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This study examines customers of grocers who provide both online and traditional in‐store options to determine if there are substantial differences in customer's perceptions of service quality, product quality, product range, and sacrifices made when using a specific channel. By better understanding customer preferences, firms can appropriately match strategy and market expectations.

Data were gathered from 271 traditional in‐store customers and 1,720 online customers from three grocers. Survey results from these two groups was analyzed using regression analysis consisting of independent variables measuring the sacrifices of using a given channel, and the quality of service, products and product range and dependent variables of behavioral intentions and percent of business given to the grocer.

Online customers have a higher level of satisfaction with their service encounters, but lower levels with the tangible aspects of product quality, range of products available and channel usage sacrifices. They also spend a larger portion of their grocery “wallet” with the grocer and are less price sensitive than their in‐store counterparts.

Online customers place a premium on convenience and will spend more with firms that meet this need. Given the very low profit margins in this industry, the ability to draw and retain these customers is vitally important.

This study presents one of the first direct comparisons of customers who use two different channels from the same grocery provider to examine customer perceptions for improved strategic service and product delivery.

Overview All organisations are, in one sense or another, involved in operations; an activity implying transformation or transfer. The major portion of the body of knowledge concerning operations relates to production in manufacturing industry but, increasingly, similar problems are to be found confronting managers in service industry. It is only in the last decade or so that new technology, involving, in particular, the computer, has encouraged an integrated view to be taken of the total business. This has led to greater recognition being given to the strategic potential of the operations function. In order to provide greater insight into operations a number of classifications have been proposed. One of these, which places operations into categories termed factory, job shop, mass service and professional service, is examined. The elements of operations management are introduced under the headings of product, plant, process, procedures and people.

Assesses the evolution of retail brands within British grocery retailing over the past 25 years. Highlights key issues in defining retail brands which contribute to our understanding of their role and impact upon company strategy, and then explores how British retailers have managed the evolution of these product ranges. Identifies key factors as the changing basis and use of retail power in the distribution channel, the centralisation of management activities, and the appreciation of what constitutes retail image. Argues that British grocery retailers have successfully managed these factors to create a retail brand which is now regarded by customers as being at least equal to, if not better than, the established manufacturer brands.

This study's aim was to investigate the stimulators of fashion e-consumers within e-commerce environments. The study proposed a framework utilizing stimulus–organism–response (S-O-R) theory to suggest that fashion involvement and opinion-seeking would act as sociopsychological stimuli, while product variety as an objective stimulus. Perceived quality is proposed as an organism, moderated by perceived price. Consumer buying behavior within e-commerce environments presents the framework's response. The study looked at variables with deeper insights into Malaysian fashion consumers.

A quantitative method was used to assess the significance of relationships within the proposed model. Partial least squares structural equation modeling technique was implemented to assess the framework's relationships with a sample size of 374.

Results indicate that fashion involvement is significantly associated as a sociopsychological stimulus, with product variety being an objective stimulus for Malaysian fashion e-consumers. Perceived quality is significantly represented as an organism through the framework, and buying behavior is the latent response. Price would significantly moderate the relationship between fashion involvement and quality. Opinion-seeking was found not to be a significant stimulus for Malaysian e-consumers.

Contribution of this study goes to the existing literature by providing a deeper understanding of Malaysian e-consumer behavior by applying S-O-R theory. Malaysian fashion e-consumerism was suggested to be influenced by product involvement, quality, price, opinion-seeking and product range offered; therefore, a proposed framework was demonstrated and tested.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of store characteristics (i.e. product availability, product quality, store layout, employee politeness, décor, music, lighting, and aroma) on the various dimensions of in-store leisure shopping experience (i.e. hedonic, flow, escapism, challenge, learning, socialising, and communitas).

In order to achieve the study’s objectives, a quantitative on-site survey was conducted. Respondents were interviewed upon exiting fashion retail stores.

Findings indicate that not all store characteristics impact the various dimensions of experience in the same way. Product quality and in-store music were found to be the most important in-store characteristics that affected the majority of experience dimensions. Other important store attributes that emerged were store layout and ambient scent. Conversely, product range actually had a negative impact on in-store experience.

By orchestrating the most influential in-store characteristics, fashion retailers could be delivering unique in-store experiences to their customers. This research shows that they would benefit from designing experiential strategies that focus on merchandise quality, price, and availability while simultaneously carefully managing ambient (music and scent) alongside design factors (store layout and décor). Careful consideration should be paid to merchandise variety in order to avoid potentially negative effects on customers’ shopping experience.

