Search results

A key question for shopping malls is to create a retail environment that is at the same time safe and entertaining. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into this process by examining how consumers view various formal and informal surveillance practices in the context of shopping malls. The classification of surveillance practices into formal and informal surveillance is based on crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) theory. The paper also studies how consumers can be grouped according to their views on these surveillance practices.

The paper uses the CPTED theory as a theoretical lens and studies the consumers’ views of formal and informal surveillance using data gathered from a survey of 200 shopping mall visitors. The data are analyzed using principal components analysis and cluster analysis.

The results show that customer experience of safe retail environments reflects the distinction between informal and formal surveillance in the CPTED theory. The paper also shows that consumers have several different preferences towards surveillance practices and consumers can be grouped according to their preferences for surveillance methods.

This paper has provided new insights regarding the use of CPTED theory in research into formal and informal surveillance practices in shopping malls. The findings provide tools that help mall managers focus on the different needs of consumers in their quest to create safe and entertaining retail environment.

In today’s retail environment, retailers’ leadership skills can make the difference between the success and failure of their retail stores. Despite the acknowledgment that retailers’ leadership skills and behaviour are important, treatment of the topic within the retail marketing and management literatures is still very limited. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to focus on the relationship between the retailers’ charismatic leadership and frontline employee outcomes.

For the purpose of this study, the authors develop hypotheses about the influence of the retailers’ charismatic leadership on frontline employee job satisfaction, self-efficacy, organizational identification and turnover intentions. Using structural equation modelling, hypotheses are tested using a sample of 208 frontline employees from the Finnish retail industry.

As a first main contribution, the findings of this study indicate that charismatic leadership has a very strong positive impact on job satisfaction. As a second contribution, this study shows that there is strong positive link between charismatic leadership and the self-efficacy of frontline employees. As a third contribution, this study indicates that charismatic leadership is positively related to organizational identification. And finally, this study indicates that charismatic leadership has a very strong negative impact on employee turnover intentions.

This study contributes to retail management and services marketing literature by broadening the current understanding of the leadership behaviour of retailers and its effectiveness and demonstrating how frontline employees respond to charismatic leadership in the retail setting.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse how retailers view the links between security problems, investments in formal and informal surveillance, the sense of security felt among customers and employees, and the competitiveness of the store.

The study utilizes elements of the theory of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) in its theoretical approach. Thus, surveillance investments are divided into formal and informal surveillance investments. The theoretical model is tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) with data collected among grocery store retailers.

The study shows that security problems have a positive impact on investments in formal surveillance but no impact on investments in informal surveillance. Furthermore, retailers perceive that formal surveillance investments have a negative impact on the sense of security felt among customers and employees, whereas informal surveillance investments have a positive impact. In addition, retail entrepreneurs perceive that the sense of security felt among customers and employees has a positive impact on the competitiveness of the store.

The impact of investments in security should also be studied from other viewpoints than just retailers. In addition, conceptual and qualitative empirical studies are needed to obtain a clearer understanding of the effectiveness of surveillance in the store environment.

The paper shows retailers the linkages between different types of surveillance investments and the sense of security felt among consumers and retail employees.

The present research provides empirical evidence on how investments in security are linked to the competitiveness of retail stores.

This study aims to focus on how grocery store retail entrepreneurs invest in formal and informal surveillance, and how these investments affect consumers' and employees' sense of security. In particular, it tries to understand what kind of surveillance investments can be found from the stores with high consumer and employees' sense of security.

The present study utilizes elements of CPTED in its theoretical approach. The population for the study consisted of 946 grocery store K‐retailers. The data collection was carried out through an internet survey in February and March of 2009. A total of 161 grocery store retailers filled in the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 17 percent.

The research reveals that investments in informal surveillance are more likely to create a high sense of security among consumers and employees than are investments in formal surveillance. In other words, the analysis shows that the stores where consumers and employees have a high sense of security have made more investments in comfortable, clean and well‐lit premises than stores where consumers and employees have a low sense of security.

