Karine Picot-Coupey

Determinants of international retail operation mode choice: Towards a conceptual framework based on evidence from French specialised retail chains

Abstract More and more retailers have expanded internationally. Because of its impact on the success of a retailers international operations, a critical aspect of an internationalisation strategy consists of choosing the appropriate entry and expansion modes. The phenomenon remains misunderstood as little research in international retailing has focused on this question and findings from international management literature find limited application to services. This paper draws upon a literature review and six case-studies from French specialised retailers to provide an exploratory framework for examining key determinants of operation mode choice. It is found that retailers consider four underlying dimensions of operation modes. These dimensions are affected by situational, individual and marketing factors whose explanatory impacts are moderated by the motives for internationalisation and relationship networks.

Channel design to enrich customers’ shopping experiences: Synchronizing clicks with bricks in an omni-channel perspective – the Direct Optic case

Purpose The purpose of this research is two-fold: (1) to investigate the challenges e-tailers are confronted with when synchronizing clicks with bricks into an omni-channel perspective and (2) to shed light on the possible ways to overcome these challenges in order to successfully implement an omni-channel strategy. Design/methodology/approach To answer our research questions, we draw on an in-depth longitudinal case study conducted within the French on-line eyewear retailer Direct Optic from January 2013 to March 2015. From an ethnographic perspective, we document the evolution of the retailing companys decisions and processes as they moved towards defining and implementing an omni-channel strategy. Research was carried out using primary (1500+ hours of participant observation and 118 interviews) and secondary data sources. A conceptualizing content analysis was conducted both manually and with NVivo software. Findings First, our results show that the challenges faced in shifting to omni-channel strategy are so numerous and so engaging that, de facto, it is impossible to evolve directly from a multi-channel, siloed strategy to an omni-channel strategy without any transition. Second, throughout this transformative process, our result show that the challenges faced by the company evolved gradually in terms of scope and priority, and can be categorized into two main categories: the strategy-related challenges (organizational, cultural, managerial, marketing and resources) which were the highest priority in the first stage and the development-related challenges (retailing mix, information systems and CRM) which became the highest priority during the second stage. Research limitations/implications We emphasize the importance of carefully orchestrating how strategy-related and development-related challenges are addressed as, for retailers engaged in going omni-channel, this involves a complete transformation of their configuration. Originality/value Our study contributes to channel management and retailing research by (1) deepening the conceptualization of multi-, cross- and omni-channel retailing, (2) exploring the nature, importance and sequence of the strategy-related challenges and development-related challenges when shifting to an omni-channel strategy, and (3) providing insights into how successfully navigating the transformative process to be omni-channel requires investigating different possible solutions, and further testing and re-testing them, before deploying the appropriate ones. Up to our knowledge, it is one of the first studies to empirically investigate the challenges of an e-tailer when moving towards an omni-channel strategy.

The pop-up store as a foreign operation mode (FOM) for retailers

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is first, to describe the characteristics of a pop-up store in an international context, second, to investigate the motivating factors for its choice and third, to analyze its role in the retail internationalization process. Design/methodology/approach - A multiple-case study was adopted. Research was carried out using secondary data sources, social media observation and semi-structured interviews with senior managers in charge of the international development and management of pop-up stores. A conceptualizing content analysis was conducted both manually and with NVivo software. Findings - The main results cover the following aspects of an international pop-up store and highlight the differences between this choice of FOM and other store formats: key characteristics: location, design and atmosphere, merchandise mix, and store events are very creative in order to attract foreign consumer attention; choice motivations: three motivations were found, which were first, to test and adapt the concept with foreign consumers possibly unfamiliar with such a store concept, second, to raise and sustain the international profile of a retail brand, and third, to develop relationship networks with stakeholders in foreign markets; role in the retail internationalization process: a dynamic approach is adopted as role varies from mode switch at the entry stage to mode combination at the further expansion stage. Research limitations/implications - The results of this research suggest avenues for future research, particularly in relation to how the concept of the international pop-up store will evolve over time. Practical implications - This research provides guidelines for international retail managers wishing to choose a pop-up store as a foreign operation mode (FOM). Originality/value - This research provides a new insight into the characteristics, choice motivations and management of a pop-up store in an international context.

Shopping with a Smartphone: A French-Japanese Perspective

This paper deals with smartphone experiences related to consumption activities and, more specifically, to shopping. If several studies, based on adoption models, show that consumers are ready to use their smartphones widely while shopping, including for paying, very few research provides insights into the real usage of smartphones in shopping behaviour. Therefore, this paper investigates in-depth real smartphone experiences in real shopping settings, in a two-country study involving France and Japan. A qualitative methodology with structured and semistructured interviews was conducted with a sample of Japanese and French consumers. A moderate inductive approach is adopted to analyse the data. With a typology of eight usages identified in both countries, the results show that, in real life, smartphones are primarily used for information, communication, and location purposes. This research also provides evidence on the roles of the smartphone as a shopping companion that assists in pre-purchase activities and as a facilitator tool at the purchase stage of a physical shopping. Overall, the research sheds light on the synchronicity value of the smartphone, specifically its capacity to answer the consumers needs at the right time, the right place, and in the right situation.

