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Whilst green distribution alternatives for consumers have the potential to decrease environmental impact from logistics, retailers struggle to provide such alternatives. The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of the factors that hinder retailers from offering green distribution alternatives to consumers.

The paper relies on a multiple case-study of three cases, with one retailer constituting each case. Semi-structured interviews with seven respondents and visits to the retailers' checkouts were used for data collection.

The offering of green distribution alternatives is a complex task for retailers, with barriers related to six categories (organisational, financial, retailer-logistic service provider (LSP) market, retailer-consumer market, governmental and technological barriers) obstructing the way forward. A process towards offering green distribution services, including barriers and potential mitigation strategies, is suggested.

The study is limited to a Swedish context, and further research could consider how barriers would manifest themselves in countries with other characteristics.

A framework with barriers and mitigation strategies offers guidance for managers within e-commerce.

The greening of logistics is an important quest towards world-wide sustainability goals, and this paper contributes with an increased understanding of how to decrease environmental impact from e-commerce distribution.

The paper is one of few that takes the consumer side of the greening of logistics into account, thus contributing with valuable perspectives to this scarce body of literature.

This article analyses the existing retail and distribution legal framework in which Internet companies operate, focusing on data breaches and other issues of relevance to these companies. In order to identify who should be responsible for the largest share of improving people's quality of life, this study takes into account the perspectives of both consumers and businesses (or service provider). The author states that where there is a high probability of a security or privacy breach and the customer suffers moderate to severe damage, the burden of proof may shift to the corporation. However, the customer's obligation is conditioned by factors such as the customer's risk tolerance, the customer's losses and the efficiency of the security investment.

The author suggests that the decentralized nature of blockchain, information sharing, immutability and smart contracting capabilities have the potential to disrupt established business models and social norms. Challenges related to trust, customs oversight and payments are discussed, as well as the process of creating the framework for electronic commerce. As part of this research, the author has taken into consideration the increasing popularity of Internet shopping.

The author demonstrates that due to the worldwide reach of the internet and the fast advancement of computer technology, the economies of the globe have grown increasingly linked. Even though e-commerce has been growing rapidly in recent years due to innovations in both technology and international retail and distribution forms, it still confronts a number of challenges.

In e-commerce that makes use of blockchain technology, there are significant costs associated with transferring data formats, a lack of consensus and limited emissivity in the flow of law and information. Reduced costs and associated negative externalities would be tremendously beneficial for both private enterprise and forward-thinking public policy.

This paper examines the potential liability concerns that may arise in the context of electronic transactions should a breach of security or privacy occur, as the author shows from a practical standpoint. Computers, mobile devices, tablets, sensors, smart meters and even autos are just some of the many channels via which data may be sent. It is conceivable for data flows in e-commerce, cloud and the Internet of Things to follow a regular pattern. This may endanger the confidentiality or security of the data. These have evolved into a significant barrier that web stores must overcome.

The author argues that resolving disputes related to the processing of electronic transactions is crucial to the growth of e-commerce businesses since customer happiness is directly correlated with business success.

The purpose of studying digitization transformation of the supply chain is to understand how digital technologies and processes are changing the way supply chains operate and to identify the opportunities and challenges associated with this transformation. Studying digitization transformation of the supply chain is important because it can help global businesses in identifying the best practices in supply chain management (SCM) systems and enhance supply chain performance. Hence, this research study is contributing in revealing the outcomes of digital inclusiveness in overall SCM for the growth of retail and e-commerce based platforms.

This research is using both descriptive and explanatory research designs to provide a comprehensive understanding of the problems in SCM. Descriptive research provides a detailed description of the characteristics of the population under study, while explanatory research identifies the causal relationships between the variables. Descriptive research has helped us to develop hypotheses about the relationships between variables that can be tested using explanatory research. Explanatory research has been used to validate the findings of descriptive research. By using both descriptive and explanatory research designs, our research design has increased the generalizability of our findings.

According to this study, businesses intend to change their supply chain strategies after the wake of competitive era to make them more robust, sustainable and collaborative with suppliers, customers and stakeholders by investing more in SCM technology like Blockchain, AI, analytics, robotic process automation and data control centers. This study evaluates the impact of digitization on supply chain systems. This includes assessing the benefits of digitization and identifying the factors that contribute to successful implementation. This research is studying the role of data analytics in SCM and how it can be leveraged to improve efficiency, reduce costs and increase transparency.

