocates implications for firms regarding some key aspects of ethical marketing practices that should be strengthened to achieve sustained brand loyalty.

Pay Volatility and Employee Turnover in the Trucking Industry

Many organizations have turned to “just-in-time” pay systems to manage fluctuations in demand for products and services. For example, the trucking industry commonly pays truck drivers by the mile, and retail organizations fluctuate hours available to work to align with holiday demand. Based on the Unfolding Model of Turnover, we propose that the pay volatility, that is, fluctuations in individual pay over time, created by such systems create shocks that initiate thoughts of leaving the organization. We propose that these thoughts increase turnover likelihood. We also propose that pay level and pay trajectory moderate the pay volatility and turnover relationship. Based on a large dataset containing information on objective pay and turnover for truck drivers over a period of 34 weeks, the results of this study support the role of pay volatility, pay level, and pay trajectory in affecting voluntary turnover. Specifically, the results show that all three factors predict turnover likelihood and that pay volatility and pay level interact to predict turnover likelihood. The findings indicate that pay volatility has organizational downsides due to its effects on employee turnover in addition to its known upsides (i.e., flexibility).

Data-Driven Methodology to Support Long-Lasting Logistics and Decision Making for Urban Last-Mile Operations

Last-mile operations in forward and reverse logistics are responsible for a large part of the costs, emissions, and times in supply chains. These operations have increased due to the growth of electronic commerce and direct-to-consumer strategies. We propose a novel data- and model-driven framework to support decision making for urban distribution. The methodology is composed of diverse, hybrid, and complementary techniques integrated by a decision support system. This approach focuses on key elements of megacities such as socio-demographic diversity, portfolio mix, logistics fragmentation, high congestion factors, and dense commercial areas. The methodological framework will allow decision makers to create early warning systems and, with the implementation of optimization, machine learning, and simulation models together, make the best utilization of resources. The advantages of the system include flexibility in decision making, social welfare, increased productivity, and reductions in cost and environmental impacts. A real-world illustrative example is presented under conditions in one of the most congested cities: the megacity of Bogota, Colombia. Data come from a retail organization operating in the city. A network of stakeholders is analyzed to understand the complex urban distribution. The execution of the methodology was capable of solving a complex problem reducing the number of vehicles utilized, increasing the resource capacity utilization, and reducing the cost of operations of the fleet, meeting all constraints. These constraints included the window of operations and accomplishing the total number of deliveries. Furthermore, the methodology could accomplish the learning function using deep reinforcement learning in reasonable computational times. This preliminary analysis shows the potential benefits, especially in understudied metropolitan areas from emerging markets, supporting a more effective delivery process, and encouraging proactive, dynamic decision making during the execution stage.

Retail post-COVID growth strategy – is omni channel the way?

Learning outcomes To enable the students to appreciate the importance of the retail business environment and identification of opportunities set in the context of an emerging market. To make students understand how a value proposition (product) is crafted in a retail organisation. To introduce the technique of developing a service blueprint for designing the retail consumption experience. To induce students to analyse on what criteria should retail business models be evaluated. To introduce the students to the concept of omnichannel retail strategy. Case overview/synopsis The case is about a value-retail chain We Mart India facing the sudden lockdown situation in April 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic hitting India. Shailesh Mehta, the Chief Operating Officer of We Mart is wondering what he should do post the lockdown to bring back the retail chain to its pre-Covid fast-paced growth of 25% YOY in June 2019. We Mart focussed on physical stores as a part of its strategy with an emphasis on the in-store experience. The company catered to the aspirations in fashion for the youth through a series of fashion apparel and accessories in Tiers 2 and 3 cities. The company had grown successfully in two decades and had expansion plans for 2020, which now seemed hazy because of this unpredicted biological disruption impacting businesses. Mehta’s worries were intensified by the change in the consumer trend that was witnessing a shift from offline to online. He wondered about how to incorporate this change and also realign the corporate growth plans in amidst of a challenging situation. To add to his woes were thoughts about established competitors online already apart from the existing offline ones. Research methods: This case is based on primary and secondary data gathered through interviews and publicly available secondary sources. The name of the company and protagonist have been disguised. Complexity academic level The case is suitable for post-graduate (masters in buisness administration) level courses on retail management. The length of the case enables the participants to even read in the class. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 8: Marketing

