Search results

In the grocery business online start‐ups, e‐grocers, have in the last few years developed new business models to challenge the traditional bricks‐and‐mortar supermarkets. However, many of the big players in the e‐grocery business, such as Peapod and Webvan in the USA, still operate in the red. They have financed rapid growth by collecting hundreds of millions of dollars from investors. These huge investments have enabled the e‐grocers to enter the grocery market but, on the other hand, ineffective operations have used up capital on operating expenses. If the e‐grocers want to become serious challengers to the traditional bricks‐and‐mortar business, they need to cut operational costs dramatically and fast. This paper illustrates some basic principles for cutting operational costs in the e‐grocery business. The focus is on picking efficiency and order assembly costs. Solutions for achieving better picking efficiency are discussed. In addition, one detailed example of how a grocery distribution centre for efficient picking could be designed is presented.

The primary purpose was to learn about different variables of an integrated strategy associated with choosing to supply through business‐to‐business (B2B) intermediaries and apply the variables to a series of cases.

A literature review served as a basis to develop an integrated model. A combination of primary and secondary research was conducted to apply the concepts of the model to different internet trading exchanges.

Each trade exchange offers a different set of customers and suppliers vying for business opportunities. There are no common platforms for software and hardware. If a small company is interested in trading through an internet exchange, they want to select based on the variables identified that best meet their needs and integrate with their business strategy.

The focus was on industrial products and may not be applicable to consumer products.

Suppliers must carefully operate in the future by evaluating each customer and determining which trade exchanges will provide them with the greatest benefit at the lowest cost. The infrastructure investment is an unavoidable cost that cannot be forgone unless the supplier wants to discontinue providing to most of its customers. The supplier needs to look at all aspects identified in the integrated business model and the foundation and facilitation for success lie in the information management of the entire entity.

This paper takes the existing body of knowledge and applies it to the development of an integrated e‐business model for industrial suppliers used to compare different internet trading exchanges.

Offers a preliminary assessment of electronic commerce. Rarely has the retail and consumer services sector been faced with a strategic challenge of such significant complexity and uncertainty that is growing so rapidly. Suggests that the academic world is lagging behind the world of practice in terms of supplying rigorous analysis of the topic. Deals with four discrete areas of the new economy as it affects retailers. Explores the extent to which the emergence of new electronic channels to market has led to distinctive means of business differentiation, with particular reference to branding and pricing. Secondly, looks at how business‐to‐business companies can use electronic channels to improve supply chain and productivity requirements. Thirdly, assesses how far we understand some of the organisational change issues. Finally considers the future of eCommerce.

The advent of the internet has dramatically changed the retail landscape. Online purchases have been increasing annually for the past several years, yet only account for 6 percent of total purchases. With the potential for growth being relatively unlimited, many online businesses have been created, and conventional stores are questioning whether their current brick and mortar business model will continue to be successful. The operational processes of online companies are difficult to formulate, as evidenced by their high failure rates. The purpose of this paper is to examine one online business, Bellacor, to determine whether there are operational efficiencies to be gained, that errors can be reduced and whether they are operating in conjunction with customers' expectations.

The design methodology used involved an examination of Bellacor's service blueprint, implementing the Six Sigma DMAIC cycle, developing cause‐and‐effect diagrams and creating poka‐yokes to modify the existing service blueprint to improve the operational process.

The “improve” phase of the DMAIC cycle produced several poka‐yokes to overcome numerous failures in the current service blueprint. It is the authors' opinions that implementing the new proposed blueprint will likely result in improved customer service, improved delivery tracking, fewer errors and a better overall experience for the customer.

The main limitations of the survey surrounded the time frame allotted to complete the study. Had more time and resources been available, a more robust survey could have been created and additional order data could have been gathered.

With a better experience for the customer and improved accuracy throughout the process, profits will improve. There is considerable market share available for a successful operation and management needs to continually revisit the current process to ensure that it is as efficient and customer‐friendly as possible.

The value of the study goes beyond Bellacor as a successful online business. The study attempts to lay the groundwork for what is successful and needed by today's consumer. Lessons and procedures learned in the paper can be translated to any company with a similar business model.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how offline brand trust moderates: the relationship between consumers' general attitude toward the internet and their perceptions of the quality of a retailer's web site and the relationship between their perceived web site quality and intention to shop from the web site.

