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This case study will help business management students learn the dynamics of distribution management in the rural context. After working through the case and assignment questions, the students will be able to:▪ Understand the transformation of rural retail from traditional models to organized modern retail;▪ Understand the opportunities and challenges of rural markets with specific reference to automobile products;▪ Identify and evaluate the various distribution channels available for rural markets; and▪ Devise a suitable rural-centric distribution model for automobile products following an appropriate logistics system.

Manan Motors, a dealership of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) Private Limited in Hathras City of Uttar Pradesh province in India, has been operating successfully for the past two decades. Mr Manoj Bansal, the director at Manan Motors, was primarily targeting the urban markets with 60% dependency on the scooter portfolio of HMSI. But multiple pressures like stringent vehicle emission norms, price rise of two-wheelers and the impact of the pandemic took a toll upon the urban business of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Limited and subsequently upon Manan Motors. The sales for HMSI dipped from 15,121 million units in 2020–2021 to 13,466 million units in 2021–2022. Consequently, Bansal decided to alter the business strategy of Manan Motors and shift its focus from the urban to the rural territory of Hathras, where it could foresee demand for entry-level two-wheelers (engine capacity between 75 and 110 cc). Rural markets were developing, so Bansal realized that supplying a low-cost, low-end model to the rural Indian market was an opportunity for his dealership. Bansal’s decision to focus on the rural vertical of its two-wheeler business stirred several questions that floated in his mind. Should they manage distribution on their own, or through some channel members, or should they follow a rural-specific modern retail model?

The case study is designed for use by a postgraduate or executive-level audience for subjects such as sales and distribution management, distribution management and rural marketing. Students will understand the concept of distribution management and associated keywords specific to rural markets. The case study provides an opportunity to discuss and decide how a company can penetrate the rural market and also discusses the opportunities and challenges of rural distribution.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 9: Operations and logistics.

Research on showrooming has focused on investigating its antecedents, motivators and characteristics, leaving a gap regarding its consequences. Our study intends to build a comprehensive framework to examine the role of showrooming behaviour on showrooming satisfaction and customer loyalty while exploring its antecedents.

Data collection took place in Brazil through an electronic form distributed on social media, reaching 393 people. After eliminating responses from those who had no showrooming experience, the final sample consisted of 310 respondents. The questions captured the costs and benefits of showrooming, internet savviness, showrooming behaviour, satisfaction with showrooming and customer loyalty (i.e. repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth). We performed partial least squares data analysis by means of the statistical package Smart PLS 4.

The results show that showrooming behaviour is positively influenced by internet savviness and the perceived benefits of showrooming but not by the perceived costs of showrooming. In addition, showrooming behaviour positively influences satisfaction with showrooming and customer loyalty (i.e. repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth). Finally, we identify satisfaction with showrooming as a mediator between showrooming behaviour and customer loyalty.

Given that the implications of showrooming behaviour on customer loyalty remain understudied, this work contributes to the marketing literature by demonstrating the influence of showrooming behaviour on satisfaction with showrooming and its consequential effect on customer loyalty. Moreover, we confirmed the mediating role of customer satisfaction in the relationship between showrooming behaviour and customer loyalty.

Designing effective business analytics (BA) platforms that visualise data, provide deep insights and support data-driven decision-making is a challenging task. Understanding the elements shaping BA platform design is crucial for success. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of visualisation on usability (UI) and user experience (UX) while emphasising the importance of insights understanding in BA platform design.

This paper presents a case study following a startup’s journey as it undergoes two redesign phases for its BA platform. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods is used to assess UX/UI and insights understanding of the platform. Indicatively this included semi-structured interviews, observations, think-aloud techniques and surveys to monitor runtime per task, number of errors, users’ emotions and users’ understanding.

Our findings suggest that modifications in aesthetics and information visualisation positively influence overall usability, UX, and understanding of platform insights – a critical aspect for the success of the startup.

Our goal is not to make a methodological contribution, but to illustrate how companies, constrained by time and pressure, navigate platform changes without meticulous design and provide learnings on important elements while designing BA platforms.