Customers Perception with Reference to Customer Relationship Management in Organized Retail in Visakhapatnam

The article explains the customer perception with reference to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in organized retail sector of Visakhapatnam city. This study was done with a sample size of600 customers to investigate their opinion about the quality of offered customer services by organized retails stores and its impact on customer satisfaction. The study is focused on services provided by organized retailer like Spencer’s, More, Reliance fresh, Big Bazaar and others in Visakhapatnam city. The findings show an indication that the customer perception depends on Positive attitude towards Customers, Flexible timings of purchase/ exchange, and Better grievance process.

Determinants of formation of agro-food chains in the environment of households of Ukraine

The article is devoted to the study of the determinants of the formation of agri-food chains in the households of Ukraine and the substantiation of the directions of their integration into competitive supply chains. It is argued that the developments in both scientific and practical aspects of creating conditions and prerequisites for the integration of PF in the competitiveness of the supply chain and increasing value added at each level of its participants are relevant. It is highlighted that local supply chains in foreign practice are considered as tools for generating income of the rural population, the implementation of the principles of sustainable development of rural areas, as well as considered as short, local and "smart chains". It is substantiated that it is the promotion of the development of local agricultural chains with the involvement of PF in domestic practice that will contribute to the sustainable development of rural areas, ensuring food security of the country. It is argued that in order to create preconditions and conditions for the development of rural households for crop production, it is necessary to develop measures to streamline sales channels and include them in competitive supply chains. It is established that a significant part of agricultural products grown by households is used for self-sufficiency of the family, feed for farm animals and poultry, and surplus products, especially in remote rural areas, are lost due to spoilage and unclaimed. It is clear that the informal relationship between the distribution and exchange of crop products produced in PF is not a tool to maximize the profits of their members. and, therefore, it is advisable to create favorable economic conditions for their inclusion in the supply chain of agricultural production. The characteristic properties of commodity parties, PF are systematized, namely: small volumes of production, low technological standards, limited production resources, which limits the opportunities to use the potential opportunities to return capital on a scale. It was found that a certain part of the grown crop products is sold by PF through a network of retail food markets, the sale of fruits and vegetables and potatoes is carried out through retail organizations, wholesale markets for agricultural products and trade intermediaries. Measures are proposed to integrate PF into value chains on the basis of creating a network of regional wholesale and distribution centers and organizing units for purchasing surplus agricultural products, deepening the development of agricultural cooperation. Key words: agricultural sector, employment, rural households, small farmers, competitive supply chains.

Impact of Service Environment for effective consumer behavior in Retails Industry with reference to Heritage Super Market

Consumer behavior is dynamic and it needs to be evaluated by using scientific research methods. In this regard market research for Heritage had been conducted in this research work. Consumer behavior is complex subject and it is tough to predict the human internal thinking unless they express their opinions. Customers are sometimes loyal to the existing brands and some customers always show interest to adopt disruptive technology. Retailing business is more traditional in India and it had transformed in the past once decade. At the same time consumption also increased with growth of organized retailing business in India. The survey was conducted in selected Heritage super markets and parlous in Hyderabad. It was descriptive research & Quantity research type and the samples were collect through convincing samples & Simple random samples. The hypothesis was tested using the Correlations, Regression and ANOVA testing. There was a significant effect on the service environment and consumer behavior in the retail market.

