Gianluca Marchi

Evolution of firms' product strategy over the life cycle of technology-based industries: A case study of the global mobile phone industry, 1980–2009

This paper adopts industry life cycle approaches to understand better the changing rationales for product strategy development in the worldwide mobile phone industry. Based on both primary and secondary sources, we find that mobile phone manufacturers have radically changed their product strategy over the industry life cycle in response to various factors, such as the intense global competition and the need to respond rapidly to changes in technology and mass-consumer preferences. We also find that, when the mobile phone industry entered a stage of shake-out in the 2000s, contrary to the prediction of the classical product–process life cycle model, mobile phone manufacturers focused their strategy not only on process but also on product innovations. The continuous launch of new and advanced product technologies served mainly to stimulate the demand for replacement purchases. We observe this unexpected key role of product innovation to be very strong also in the stage of industry maturity.

International market selection for small firms: a fuzzy-based decision process

Purpose – This study aims to build and test an International Market Selection (IMS) decision process method that is able to capture, within a small firm’s risk-averse setting, the entrepreneurs experience, reduce cognitive biases, and preserve the flexibility of the decision, by combining the advantages of systematic and behavioural-based international market selection approaches. Design/methodology/approach – The unit of analysis is the IMS decision process of a small firm venturing abroad. We adopt a ranking approach based on three-step screening. We assess the markets through a multi-criteria approach with a wider set of variables aggregated within a tree-shaped model. To obtain the ranking, we use a Fuzzy Expert System (FES) as an evaluative tool. Findings – The results show that the proposed decision method is consistent with the entrepreneur’s strategic orientation and experience, while preserving the flexibility requested for decision-making in small firms. Unlike traditional behavioural IMS appro...

Enabling and inhibiting factors in adoption of Electronic-Reverse auctions: A longitudinal case study in grocery retailing

Abstract The paper aims to explore the factors that enable or inhibit the use of Electronic-Reverse Auctions (E-RAs) in the buying process of a large food retail organization, through a category management perspective. Using a case-study analysis based on in-depth interviews, examination of internal documents, simulation and direct observation of some E-RAs, we studied the experience of an Italian-based retailer conducting E-RAs during a two-year period. This approach enabled us to propose an E-RAs development model in retail buying groups, discussing enabling and inhibiting factors such as product, market, organizational and strategic factors. Propositions are developed to stimulate thought and provide guidance for future research.

The role of customer loyalty as a brand extension purchase predictor

The paper explores the relationship between customer loyalty to the retail brand and the purchase of non-traditional products and services (NTPS) offered by grocery retailers with their private label (i.e. over-the-counter products, photo printing, mobile communication services and travel booking). Customer loyalty to the retail brand is measured through its behavioral and attitudinal components. A survey was conducted administering a questionnaire to 480 retail customers in two stores belonging to different retail grocers. A binary logistic regression was then applied using the buying of at least one NTPS as the dependent variable (1 = buy; 0 = no buy) and behavioral loyalty and attitudinal loyalty as independent variables. Results show that attitudinal loyalty plays a significant role as buying predictor, but this depends on the NTPS offered. Theoretical and managerial implications are derived.

The resilient retail entrepreneur: dynamic capabilities for facing natural disasters

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the formative dimensions of organizational resilience – namely dynamic capabilities (DCs) and social capital – displayed by retail entrepreneurs in the face of natural disasters (i.e. the 2012 Emilia earthquake). The paper evaluates social capital and the various types of DCs that support small entrepreneurs’ resilience during three temporal units of analysis: before the earthquake, during the emergency period, and during the recovery process.,The study was performed by applying a qualitative approach based on two focus groups and a double set of semi-structured interviews administered to a sample of eight small retail entrepreneurs hit by the 2012 Emilia earthquake. Content analysis was then applied.,The findings show that DCs and social capital are instrumental to enhancing organizational resilience; moreover the contribution of each category of DCs (reconfiguration, leveraging, sensing and interpreting, learning and knowledge integration) and social capital to entrepreneurs’ resilience changes according to the temporal phase of the natural disaster under analysis.,This study will provide small retailer entrepreneurs and public authorities with useful insights on how DCs and social capital can practically support recovery paths at different times in the occurrence of a natural disaster.,This study contributes to the scientific debate on organizational resilience in disaster management, studying it through the lens of DCs and social capital, and analyzing the role of different types of DCs in developing entrepreneurs’ resilience during the various periods of a natural disaster. Moreover, it contributes by applying the concepts of resilience and DCs to a poorly investigated entrepreneurial context such as the retail one.