This paper concludes with suggested methods for assessing BA platforms and recommends practical practices to follow. These practices include recommendations on important elements for BA platform users, such as navigation and interactivity, user control and personalisation, visual consistency and effective visualisation.

This study contributes to practice as it presents a real-life case and offers valuable insights for practitioners.

Large supermarket chains are adopting customer-service robots to improve service delivery in physical stores. Successful deployment of these robots depends on shoppers' willingness to interact with them, requiring an understanding of influencing factors. This study, grounded in the Cognitive-Affective-Normative (CAN) theory, seeks to systematically explore the factors influencing Gen Z shoppers' willingness to interact with customer-service robots.

A hybrid approach combining Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) was employed to analyze survey data collected from 945 Gen Zs in the Czech Republic.

The results from SEM highlight significant cognitive, normative, and affective factors that influence the intention of Gen Z shoppers to interact with a customer-service robot. Specifically, cognitive factors such as effort and performance expectancy, along with normative factors like subjective norms, emerged as critical determinants. Furthermore, affective factors such as technology anxiety and positive emotions significantly influence users' readiness to use customer-service robots for service requests. The study also underscores that positive emotions, effort expectancy, performance expectancy, and subjective norms are vital prerequisites for interacting with customer-service robots.

The originality of this work lies in its two significant contributions to the burgeoning field of SRs in retail literature. First, it extends the CAN theory to the context of SRs among Gen Z shoppers in Czechia, thereby enriching the existing literature on SRs in retail. Second, by employing a hybrid analytical approach, our research offers both empirical and methodological advancements, providing rigorous insights crucial for enhancing the understanding of the pivotal factors influencing shoppers' interactions with SRs in physical store environments.

The empirical study of factors related to digital transformation (DT) in the banking sector is still limited, even though the importance of the topic is universally evident. To bridge that gap, this paper aims to explore the role of digital leadership (DL), innovative culture (IC) and technostress inhibitors (TI) to support engagement for improved digital innovation (DI). Based on the literature, these variables are crucial aspects of digitalisation, even though there is no agreement on their conclusiveness.

This quantitative study tested a new conceptual model using survey data from five major banks in Libya. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data from the 292 usable responses.

The results showed that DL and IC positively affect DI. Techno-work engagement (TE) mediated the relationship between leadership, culture and innovation. TI played a significant moderating role in leadership, culture and engagement relationships.

The research findings highlight critical issues about how leadership style and fostering organisational support in the banking sector can enhance DT. Leaders must demonstrate a commitment to long-term resource allocation to avoid possible negative effects from digital stress while pursuing DI through work engagement.

The study suggests that fostering organisational support can enhance DT in retail banks, potentially leading to improved customer experiences and increased access to financial services. These programs will help banks contribute to societal and economic development.

This timely study examines predictor mechanisms of innovation in retail banking that resonate within the restrictions of organisational and DI frameworks and the social exchange theory. Exploring the intervening effect of TE in the leadership, culture and innovation associations is unprecedented.

This study aims to explore the relationship between Generation Z (or Gen Z) consumers’ decision-making styles and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) use in the tourism sector. Drawing on the consumer style inventory (CSI) model and the theory of reasoned action (TRA), the research examines how specific decision-making styles influence Gen Z’s propensity to use eWOM recommendations for accommodation choices.

The study uses structural equation modelling to analyse data collected from 296 Gen Z users of Booking.com. The CSI model is adapted to the analysed context and attributes – impulsive, recreational, sustainable, fashion-conscious and perfectionist attitudes – are examined to determine their impact on eWOM use intention and actual eWOM use.

Three of the hypothesised relationships in the model were validated. Specifically, the results suggest that the attitudes of sustainable and perfectionist consumers influence the intention to use eWOM. Furthermore, use intention is positively associated with the actual use of eWOM.

For marketers and tourism businesses, understanding the decision-making styles of Gen Z can inform the development of targeted marketing strategies that emphasise quality and sustainability. Highlighting these aspects in online reviews and eWOM platforms can enhance engagement with Gen Z consumers.