Two hundred young female consumers participate in the study. Each selected one of three pre‐determined apparel retailer brands that she has either had experience with or are familiar with. Participants are then asked to keep their selected retailer in mind when completing an online questionnaire. They are also asked to browse the retailer's web site in search of a shirt or blouse. Factor and multiple‐regression analyses are conducted to test hypotheses.

Offline brand trust exerted a significant moderating effect in the relationship between the efficiency factor of attitude toward the internet and the usability and information quality factor of web site quality. Offline brand trust also played a moderating role in the relationship between the interactivity factor of web site quality and online shopping intention. Implications for multi‐channel apparel retailers are discussed.

While a great deal of research has been conducted to study brand trust, most has focused on product brands not on retail brands. Furthermore, none of the studies on brand trust has questioned nor investigated the moderating role of retail brand trust in the relationship between consumer characteristics and their attitudes and behaviors toward the company's new business format. This paper seeks to contribute to the extant literature on brand trust and multi‐channel retailing by exploring the role of offline brand trust in shopping at a multi‐channel retailer's web site.

Seeks to address directly two assumptions that are inherent in current discussions concerning business and the role of technology. First, that business intelligence is, in fact, a feature of the business rather than the staff within that business. Businesses are simply entities with assets and capabilities but no cognitive processes, intelligence is a unique property of humans. Therefore there is a greater need to understand the social processes concerned in order to recognise this resource effectively. Second, that “e‐business” is distinct from “business”. Uses original research in the area of technological innovation as the basis for developing a wider argument with respect to e‐business. Argues that what is currently referred to as e‐business is a relatively poorly developed bundle of technologies that have yet to achieve full application in order to deliver optimum benefit. Also discusses the e‐business phenomenon, the role of technology and the importance of a social perspective of business to give more insightful understanding of the interactions between these areas.

An e‐fulfillment system is designed to meet the high order volume and stringent customer service requirements of global business‐to‐consumer e‐commerce. The system converts the traditional warehouse into a multi‐channel e‐fulfillment center. In the e‐commerce environment, some of the toughest decisions must be made on little or no hard information. In this study, the nature of e‐business and the typical fulfillment process are discussed. The authors further examine the strategy and operational requirements for e‐fulfillment. This article is concluded with the implication of a successful e‐fulfillment system, a suggested design of an e‐fulfillment center, and the future research focuses.

This study aims to investigate the attributes that create brand trust in internet retailing extending the work by Ha, and expanding the purchase categories.

Using a two‐phase qualitative and quantitative methodology, 15 in‐depth interviews were conducted followed by written surveys from 199 respondents. Linear regressions were undertaken to test the hypotheses. Further to the empirical research, a new model is proposed.

Regression analysis using Ha's six scales of security, privacy, brand name, word of mouth, information, and (past) experience yielded an R² of only 0.105 for the dependent variable of web brand trust. Similar results were obtained when adding in extra scales (i.e. website design and navigation, returns policy and country of origin), and when completing regression analysis using only the attributes that had a statistically significant correlation with brand trust. The results for all three types of regressions increased to R²≤ 0.165 when the attributes length of time using the internet, length of time purchasing from the internet and frequency of internet purchase on the internet were included.

A limitation of the study was that the sample included only part‐time graduate students from one Australian university. Therefore future research should include respondents from a wider range of ages, income and educational levels.

The study extends the work of Ha to additional cultural and internet retailing contexts. It also introduces a wider range of factors affecting brand trust.

The purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual model addressing how environmental uncertainty resulting from disruptive technology affects an internal corporate venture's organization.

Based upon a review of two complementary theoretical perspectives – resource dependence theory and institutional theory, propositions regarding internal and external linkages and the internal organizational governance mechanisms of organizational structure and strategic control systems of ICVs are developed.

Resource dependence theory and institutional theory are both necessary to explain the organizational issues resulting from the uncertainty surrounding disruptive technology. Research limitations/implications – A limitation is that this is a theoretical paper; empirical research is needed to test the theories presented in this paper.

To the extent that managers can be trained to recognize and understand the complexities of disruptive technology, their likelihood of appropriate organizational responses will be enhanced.

The paper presents a conceptual model of how to successfully manage an internal corporate venture in a disruptive technology environment.

Examines the current status of Internet tax both in the USA and Europe to ascertain, if, indeed, leveling the playing field is required or if milking the cash cow is in order. It also examines legislation and court rulings from the USA and Europe and examines some of the possibilities for the future.