The present study was limited to surveillance and to consumers' and employees' sense of security as understood by the retailers. Unquestionably, there is a need to study surveillance from the consumers' and employees' viewpoints. In addition, qualitative studies would enable more thorough operationalization of the concepts that linked the surveillance and sense of security in the store context.

Retailers wishing to create a safe retail space for employees and customers should invest in informal surveillance. Investments in comfortable, well‐cleaned and well‐lighted premises make both consumers and employees feel safe in the store environment. In this way, retailers can enhance the competitiveness of their store.

Very little empirical research has evaluated the effectiveness of surveillance in the store environment, although many articles and reports have commented on the importance of surveillance. The present study fills this research gap.

This study aims to analyse grocery retail entrepreneurs' perceptions of the effectiveness of both informal and formal surveillance in reducing vandalism, disturbance, and shoplifting in their stores.

The present study utilizes elements of CPTED in its theoretical approach. The population for the study consisted of 946 Finnish grocery store K‐retail entrepreneurs. The data collection was carried out through an internet survey in February and March 2009. A total of 161 grocery store retailers filled in the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 17 percent.

This study shows that, of different types of security problems, grocery store retailers view shoplifting as the most severe. To reduce this and other security problems, retailers have invested in several forms of formal and informal surveillance. Among these investments CCTV systems seem to be the most prominent. However, respondents did not view high‐tech surveillance as the most effective. Instead, this study shows that retailers view security guards and activity of the personnel as the most effective ways for reducing vandalism, disturbance, and shoplifting in their stores. Furthermore, the results emphasize the importance of store environment, e.g. clean and well‐lit premises, as an important way of reducing crime.

Qualitative studies could reveal issues that would enable more thorough operationalization of the concepts linked to surveillance and security in the store environment.

The paper sensitizes retail entrepreneurs to think where informal and formal surveillance work best in the store environment.

Very little empirical research has evaluated the effectiveness of surveillance in store environment. The present study fills this research gap, at least to some extent.

This article aims to contribute to the study of knowledge creation and management in business format franchising by focusing on the question of how franchisors can convert the tacit knowledge held by franchisees (such as insights, ideas, and hunches) to explicit knowledge.

The article is conceptual and is largely anchored on the assumptions of the knowledge management, theories of organisational learning and organisational knowledge creation theory.

The findings emphasise that the conversion of franchisees' tacit knowledge to new explicit knowledge is one of the key knowledge management practices required for successful business format franchising. Proposes that the concept of ba has much to offer in considering knowledge management in a business format franchise system.

With regard to future research avenues, conceptual and empirical studies are both needed to obtain a clearer understanding of the dynamic process of knowledge creation under business format franchising.

The article sensitises franchisors to think how knowledge is created under business format franchising, and in particular how the tacit knowledge that franchisees provide can be converted into the form of explicit knowledge. Underlines that franchisors can never control and direct dynamic process of knowledge creation among franchisees, but a franchisor can provide certain conditions that lead franchisees and other members of franchise system to create and disseminate knowledge.

The article proposes that both tacit and explicit knowledge under business format franchising are created in formal or informal groups encompassing bas that may span both horizontally and vertically throughout the business format franchise system.

This study aims to focus on the use of information sources by contractually integrated retail entrepreneurs. The research question is as follows: how can the use of information sources by contractually integrated retail entrepreneurs be classified using the dimensions of “external/internal” and “formal/informal”? In addition to analyzing the use of information sources, this study seeks to shed light on the relation between the information sources used by retail entrepreneurs and retail entrepreneurs' effectiveness.

An internet survey study was conducted among K‐retailers from K‐alliance. K‐retailers are independent retail entrepreneurs who own and manage their retail businesses, and who invest considerable personal and financial resources in these enterprises. The total number of questionnaires sent out was 1,170. Of these, 226 were satisfactorily completed for use in the analysis.