Customers Buying Behaviour towards Organised Retail Stores in Thoothukudi City

Retailing is a development of communicating the end customers complete the average of goods and facilities taking aids of the several channel of supply for the generation of revenue and consequently occupies a main place in the field of business. The nations that consume liked the extreme financial and common development consume remained persons with a secure retail sector. Sellers achieve detailed events, such as anticipating buyers’ requirements, emerging collections of goods, obtaining marketplace material, and financing. Organized sellers are individuals who are approved for exchange actions and listed to pay duties to the administration. The present study is to identify Customer’s Buying Behaviour Towards Organised Retail Stores in Thoothukudi City.

Multi - Criterion Decision Making Approach to Assess Retail Service Quality : A Market Perspective from Iraq

The objective of this research was to analyze the relative importance of different retail service quality (RSQ) criteria on customer satisfaction (CS) through multi-criterion decision making approach (Analytic Hierarchy Process). The organized retail food and grocery outlets were selected from four major cities of Iraq, that is, Baghdad, Basrah, Al Mawsil al Jadidah, and Erbil. Data were gathered from 13 experts in organized retail via specially designed AHP questionnaire and analyzed through pairwise comparison by AHP. Weights for RSQ criteria, that is, Physical Aspects, Convenience, Reliability, Problem Solving, Personal Interaction, and Technological Advancement were calculated. Internal pairwise comparison among different criteria and sub - criteria of RSQ was done. To reveal the relative importance of each criteria and sub-criteria of RSQ, the hierarchical framework was drawn. It was found that Technological Advancement of RSQ had maximum weightage on building CS ; whereas, Personal Interaction had minimum weightage. In sub-criteria comparison, ‘mobile application for placing the order’ had maximum weightage on CS, while ‘no customers waiting because of retailer gossiping’ had minimum weightage. It was concluded that a web based mobile application for online shopping and placing orders was an important parameter in building CS in organized retail food and grocery customers in the afore - mentioned cities of Iraq.

Adequate Access to Retail Stores for Purchase Behaviour through Sustainable Attractiveness and Purchase Intention

With the world's increased urbanization, the exchange process's view is fetching more efficiency in the shopping process. This trend is changing customer's intentions towards the retail stores. This article examines how the perception of access reshapes the customer's purchase decision in developing countries and how the retail stores' sustainable attractiveness intervenes in the purchase decision making. The point of sale convenience sampling technique is used with data from 669 urban retail customers' in the current study. The results have revealed that purchase intention and sustainable attractiveness of the retail store sequentially intervene relationship between the customer's access to the retail store and the purchase behaviour. Moreover, this study has also explored the vital link between purchase intention and purchase behaviour in Pakistan's urban organized retail stores. This study provides new insights for retailers and urban planners to manage the store's location for more efficient exchange and increase customer patronage.

Demand Forecasting Using Fuzzy Methods Approach in Supply Chain Management

Modern businesses are confronted with a variety of challenges in a challenging climate. Companies that succeed are more flexible, and they immediately adopt new or revised concepts for corporate governance. As time goes on, they begin to use these techniques in their everyday work. For a company, forecasting is a vital part of its operations. This is regarded as the most basic input in the SCM department and the company. In the context of SCM functions, companies whose chronological development is close to that of the SCM evolution begin to pay attention to the forecast. This research reveals that the firm’s organization can use the barriers and few practical solutions for forecasting. However, retail organizations are continuously looking for a forecasting approach that will allow them to keep their purchasing and sales in balance.

Comparison of Employment Generation in Organized and Unorganized Markets of Kolkata City

Retailing is defined as a set of activities involved in the selling of a product or service to definite customers ranging from vehicles to clothing to feast at restaurants to film tickets. Somayajulu et al. (2002) found several hurdles hampering the growth of organized retail in India. These hurdles included high intermediation, high supply chain costs, insufficient supply chain infrastructure, inflexible labor laws, multiple licensing requirements, etc. Retailers along these lines attempt different business exercises and perform capacities, for example, arranging, holding stock, and so on, that increase the value of the contributions they make to the objective sections. The retail industry is divided into two parts- Organized Retail Sector and Unorganized Sector. The research study intends to analyze the volume and nature of employment generated between organized and unorganized sectors of Kolkata. The study reveals that unorganized sector retailers did experience a slight decline in their volume of business and profit in the initial years after the entry of large organized retailers, but there was no evidence of a decline in overall employment in the unorganized sector as a result of the entry of organized retailers and hence none of the retailers would like to change their existing business in spite of having sufficient resources for changing business because all of them do not find any reason to change business