This research advances the understanding of eWOM behaviour by integrating CSI and TRA theories in the context of Gen Z’s tourism decision-making. It provides empirical evidence on the significant role of perfectionist and sustainable attitudes in shaping eWOM intentions, contributing to the literature on consumer behaviour and digital marketing in tourism.

The purpose of this study is to review the different facets associated with Industry 5.0 (I5.0) and propose a conceptual framework to boost the applicability of this novel technological cum social aspects within industrial organizations for improved organizational sustainability.

This research work adopted a bibliometric analysis that encapsulates a quantitative set of tools for bibliometric and bibliographic information. This study uses the database of Scopus to acquire data related to different facets of I5.0. The study implies a different spectrum of terms to reach the final corpus of 91 articles related to I5.0. Furthermore, a conceptual define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC)-based framework based on different literature findings is proposed and validated based on the input of experts from different parts of the world.

The results indicate that I5.0 is still in its infancy. The wider applicability of I5.0 demands comprehensive theoretical knowledge of different facets of this new paradigm and the development of a framework to adopt it on a larger scale. Organizations that are in the race to adopt I5.0 face major challenges related to the digitization of processes along with well-defined cyber-physical systems and the lack of a dedicated framework to execute I5.0. Furthermore, the result also suggests that manufacturing industries are more ready to adopt I5.0 practices as compared to service industries, which can be attributed to well-defined technological measures available in manufacturing settings.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies that explore different know-how and challenges and provides a holistic view of I5.0 by providing a systematic adoption framework.

The emergence of new generations of artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT or Copilot has brought about a wave of innovation in the service workplace. These robotic agents can serve as companions, helping employees cope with work-related stress. This research introduces the concept of “artificial companionship,” which explains how robotic agents can function as partners in assisting service employees to fulfill their job responsibilities and maintain their mental well-being.

This research uses a mixed methods approach grounded in social support theory from psychology and management to develop a conceptual framework for the stress-alleviating implications of artificial companionship. A qualitative employee survey is conducted to justify the relevance of the propositions.

This research delineates the concept of artificial companionship. It highlights four distinct roles that AI can play in companionship – instrumental, informative, caring, and intimate. Building on this foundation, the research presents a series of propositions that elucidate the potential of artificial companionship in mitigating stress among employees.

Firms should consider aligning the types of artificial companionship with the demands inherent in employees’ job responsibilities to better reinforce their resilience and sustainment in overcoming work-related challenges.

This research introduces a new perspective on artificial companionship through the lens of social support theory. It extends the current understanding of human-robot collaboration in service workspaces and derives a set of propositions to guide future investigations.

This study aims to examine the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance records management practices at the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) in South Africa.

The study used a convergent mixed-methods research approach, employing interviews and questionnaires for data collection. Analysis of the collected data involved both verbatim and statistical methods, and the results were presented through tables and figures.

The study revealed that AI can proficiently and effectively execute all records management practices across the entire records lifecycle.

Consequently, the study proposed a framework that can be used as a guiding tool for the implementation and use of AI. This framework aims to enhance records management processes, not only within the GDE but also within the broader archives and records management industry.

Online grocery service (OGS) has significantly grown in recent years, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. This surge has attracted significant scholarly attention and resulted in many scientific articles in the last five years. Adopting a bibliometric review approach, this study attempts to comprehensively and systematically analyse the academic literature on OGS.

A Scopus search using pertinent keywords followed by PRISMA screening identified 384 relevant articles. Articles were analysed using VOSviewer and Biblioshiny, which employed citation and thematic analysis.

The study identifies the significantly impactful authors, articles, and journals. While the analysis reveals the evolution across four time-frames, it also highlights the clusters representing the literature strands. Six major themes are identified in the literature, and potential future research enquiries are suggested.

As the first study to include over 350 articles, it comprehensively represents the current state of the OGS literature, utilising performance and thematic analysis techniques. The article contributes significantly to the academic discourse surrounding OGS by synthesising and presenting diverse themes. Further, the future research questions provide a foundation for advancing the literature and guiding future scholarly work in the OGS domain.