Search results

The aim of this paper is to explore the meaning of the term “retail brand” to small‐ to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) owner managers and how this impacts upon brand management practice.

This research utilises a case study approach, which involved 12 SME retailers located in two regions of the UK, combining qualitative interview data with desktop research and documentary evidence.

The findings of this paper confirm that the owner manager is central to the brand management function in SME retail firms. Furthermore, it was found that the retail brand encompasses both symbolic and functional meaning to the owner manager.

This research contributes to the retail and SME literature by offering a conceptual framework, which presents the interpretation of the retail brand from abstractive, service and environmental perspectives.

It is recommended that SME owner managers set an overall direction for branding across all aspects of the retail business. In doing so, existing retail brand models may be utilised as a tool kit for SME brand managers.

The research begins to address a significant empirical lacuna in branding at the SME retail marketing interface. This paper also adds to wider marketing discourse, through the presentation of terminological adaptation within a small retailing situ.

The internationalisation of large multinational retailers is well documented and much research attention has been given to their motives and strategies for expansion. Yet, no research in this field has specifically addressed the internationalisation of small‐ to medium‐sized companies (SMEs) operating in the retail industry. The theoretical insights from the literature revealed important gaps in extant research, which relate to the barriers, stimulants, drivers, facilitators, process, and market entry strategy of retail SME internationalisation.

This paper aims to fill these gaps. Since the intention of this study was not to describe, but rather to build theory from an unexplored area of research, an in‐depth case approach was deemed most appropriate. Therefore, the paper presents the findings from a number of case studies of SME retail internationalisation operating from the UK.

Key findings from this study not only confirm that smaller British retailers have both the potential and capability to enter international markets successfully, but provides initial insights into how they overcome the constraints of size and establish an international market strategy. The findings from this study also offer insights into the SME sector of the retail industry in the UK in terms of their experience and adoption of government exporting programmes, and details the main implications for managers of small international firms.

Although knowledge on SME retailer internationalisation, as it stands, is at a very early stage of development, this analysis of actual company activity in the UK retail industry provides important insights into a neglected area of international retail study and should help to develop the body of knowledge on SME internationalisation in general.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which customers evaluate inferior product presentations on a local shopping platform based on the retailer (small and medium-sized enterprise [SME] vs retail chain).

The authors conducted a between-subject online study (N = 728) with a 2 (SME vs retail chain) x 2 (high vs low-quality product presentation) between-subject experimental design. The authors conducted several analyses of variance to analyze the hypotheses and analyses of covariance for a mediating effect.

This study's results show that customers tend to overlook inaccuracies from a retail chain more often than they overlook inaccuracies from SME retailers. The authors show that the perceived competence of the retailer mediates the impact of the retailer's quality on customer purchasing intentions, not only for the presented product but also for the retailer itself.

Based on this study's results, the authors give implications for retailer cross-channel strategies and hint at the importance of emphasizing the retail size.

This paper provides important contributions to the literature on resource-advantage theory by explaining that consumers perceive quality differences within product presentations on online shopping platforms differently with regard to retail chains vs SME retailers. Moreover, the information processing theory helps to provide a theoretical foundation concerning differences in online store quality (via engineered low- vs high-quality product presentations in this study).

The purpose of this paper is to understand how small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) retailers adopt and implement a loyalty card programme as a marketing management decision-making tool.

A qualitative and longitudinal case study research design is adopted. Data were collected from multiple sources, incorporating semi-structured interviews and analysis of company documents and observation within a retail SME.

The findings presented focus on the loyalty card adoption process to reflect both the organisational issues and impact upon marketing management decision-making.

This research is restricted to one region within the UK, investigating loyalty card adoption within a specific industry sector.

SME retailers operate in an industry environment whereby there is a competitive demand for loyalty card programmes. SME retailers need to carefully consider how to match the firm’s characteristics with customer relationship management (CRM) operational requirements as highlighted in this case.

The evidence presented extends current knowledge of retail loyalty card programmes beyond the context of large organisations to encompass SMEs. The study also illustrates the value of a structured, formal CRM system to help SME retailers compete in a complex, competitive and omni-channel marketplace, adding new insights into the retail literature.

The retail sector in a lot of countries consists of many small and medium sized specialty retailers who face a high degree of dynamics and competition. Consequently, these companies also have to constantly evolve and develop resilient strategies that promise their future success. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the resource and capability bundle for operating as and transforming to a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) omni-channel specialty retailer. Therefore, the authors followed the notions of the Resource-Based-View (RBV) and of the Dynamic-Capabilities-View (DCV).

To answer the authors’ formulated research questions, they applied an exploratory research method by conducting 12 semi-structured and guideline-based expert interviews from two countries.

The findings reveal a specific bundle of transformation resources and capabilities and important drivers for the implementation of an omni-channel strategy. Thereby, the human resources factor and the market as well as customer understanding play a decisive role. In addition, the authors have identified country-specific differences in the technological, logistical, product-specific and financial areas.

The results reflect the importance of qualified and well-trained staff for SME retailers to implement omni-channel strategies in alignment with a high level of service quality. Especially in the Covid 19 era, flexible structures and quick adaptability are essential to remain competitive. Nevertheless, everything should always be in line with the company's own philosophy.