The Perspective of Machine Learning as an Anti-Fraud Tool in Retail Organizations

The Perspective of Machine Learning as an Anti-Fraud Tool in Retail Organizations

Anarchy\u2019s Neighborhoods: the Formation of a Quadriplex Urban Ecology

In each of four nearby city areas, residents orient to local centers of collective activity in different geographic patterns. In a “perimeter” neighborhood, residents and outsiders are drawn to religious and retail organizations located on streets that form a rectangle. In an “intersection” neighborhood, residents are most visible to each other at an agglomeration of stores and services located where two high traffic streets cross. Residents of an “in-between” area travel to socio-economically and culturally different neighborhoods centered in all directions elsewhere. In a “contested” geography, rival organizations disagree over who, living where, for what purposes, has the right to define the neighborhood’s boundaries and social identity. These different social ecologies took shape without coordination yet became an interdependent, quadriplex set. After 1965, a series of retreats in government control of local social life created unprecedented opportunities for intermediaries who reshaped the social landscape with new businesses, cultural institutions, and interpretations of neighborhood identity. This case study revives the “collective action” explanations of the “Chicago School” by showing how urban social ecology was transformed in the late twentieth century as people of different generations and in different geographic areas interacted indirectly, creating durable neighborhood patterns without centralized, top-down leadership from business or government, in response to locally recognized affordances of anarchy.

The disruptive emergence of integrated business planning

The aim of this paper is to present the topic of integrated business planning and place it in the current environment of the supply chain, logistics and distribution sectors and against the backdrop of increasing technological change. The aim is to make the reader think about the speed of innovation happening around us and the importance of harnessing new technology to improve analysis and planning within the realms of an organisation’s business processes, so as to make faster and more accurate decisions. It is based on the author’s understanding and experiences on this topic, which have been obtained by visiting and talking to many domestic and global retail, distribution and logistics organisations and trade bodies in the UK. It is not intended to be a highly researched/academic paper. Because of the confidential nature of engaging with organisations, most of the examples given are well known and in the public domain, but the general trends and information reflected in the paper are based on the author’s experience of the status of decision making in organisations. The observation made is that despite the advancement of technologies in the personal environment, in larger organisations, decision making is disconnected, less collaborative, slow and inefficient, with hours spent gathering data as opposed to using the time to analyse it. In the current environment of economic and operational turbulence, the author would like to raise awareness of a better, faster, more accurate way of making decisions by challenging the current organisational decision-making processes and technologies used.

ANALISIS PREDIKSI KEBANGKRUTAN MENGGUNAKAN MODEL ALTMAN Z-SCORE PADA PERUSAHAAN RITEL YANG TERDAFTAR DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA TAHUN 2014-2018

Bankruptcy is a critical issue that companies must be aware of. Bankruptcy and the level of the company's performance can be seen from the company's financial condition by analyzing the company's financial statements. The most widely used bankruptcy prediction model is the Altman Z-Score model..The Altman Z-Score model analysis was chosen as the model used in bankruptcy prediction because, this model is easy to use with a high degree of accuracy. The purpose of this research is to determine bankruptcy predictions using the Altman Z-Score model in retail companies listed on the IDX in 2014-2018. This kind of exploration is expressive quantitative utilizing monetary reports as an examination instrument. The examining method was,carried out by utilizing purposive sampling,technique which was then controlled by nine retail organizations as the sample. The results show that on average six companies are in a safe zone, including issuers ECII, HERO, MPPA, RANC, SKYB, SONA and two companies in the gray zone or prone to bankruptcy, namely CENT and KOIN, one company in the dangerous zone, namely RIMO