The study highlights the importance of adopting digitization in supply chain systems to improve supply chain robustness, sustainability and collaboration with stakeholders. This study's emphasis on data analytics in SCM presents an opportunity for businesses to gain insights into their supply chain systems and make data-driven decisions. This can enhance efficiency, reduce costs and improve overall supply chain performance. The study's focus on SCM technology and data analytics may overlook other factors that contribute to successful SCM, such as organizational culture, human resources and supply chain governance.

This study will complement to the existing body of information, management theory and practice and will benefit all. The research work is original and can be implemented worldwide to promote digitization in SCM for smooth transactions in the entire chain of wholesalers, retail distributors and customers.

The main objective of this paper is to provide a systematic literature review (SLR) and structured insight into last mile delivery, ultimately identifying gaps in current knowledge and proposing a framework for future research direction in terms of sustainability in the area.

This paper identifies and synthesizes information from academic journals and examines “Journals and Publishing place,” “Geographic location,” “Year of Publication,” “University and Author Affiliation,” “Themes and Sub-themes,” “Theory,” “Research Design, Methods and Area” and “Industry Involvement.” A collection of online databases from 2005 to 2020 were explored, using the keywords “Last mile delivery,” “Last mile logistics,” “Last mile transportation,” “Last mile fulfillment,” “Last mile operations” and “Last mile distribution” in their title and/or abstract and/or keywords. Accordingly, a total of 281 journal articles were found in this discipline area, and data were derived from a succession of variables.

There has been significant growth in published articles concerning last mile delivery over the last 15 years (2005–2020). An in-depth review of the literature shows five dimensions of the last mile: last mile delivery, transportation, operations, distribution and logistics. Each of these dimensions is interrelated and possess clustered characteristics. For instance, last mile operations, last mile transportation and last mile delivery are operational, whereas last mile distribution is tactical, and last mile logistics possess strategic characteristics. The findings also indicate that even though the sustainability concept can be incorporated into all levels of the last mile, the current literature landscape mainly concentrates on the operational level.

This review is limited to academic sources available from Emerald Insight, Science Direct, Taylor and Francis, Springer, MDPI and IEEE containing the mentioned keywords in the title and/or abstract/or keywords. Furthermore, only papers from high-quality, peer-reviewed journals were evaluated. Other sources such as books and conference papers were not included.

This study dissects last mile delivery to produce a framework that captures and presents its complex characteristics and its interconnectedness with various related components. By analyzing last mile delivery in its entirety, the framework also helps practitioners pinpoint which levels of last mile delivery (operation, tactical or strategic) they can incorporate the concept of sustainability.

The research findings enrich the contemporary literature landscape and future work by providing a conceptual framework that incorporates the “economic,” “environmental” and “social” pillars of sustainability in all dimensions of the last mile delivery.

The case is intended to assist students to:1. understand the customer’s purchase decision with reference to channel values;2. evaluate and assess the channel strategy using conventional and digital channels; and3. design the channel strategy for start-ups in emerging markets.

The subject area for this teaching case was marketing management. The teaching case could be used for the undergraduation and graduation levels of students. The case was about the marketing channel strategy of a small start-up boutique called Chirmi in India, with the theory of consumption values explained. In this case, primary data was taken directly from Chirmi, whereas secondary data for market analysis was taken from various reports, articles and other sources. Because the owner provided the records and documentation, the account was therefore substantiated by the collected first-hand information. The case uses quantitative methods to make students understand the channel arithmetic and consumption values of all the channels used by Chirmi.

In the course of core marketing classes at the undergraduate and graduate levels, this case may be used. The case addresses the channel structure, including wholesaling, retailing and e-commerce. Distribution channel management, the theory of consumption values and e-commerce marketing management are explained. Evaluation of channel strategy, design, implementation and management is emphasized.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 8: Marketing.

This research explores mitigating carbon emissions and integrating sustainability in e-commerce logistics by optimizing the multi-depot pollution routing problem with time windows (MDPRPTW). A proposed model contrasts non-collaborative and collaborative decision-making for order assignment among logistics service providers (LSPs), incorporating low-carbon considerations.

The model is substantiated using improved adaptive large neighborhood search (IALNS), tabu search (TS) and oriented ant colony algorithm (OACA) within the context of e-commerce logistics. For model validation, a normal distribution is employed to generate random demand and inputs, derived from the location and requirements files of LSPs.

This research validates the efficacy of e-commerce logistics optimization and IALNS, TS and OACA algorithms, especially when demand follows a normal distribution. It establishes that cooperation among LSPs can substantially reduce carbon emissions and costs, emphasizing the importance of integrating sustainability in e-commerce logistics optimization.

This paper proposes a meta-heuristic algorithm to solve the NP-hard problem. Methodologies such as reinforcement learning can be investigated in future work.