The study reveals that the majority of contractually integrated K‐retailers rely on external information sources when making decisions at the store level. Internal information sources are used by only a small minority of K‐retailers. In addition, the use of formal information sources seems more likely to increase the level of sales than does the use of informal sources.

With regard to future research avenues, there is a need for a more comprehensive framework that takes into account the contextual factors and the structural characteristics of retailing organizations. In addition, the perceived reliability of information sources should be considered in assessing the use of various information sources.

This study contends that the effectiveness of the contractually integrated retail entrepreneurs is related to individual retailers' ability to take advantage of formal information sources.

This study provides a new point of view regarding perspectives on the use of information sources by contractually integrated retail entrepreneurs. This study also illustrates the relation between the use of information sources and retail entrepreneurs' effectiveness.

To assess the weight and extent of control possessed by manufacturers over category management (CM) tactics in contemporary distribution channels for fast‐moving consumer goods; and to analyse the origins of this control.

A survey study conducted among Finnish manufacturers of fast‐moving consumer goods. A total of 420 questionnaires were sent out. Of these, 84 questionnaires were returned, of which 83 were satisfactorily completed for use in the analysis.

The study reveals that manufacturers believe that retailers are clearly in charge of CM tactics. However, large manufacturers seem to possess a relatively strong weight of control in CM decision making, whereas small manufacturers possess little weight of control. The origins of manufacturers' control are mostly non‐coercive in nature.

This study has approached CM from the perspective of manufacturing organisations. The phenomenon could also be approached from the retailers' or a dyadic perspective. It would be fruitful to conduct comparative studies in other national settings. Conceptual and qualitative empirical studies are needed to obtain a clearer understanding of the phenomenon.

The study suggests that manufacturers who wish to gain some control over CM tactics should base their interaction with retailers on expertise and issues related to referent power bases.

This paper offers new perspectives on CM by examining the concept of power within manufacturer‐retailer relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of market orientation (MO) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on business performance among small retailers. In particular, the goal is to understand and determine to what extent MO and EO influence firm performance directly, and to what extent MO and EO are connected to performance via marketing capabilities.

The developed conceptual model is tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) using a sample of 202 small retailers.

The result of the SEM model shows that both MO and EO act as a basis for improved business performance among small retailers. However, the performance impact of MO and EO is not that straightforward. Based on the research findings, it can be argued that both MO and EO require marketing capabilities to more fully unlock their value-creating potential among small retail firms.

This study has provided new insights regarding the impact of MO and EO on business performance in the context of small retail firms. In particular, the study has contributed to the literature by demonstrating the routes through which MO and EO impact on performance.

This paper aims to investigate the cognitive styles of contractually integrated retail entrepreneurs with respect to marketing decision making. The study addresses two research questions: How can the cognitive styles of these retail entrepreneurs be classified? If there are differences in the cognitive styles of retail entrepreneurs, how are these differences reflected in their business performance?

Following a literature review and conceptual analysis, a questionnaire on cognitive styles is developed on the basis of Jung's “typology theory” and the Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator. A quantitative internet survey study is then conducted among 226 retailers contracted to the K‐alliance of Finland. The results are then subjected to statistical analysis.

The study reveals that the cognitive style of most of the studied K‐retailers is in accordance with the style of salaried managers, rather than that of “entrepreneurs”. The study also finds no clear relationship between the cognitive styles of the respondents and their business performance.

The possible existence of explanatory factors other than cognitive styles was not considered in the study. Further research is required on other variables that might have a direct or indirect effect on the business performance of retailers.

The study has implications for the governance and management systems of contractually integrated retailing organisations; in particular the study suggests that such management systems might inhibit entrepreneurial cognitive styles.

The paper offers new perspectives on entrepreneurship in the context of contractually integrated retailing organisations.