From mobile phone to smartphone: what's new about m-shopping

M-commerce is a fast growing activity whose importance was acknowledged very soon by both managers and researchers (Balasubramanian et al 2002; Dholakia and Dholakia 2004). Models have been proposed to better understand the determinants of the intention to m-shop. Most of them have been based on mobile phones (Kleijnen et al. 2007; Ko et al. 2009) whereas smartphones have many other functionalities especially the applications (apps) which are changing totally the face of m-commerce. The purpose of this research is to develop and test a model of the determinants of m-shopping in the context of smartphone use. The contribution of this model lies in the consideration of these technological evolutions and of their impact on mobile shopping experience.

Retailing in France: Overview and Key Trends / What's up?

The French retail sector is presented through its main companies as far as the food sub-sector is concerned and through some of its most typical markets for the non food sector. The food retail sector is dominated by six large retail firms which are managed through various types of ownership arrangements. Department stores and variety stores on the one hand and clothing and cosmetic retail markets are detailed as non food retail activities. Then new trends in shopping behaviour, technologies (Internet and mobile phones) and regulation (the Raffarin Act on big store location and other laws on retail pricing) are described in order to show what challenges French retailers will face in the near future. Finally, Porter’s model, with the five strategic forces, and the stakeholder theory are mobilized to explain what could happen if regulation changes, as will probably be the case very soon.

The Perceived Risks of Adopting a Responsible Gambling Behavior: Development and Validation of a Reliable Measurement Index (An Abstract)

This research aims at developing a measurement index of the perceived risks of adopting a responsible gambling behavior. It builds on existing gambling studies, the concept of perceived risk both in consumer psychology, and in health research as well as Rothman and colleagues’ works on health-framed messages and contributes to address a specific research gap: the absence of a measurement instrument of the perceived risks of adopting a responsible gambling behavior. Following Churchill’s, Rossiter’s, and Jarvis and colleagues’ recommendations regarding the development of measurement instruments, we conducted a quantitative study (n = 22 gamblers) in order to thoroughly conceptualize the concept of perceived risks of adopting a responsible gambling behavior. Three quantitative studies (n = 605 gamblers) allowed assessing the stability, the predictive, and discriminant validity of the measure. Results show that the perceived risks of adopting a responsible gambling behavior index are a valid and reliable measure formed of five dimensions: perceived risk of (1) living less excitement, (2) having less socialization, (3) earning less money, (4) winning less money, and, finally, (5) having less distraction. Results suggest that gamblers perceive responsible gambling as a risky alternative to gambling because they would not be able to satisfy their gambling motivations.

Retail network organizational design and financial performance

Building on the exploration–exploitation–ambidexterity perspective as a broad theoretical framework, the overall objective of this chapter is to contribute to a better understanding of the impact that different mixes of organizational forms have on performance in a retail setting. Four organizational forms are considered: (1) the plural form; (2) the dual form associating company-owned stores and shop-in-shops; (3) the dual form associating franchised stores and shop-in-shops; and, finally, (4) the combined form associating company-owned stores, franchised stores and shop-in-shops. These organizational design–performance relationships are tested on a sample of 170 French fashion retail networks. The results show that (1) none of the pure or dual forms tended to generate better financial performance than any other; (2) combining company-owned units, franchised units and shop-in-shops tends to generate better financial performance compared to dual and pure forms, up to a certain point.

Moving Towards an Omni-Channel Strategy: Process and Challenges

As cross-channel and omni-channel strategies become prevalent among retailing practitioners, existing research calls for further investigation about important issues in relation to the implementation of cross- and omni-channel strategies (Brynjolfsson et al. 2013; Gallino and Moreno 2013; Lewis et al. 2013; Strang 2013). There is a need for explaining how to go omni-channel and for exploring the ways to address challenges faced when implementing an omni-channel strategy (Brynjolfsson et al. 2013). This chapter proposes to address this call by investigating an in-depth single case study of an eyewear retailer Direct Optic. By observing the orchestration of the convergence of bricks and clicks in an omni-channel perspective, this chapter answers the following research questions: (RQ1) What is the process of moving towards an omni-channel strategy? (RQ2) What are the challenges faced in this process? This research provides one of the first in-depth case studies on how a multi-channel retailer moves towards an omni-channel strategy. This research contributes in clarifying the differences between multi-channel, cross-channel, and omni-channel strategies. We also underline that moving from a multi- to an omni-channel strategy first involves organizational changes, then followed by operational evolutions. Omni-channel strategies can be considered as the optimum situation of the cross-omni-channel continuum, meaning that all the identified challenges have been overcome when reaching the extreme end of the continuum.