Purpose -The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the challenges e-tailers are... more Purpose -The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the challenges e-tailers are confronted with when synchronizing clicks with bricks into an omni-channel perspective; and second, 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 the research questions, the authors 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, the authors document the evolution of the retailing company's decisions and processes as they moved towards defining and implementing an omni-channel strategy. Research was carried out using primary (1,500+ 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, the 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, the 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 customer relationship management (CRM)) which became the highest priority during the second stage.
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the challenges e-tailers are... more Purpose -The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the challenges e-tailers are confronted with when synchronizing clicks with bricks into an omni-channel perspective; and second, 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 the research questions, the authors 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, the authors document the evolution of the retailing company's decisions and processes as they moved towards defining and implementing an omni-channel strategy. Research was carried out using primary (1,500+ 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, the 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, the 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 customer relationship management (CRM)) which became the highest priority during the second stage.
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Papers by nithya murugan