Premium Private Labels and PDO/PGI Products: Effects on Customer Loyalty

The paper analyses the role that Premium Private Labels (PPLs) exerts on customer loyalty to the retailer, intended as behavioral and attitudinal. Specifically, the study investigates the mediating role of customer loyalty to the PPL (PPLL), highlighting its main antecedents. The paper contributes to the literature on store brands and customer loyalty in a twofold way. Firstly, it responds to the call for more research on customer loyalty to the retailer as a brand, a topic requiring more empirical evidence compared to store loyalty. Secondly, as many PPLs consist in local products labelled with a PDO/PGI brand too as vehicle to increase the perceived value of this store brand tier, the study would investigate the impact of this brand guarantee on PPLs proneness.

The Moderating Effect of Trust on Formal Control Mechanisms in International Alliances

This study aims to shed light on the controversial debate regarding the substitutive or complementary nature of the relationship between inter-organizational trust and formal control as governance mechanisms in affecting international alliance performance. We deepen understanding of the trust–formal control interaction by considering the multidimensional nature of formal control – both output and process control – and examining the role of trust as a moderating variable in the relationship between these two distinct kinds of control and alliance performance. We test the research hypotheses on a sample of 138 international alliances involving Italian firms and foreign partners. First, we find that only output control has a significant positive influence on alliance performance and that trust shows a fully significant positive effect on alliance success. Second, we find that trust moderates the effect of formal control on alliance performance by reducing the relevance of output control and increasing that of process control.

Retail Brand Extension: The Moderating Role of Product Knowledge

The paper examines consumers’ perceptions of grocery retail brand extension to a non-traditional offer, namely petrol stations. Retail brand extension literature is limited, particularly as regards new products and services domains in which grocery retailers are increasingly directly operating through their brands. Additionally, the role of product knowledge as a moderator of the attitude-purchase intention relationship requires further insights. To these aims, we propose a model in which product knowledge (PK) is tested as a moderator of the relationship between attitude towards the extension (ATEX) and intention to buy the extended product (INTB). At the same time, we tested the role of ATEX as mediator of the impact of a series of antecedents—conceptual fit (FIT), national brand preference (NBP), risk (R) and resources and competences (R&C). A survey on a sample of grocery retail customers was performed administering a structured questionnaire. Then, data were processed applying Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The conceptual model achieves good predictive validity and all the proposed hypotheses are supported. Some preliminary theoretical and managerial implications are derived.

Extending the Retail Brand to Non-traditional Products

This study focuses on retail brand extension from the consumer perspective when non-traditional products—in this case over-the-counter pharmaceuticals—are offered with the private label brand. A model in which attitude towards the extension (ATE) mediates the impact of some antecedents—national brand preference (NBP), trust towards the retailer (T), fit (FIT), private label knowledge (PLK) and consumer innovativeness (INN)—impacting the intention to purchase the extended PL brand (INTB) is proposed and tested. Direct effects regarding NBP and FIT are tested too. 500 questionnaires were collected from a sample of retail customers. Structural equation modeling serves to test the hypotheses. The model shows a good fit and the hypotheses are supported—except for INN.

L'impatto del Country of Origin e della familiarità con il pro- dotto sui retail buyer cinesi

The paper analyses the effect of Country Related Product Image (Crpi) and country product familiarity (Cpf) on retail buying behaviour. Despite the relevance and richness of the country-of-origin (Coo) research, this body of literature is mainly based on investigating purchasing behaviours of consumers rather than professional buyers. Therefore, the effect that this construct exerts on retail buyers requires further understanding. Moreover, the study contributes to the literature by testing the impact of Crpi jointly with Cpf. Two products are considered to verify if these effects on retail buyer purchases intentions change in relation to specific product categories. The research hypotheses are tested by conducting a survey on a sample of 257 Chinese retail buyers and considering two specific Italian product categories: shoes and ceramic tiles. Results show that the Crpi is a multidimensional construct that influences the intention of Chinese retail buyers to buy Italian products. When we consider Cpf, Crpi maintains a significant role, with some differences between the three dimensions. Product-specific effects are observed. Theoretical and managerial implications are derived.