Why retail firms commonly get only halfway through channel integration with online channels
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine why retail firms seldom achieve full integration of online and offline channels as prescribed in omni-channel literature. It examines the intermediate process of channel integration from an internal, operational perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is composed of two parts. In the first part, the authors interviewed informants from nine firms that were engaged in channel integration. In the second part, the authors conducted case studies with three firms from the cosmetics and skincare industry against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic to find evidence to support or negate the propositions made in the first part.
Findings
The first part identified six operational challenges to channel integration. The authors categorized these challenges into two groups: inter-channel communication and inter-channel competition. Inter-channel competition carries more weight at the latter stage of integration. The authors also identified two antecedents that affect the seriousness of these challenges: heterogeneity among channels in business operation and external competitive pressure. In the second part, the authors found that both inter-channel communication and inter-channel competition were improved because of the external competitive pressure exerted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the heterogeneity of offline channels against online channels in business operation is a double-edged sword.
Originality/value
The study identifies the changing effects of the challenges of channel integration and their antecedents in the midst of integration. The positive influence of a specific dimension of channel heterogeneity against other channels increases and then decreases along channel integration. The identification of the changing effects lays the foundation for a finer stage model of channel integration.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research is supported in part by the HKU Knowledge Exchange Impact Project Grant (KE-IP-2020/21-19). It is also supported in part by the Hong Kong Shue Yan University Research Internship Scheme (RIS/23/02). The authors thank all the firms that participated in the study.
Since acceptance of this article, the following author(s) have updated their affiliation(s): Philip Tin Yun Lee is at the Department of Economics and Finance, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, North Point, Hong Kong.
Citation
Lee, P.T.Y., Hui, A.P.Y., Lui, R.W.C. and Chau, M. (2023), "Why retail firms commonly get only halfway through channel integration with online channels", Internet Research, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-07-2022-0513
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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