The paper provides new insights into important resources and capabilities retailers need to focus on when implementing an omni-channel strategy. The paper concentrates in particular on the groups of SMEs and niche markets as well as examines country-specific differences in a developed and a developing country.

This paper seeks to identify the skills gaps associated with retail employees in SME and multiple retail companies, and to investigate the potential training and business implications that arise from these skills gaps, from the point of view of retail employers.

Research was conducted within one geographical region and across five counties within the UK. Telephone and face‐to‐face interviews and focus group workshops were conducted, resulting in responses from 52 retailers.

The key issues and areas of concern to emerge were: the industry image and impact on recruitment and retention; employee and management skills gaps; and barriers to training.

The findings highlight the need for UK retail industry to raise the image of the sector, to identify the skills sets for specific roles, and to clarify the retail qualifications and training required delivering these.

Succeeds in identifying the skills gaps associated with retail employees in SME and multiple retail companies and in investigating the potential training and business implications arising from these skills gaps.

This paper is the result of empirical research funded by The British Academy. The overall purpose of the study is to investigate the initial barriers to internationalization experienced and perceived by small retailers based in the UK and the role of government support in addressing such obstacles.

A qualitative, multiple case research design is adopted. This involves semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with the senior manager/decision‐maker in six retail SMEs based in the UK and the analysis of company documentation and information from a range of secondary sources.

The findings from the case study data highlight internal and external barriers to internationalization relating to management: lack of vision, fear of losing control, lack of knowledge; the company: transfer of retail concept overseas, lack of resources, lack of consolidation in domestic market; and the external environment: legislation, currency, cultural differences and logistics. The findings also highlight an overall negative experience and perception of government support in assisting smaller retailers to overcome these barriers and aid expansion outside the UK.

The findings of this study provide important insight into the perceived and actual barriers encountered by retail SMEs. On one hand, the focus on SMEs provides fresh evidence to the retail internationalization literature, which has focused primarily on the barriers faced by large multinational retailers. On the other hand, the context of this study, yields new insight into research conducted in the field of SME internationalization, which has to date ignored smaller firms in the retail industry. The findings of this study also allow for recommendations to be made to both owner‐managers and government organizations.

The introduction, implementation and enforcement of new laws governing the conduct of business can result in substantial additional costs to retailers. Focusing on small to medium sized (SME) retailers in rural areas and market towns, the study reported here aims to provide an understanding of perceptions of potentially disproportionate implementation costs and the resulting consequences.

A three‐stage design was used. An exploratory focus group with representatives of the Rural Shop Alliance was followed by seven semi‐structured depth‐interviews with SME retail representatives. Thematic analysis of the qualitative findings formed the basis for a survey of SME retailers in five market towns.

Findings show SME retailers' perceptions of the differential burden related to the impact of new legislation, with the key factors of direct cost, time costs and information costs. Consequently, business growth and the formalisation of staffing arrangements, in particular, can be obstructed. Generally, good relationships with Trading Standards and Environmental Health Officers are often driven by a need for reactive compliance rather than offering a proactive information and support mechanism.

Findings clarify the nature of the differential burden of legislation to retail SMEs. The need for an “outcomes‐for‐business” driven proactive stance by local delivery agencies is highlighted. Ongoing support visits, telephone help lines and leaflets and the press rather than the internet are identified as key information sources.

Both qualitative and quantitative evidence is brought together in the assessment of an area of concern to retail SMEs.

The purpose of this paper is to identify how small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME) fashion retailers can achieve a true understanding of customer trends to close the needs to offer gap in a highly dynamic sector.

A single case study approach is adopted in light of the limited research in this area. Data collection involved a multi‐stage and multi‐methods approach over a six month period to increase the validity of findings and the triangulation of data.

The findings of this paper highlight, first, the need for formal CRM intervention; and, second, the issues involved in the implementation of a loyalty program.

In the absence of specific knowledge in this area, a framework is developed to advance both theoretical and practical understanding of how SME fashion retailers can build and manage close customer relationships in the new economy.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how market factors (pertaining to institutions, competition and resources) shape the international strategies of an online retailer.

A single qualitative case study research design is employed to conduct in-depth analyses of a Swedish internationalising small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) in the retail business.

The findings show that online retailers can use partnerships to tackle industry dynamics and break into foreign markets. This type of “piggy-back internationalisation” can be an effective strategy of handling foreign market dynamics in the entry phase: that is to say, the short term. Reliance upon relationships, however, may paradoxically inhibit retailers’ abilities to stay competitive in the post-entry phase (i.e. the long term) since they become cut-off from the first-hand market learning.

The authors provide propositions based upon the findings to support further research in the international marketing and international retailing literature.

The findings enhance the understanding of how electronic commerce affects SME internationalisation. They also generate new insights into the use of possible international expansion strategies for managers in retail SMEs.

This study introduces a new theoretical perspective to build upon international retail research and contributes to the international retail literature with relevant insights into both advantages and disadvantages of using partnerships to overcome challenges related to international online retailing.