Until now most studies that document the relationship between store elements and shopping experiences have examined the effects of store characteristics on a limited number of experience dimensions. This study adds to the body of research into in-store leisure shopping experience in two ways: by shedding light on its multi-dimensional nature, and by analysing the effect of the different store elements on the various components of the in-store experience.

We use the methodology from quality function deployment (QFD) for linking manufacturing flexibility to market requirements. This approach creates a framework for modelling the deployment of the need for flexibility from the customers’ viewpoints into manufacturing flexibility at various hierarchical levels. We present an application of the methodology in a real case study at a firm where a manufacturing system was being redesigned for the manufacture of a new and wider range of products than previously, based on a new product platform. Based on the case study we discuss the benefits and limitations of using the QFD approach to deploy manufacturing flexibility. The paper also presents a literature review of the manufacturing flexibility framework arena.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive set of grocery store attributes that can be standardized and used in empirical research aiming at increasing retailers’ understanding of determinants of grocery store choice, and assessing how the relative importance of the attributes is affected by consumer socio-demographic characteristics and shopping behaviour.

An internet survey of 1,575 Swedish consumers was conducted. A large set of attributes was rated by the participants on seven-point scales with respect to their importance for choice of grocery store. Principal component analysis (PCA) resulted in a reduced set of reliably measured aggregated attributes. This set included the attractiveness attributes price level, supply range, supply quality, service quality, storescape quality, facilities for childcare, and closeness to other stores, and the accessibility attributes easy access by car, easy access by other travel modes, and availability (closeness to store and opening hours).

The results showed that accessibility by car is the most important grocery store attribute, storescape quality and availability the next most important and facilities for childcare the least important. It was also found that socio-demographic factors and shopping behaviour have an impact on the importance of the store attributes.

A comprehensive set of attractiveness and accessibility attributes of grocery stores that can be standardized and used in empirical research is established. The results are valid for the Swedish-European conditions that differ from the conditions in North America where most previous research has been conducted. The results reveal the relative importance grocery-shopping consumers place on controllable attractiveness attributes compared to uncontrollable accessibility attributes as well as the relative importance of the attributes within each category.

In every manufacturing company, irrespective of size, product and other variables, management are constantly involved in quality‐related decisions which have a direct effect on product quality. An analytical method is described for assessing an organisation's approach to quality management. On application, managers are provided with information on the reality of their quality assurance activities. An overview of some of the issues involved in decision making is provided, followed by an outline of the research methodology, and, finally, the “method” is presented with some results arising from its application.

This paper aims to assess the impact of 2008 recession (Great Recession)-led environmental turbulence on the manufacturing small and medium enterprise (SME) sector and its related competitive priorities.

A mixed methods research strategy, consisting of a survey of 104 manufacturing SMEs located in the UK, complemented by 17 in-depth interviews with senior management representatives from this survey group.

Senior managers have prompted a realignment of competitive manufacturing priorities accounting for external financial and market conditions. Differing competitive priorities post-recession are given to various areas of manufacturing decision-making, the greatest impact being on manufacturing costs. Manufacturing flexibility, performance in meeting customer deliveries and enhancing supplier selection are merited to increase priority with relatively little change for process technology, quality and environmental practices.

The sample of survey participants was relatively small, therefore prohibiting an assessment of differences in competitive priorities by sub-sectors of manufacturing SMEs. This was offset by a healthy number of informative, in-depth interviews that provided a richness of examples and insight into the shifting priorities for the sector.

Clear priorities have emerged around reducing manufacturing costs, being more flexible in manufacturing and improving outward performance relating to customers and suppliers.

This builds on established manufacturing strategy constructs and points to necessary competitive priority realignment focused on the performance areas listed above.

Electronic‐retailing is the buzzword of 2000. Every other press release I receive relates to electronic commerce or Internet shopping. Therefore, it seems appropriate to focus this summer issue of Retail Insights on the subject. The first article by Rowley discusses the phenomenon of shopping bots, the intelligent agents designed to support comparison shopping across a number of Internet sites. She reviews the functions and evaluates the coverage of different shopping bots. In the second article, Wee and Ramachandra assess the level of cyberbuying activities in China, Hong Kong and Singapore by concentrating on the who, why and what of online retailing.