This research can help logistics managers understand the status of sustainable and cost-effective logistics operations and provide a basis for optimal decision-making.

This paper describes the complexity of the MDPRPTW model, which addresses both carbon emissions and cost reduction. Detailed information about the algorithm, methodology and computational studies is investigated. The research problem encompasses various practical aspects related to routing optimization in e-commerce logistics, aiming for sustainable development.

This study explores the factors that characterize the logistics service quality (LSQ) of cross-border e-commerce and identifies the different relationships between these factors with respect to customer satisfaction.

The study applied a two-stage mixed-methods design. The first stage (Stage 1) was a qualitative study of 3,000 reviews from the Amazon China e-commerce platform. The second stage (Stage 2) included a quantitative study that analyzed survey data from 590 Chinese cross-border e-commerce customers using the Kano model.

Stage 1 involved developing a conceptual framework for the LSQ of cross-border e-commerce, including six dimensions: timeliness, safety, reliability, economy, personnel contact quality and information quality. In Stage 2, the study found that only reliability and personnel contact quality indicators are linearly related to customer satisfaction. Timeliness and the safety of packaging greatly contribute to customer satisfaction, but do not cause dissatisfaction when unfulfilled. Economics and information quality indicators, and the safety of goods, are basic requirements that tend to provoke customer dissatisfaction when unmet, but do not increase customer satisfaction when they are met.

This study is one of the first to construct a conceptual model of LSQ that applies to cross-border e-commerce and to identify the instrumental nature of various LSQ attributes and their impact on improved customer satisfaction.

This empirical study aims to examine luxury fashion retailers' localised multiple channel distribution strategies in China.

Through case studies of 15 participating retailers, qualitative data were collected from 33 semi-structured interviews.

Strong impacts of internationalisation strategies, distribution strategies and channel length towards multiple channel retailing are revealed. Multi-channel retailing is widely employed by firms who have entered China and further developed their businesses through local partnerships and adopted a selective distribution strategy via relatively longer channels. Omni-channel retailing is only suitable for the few retailers using an exclusive distribution strategy through direct marketing and wholly owned customer relationship management. As a dynamic transformation from multi- to omni-channel retailing, cross-channel retailing is adopted by those who are withdrawing from local partnerships and shifting to wholly owned expansions and operations in host markets.

The results are potentially challenged by relatively small sample size.

Practitioners are suggested to adapt multiple channel retailing to their international expansion strategies, distribution strategies and channel length in the host markets.

This paper contributes to the literature in both multiple channel retailing and international retailing by offering insights into the motives, development patterns and suitability of multiple channel retailing in the international retail marketing context.

The digital economy is expected to revive the countryside and reduce the current level of urban–rural inequality. Nevertheless, whether rural e-commerce can narrow the urban–rural income gap still requires further analysis. The purpose of this paper is to clarify whether this goal is, in fact, being achieved.

Taobao villages have become the epitome of rural e-commerce development in China. Therefore, this paper matches the data of Taobao villages and the data of prefecture-level cities from 2014 to 2019, and employs a two-way fixed effect model, nonlinear model, instrumental variable model and interactive fixed effects model to explore the impact of rural e-commerce on the urban–rural income gap.

Firstly, the ability of urban residents to share rural e-commerce development is higher than that of rural residents, which actually widens the urban–rural income gap. Secondly, the migration to cities of rural families that have profited from e-commerce, and the return of working-class people to the countryside, are two factors that are contributing to the widening of the urban–rural income gap. Thirdly, the farther the distance from the urban area and the higher the spatial agglomeration of the rural e-commerce cluster is, the weaker the impact on widening the urban–rural income gap will be. Finally, while industrial-led rural e-commerce is responsible for widening the urban–rural income gap, agricultural-led rural e-commerce has no significant impact on the urban–rural income gap.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper is the first to analyze the impact of rural e-commerce on the urban–rural income gap from the perspective of the coverage of Taobao villages. This empirical study will enrich existing theoretical perspectives on urban–rural integration under the backdrop of the digital economy.

This case is about “Red”, a cross-border e-commerce platform developed from a community which was built to share overseas shopping experience. With sharp insights into the consumption behavior of urban white-collar women and riding on its community e-commerce advantage, “Red”, a cross-border e-commerce startup, pulled in three rounds of financing within just 16 months regardless of increasingly competitive market. On the other hand, well-established platforms such as T-mall International and Joybuy also stepped in, and their involvement will also speed up the industry integration and usher in a reshuffling period. Confronted with the “price war” started by those e-commerce giants, in what ways can “Red” adjust its shopping experience and after-sales services to enhance the brand value and sharpen its edge?