ANALISIS PREDIKSI KEBANGKRUTAN MENGGUNAKAN MODEL ALTMAN Z-SCORE PADA PERUSAHAAN RITEL YANG TERDAFTAR DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA TAHUN 2014-2018

Bankruptcy is a critical issue that companies must be aware of. Bankruptcy and the level of the company's performance can be seen from the company's financial condition by analyzing the company's financial statements. The most widely used bankruptcy prediction model is the Altman Z-Score model..The Altman Z-Score model analysis was chosen as the model used in bankruptcy prediction because, this model is easy to use with a high degree of accuracy. The purpose of this research is to determine bankruptcy predictions using the Altman Z-Score model in retail companies listed on the IDX in 2014-2018. This kind of exploration is expressive quantitative utilizing monetary reports as an examination instrument. The examining method was,carried out by utilizing purposive sampling,technique which was then controlled by nine retail organizations as the sample. The results show that on average six companies are in a safe zone, including issuers ECII, HERO, MPPA, RANC, SKYB, SONA and two companies in the gray zone or prone to bankruptcy, namely CENT and KOIN, one company in the dangerous zone, namely RIMO

Bow tie analysis for prioritizing actions to manage the risks of out of stock on shelves in the retail

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a methodology to structure the problem of retail out of stock (OOS). This methodology allows investigating risk factors and barriers related to the main causes and consequences that lead to OOS occurring.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed methodology to structure the OOS problem is based on the bow- ie tool, which allows better visualisation, understanding and analysis of a complete OOS scenario. This proposal comprises exploring the main causes and consequences of OOS, the barriers to prevention and mitigation, the escalation factors to control undesirable events and to define actions to eliminate or mitigate the OSS risk.FindingsSeveral potential causal risk factors, related to technical, behavioural, cultural and organisational aspects, were identified with this methodology. With the analysis of the OOS scenario, it was observed that the factors that lead to the OOS risk are preventable. In order to improve existing barriers or implement new barriers, a set of actions can be recommended to reduce or eliminate OOS risk factors.Originality/valueFrom a better understanding of hazard, the bow-tie methodology allows identifying crucial factors that could be acted upon to reduce the incidence of OSS. Thus, the value is to propose a methodology that allows establishing the preventive and protective barriers necessaries and the escalation factors related to each of these to help structure the problem and consequently reduce the OOS in retail organisations.

AGRIBUSINESS MANAGEMENT: A Community-based Learning Module

The Agribusiness Management Module is written for faculty, agribusiness manager, and students (soon to be an agribusiness manager). There are tremendous career opportunities in the food and agribusiness industries. In this course, you will be exposed first to the breadth of these opportunities, from research and development to a logistics manager for a major food retail organization. You need to understand the marketplace and some of the specific institutional aspects of the food processing and marketing system before beginning A career as a director in agribusiness. Preparing for a career in agribusiness management also requires that you understand management's fundamentals —planning, organizing, directing, controlling, and the basic functions of marketing, finance, operations and logistics, and human resource management. In this course, you will find all of these topics covered straightforwardly. We hope that many food and agribusiness examples and case studies will bring these ideas to life for you..This is a module you will continue to use as a reference as your managerial career unfolds in the field of agricultural-based business.

Champions need an iron will: How employees use their dispositional self-control to overcome workplace incivility

AbstractThis paper investigates how employees' experience of workplace incivility may steer them away from idea championing, with a special focus on the mediating role of their desire to quit their jobs and the moderating role of their dispositional self-control. Data collected from employees who work in a large retail organization reveal that an important reason that exposure to rude workplace behaviors reduces employees' propensity to champion innovative ideas is that they make concrete plans to leave. This mediating effect is mitigated when employees are equipped with high levels of self-control though. For organizations, this study accordingly pinpoints desires to seek alternative employment as a critical factor by which irritations about resource-draining incivility may escalate into a reluctance to add to organizational effectiveness through dedicated championing efforts. It also indicates how this escalation can be avoided, namely, by ensuring employees have access to pertinent personal resources.