When digitalized customers meet digitalized services: A digitalized social cognitive perspective of omnichannel service usage

Online recommenders' anthropomorphism improves user response to hedonic and benefit-based product appeals through the recommenders' perceived ability to learn

Previous studies reveal the limited effectiveness of benefit-based and hedonic-based product recommendations provided by online recommenders, and recommender anthropomorphism is considered a remedy. This paper aims to investigate the positive effect of anthropomorphism by involving the online recommender's perceived ability to learn as a mediator. Based on schema congruity theory, perceived benefit/hedonic appeals appropriateness is considered a dependent variable. In Study 1, subtle anthropomorphic cues within an online recommender had a positive effect on perceived benefit-appeals appropriateness through the perceived ability to learn. Study 2 demonstrated the positive relationship between perceived anthropomorphism and perceived hedonic-appeal appropriateness, with the mediating role of the perceived ability to learn. The results advance the knowledge about consumer response to online recommenders from the perspective of anthropomorphism and schema congruity theory. Marketers and consumer organizations are advised on how to deal with online recommender systems providing benefit and hedonic appeals.

Exploring the Impact of Online and Offline Channel Advantages on Brand Relationship Performance: The Mediating Role of Consumer Perceived Value

As omnichannel shopping behavior becomes increasingly popular among consumers, how to leverage the respective advantages and synergies of online and offline channels to retain customers for a long time is an urgent issue for retailers to solve. The purpose of this study is to explore the key advantages of online and offline channels influencing the omnichannel shopping experience in the decision-making process, and investigate their impact on consumer perceived value and brand relationship performance, as well as the interaction effect of online channel advantages and offline channel advantages. This study identifies the key advantages of online channels (search convenience, customer-generated information richness, and social connection) and offline channels (direct product experience, sales-staff assistance, and servicescape aesthetics) through a qualitative study and relevant literature review. Then, the proposed research framework was tested using the structural model equation in AMOS and hierarchical regression techniques in SPSS utilizing data from 347 shoppers. The results show that all variables except customer-generated information richness have positive impact on consumer perceived value. Other than search convenience and customer-generated information richness, consumer perceived value mediates the effect of other variables on brand relationship performance. Additionally, the interaction effect of online and offline channel advantages positively impacts consumer perceived value.

Factors of customers’ channel choice in an omnichannel environment: a systematic literature review

The proliferation of mobile devices and the continuous development of online technologies has led to an increasing variety of channels, leaving customers with a choice of channel alongside the choice of product, service, or retailer. Any attempt to optimize customer experience and engage in successful omnichannel management will require a complete, multifaceted understanding of the processes around channel choice of customers. To date, the many existing studies around multi- and omnichannel research have failed to yield an integrated, comprehensive synthesis of factors involved in customers´ channel choice. Our study conducted a systematic literature review to the end of identifying the factors involved in channel choice which appear in the scientific literature on this topic over the last two decades. We retrieved 128 papers from three bibliographic databases (EBSCO Host, Scopus, and Web of Science) and carried out descriptive analysis on them. Qualitative thematic analysis inductively extracted 66 different factors of channel choice, each assignable to five broader categories, from the studies included in the review. The findings indicate that perceived channel characteristics, customer needs and situational or contextual factors influence customers´ channel choice directly, and customer characteristics and characteristics of products or services influence it indirectly. Alongside its presentation of an integrated conceptual framework comprising these relationships, our study details a comprehensive research agenda with regards to theories, contexts, and methods and, in particular, with regards to factors influencing customers´ channel choice. Our findings advance the academic understanding of channel choice behavior and provide researchers and practitioners in this area with information on important implications for omnichannel management.

When Digitalization Meets Omnichannel in International Markets: A Case Study from the Agri-Food Industry

Digitalization is prompting small and medium-sized enterprises to structural and strategic transformations, also providing new opportunities to expand and succeed in foreign markets. However, relatively few studies have investigated emergent digital technologies in international business management. Contextually, there is still a dearth of research on the multi-faceted impacts of digitalization on omnichannel strategy characterizing most of the global business environment today. This paper, therefore, aims to examine the impact of digitalization on omnichannel choices adopted by internationalized SMEs. A qualitative approach, based on a single case study methodology, is adopted. An Italian agri-food SME is chosen as this industry is considered a key and distinctive pillar of Made in Italy in the international markets. Findings reveal the potential of digital technologies’ applications in an omnichannel environment, blurring the boundaries between channels, through a synergetic integration of them. This evidence contributes to the existing literature on technology management and omnichannel strategies in the international context by rereading these phenomena through a smart ecosystem lens. In addition, this study provides practical insights on how multiple channels adopted by Made in Italy SMEs can be integrated, managed, and operated synergistically on international markets to sustain a digitalized value creation.

Threats and Opportunities in Digital Transformation in SMEs from the Perspective of Sustainability: A Case Study in the Czech Republic

Digital technologies represent an important factor in the achievement of the sustainability goals of the European Green Deal. Whether the digitalisation trend will contribute to the sustainable development of societies in the long term depends on how we shape and understand it. The aim of this paper is to create a concept for the management of the threats and opportunities in the digital transformation of SMEs. As part of a broader research project, a complex tool was developed to assess the digital maturity of SMEs, and our paper focuses on one aspect of this tool, which is related to the identification and management of the opportunities and threats that are associated with digital transformation trends. The methodology that was used to develop this paper is based on a pilot survey that involved 154 SMEs in the Czech Republic, 74 of which were used for the follow-up survey on the opportunities and threats. Sixteen key trends were identified, which were then reduced to five latent factors, with their names forming five dimensions. In the cluster analysis, the companies were divided into three clusters, which served as the basis for determining the final cluster centres. The result is a concept for the management of the threats and opportunities in the digital transformation of SMEs. Digital transformation is the broad topic. Therefore, the theoretical overlap of this study can be seen in the narrower focus on the identification and management of the opportunities and threats in digital transformation. In addition, this study focuses on SMEs because there are more than one million small and medium-sized enterprises in the Czech Republic, and they create 54% of the innovative solutions. The practical impact of this study can be understood in the fact that the proposed concept may enable SMEs to more easily manage threats and opportunities in their digital transformation.

Drivers of digital transformation adoption: A weight and meta-analysis

The advent of the global pandemic has accelerated the growing need for product and service transformation, highlighting the emerging importance of technology and creating the opportunity to update the digital transformation (DT) domain through empirical-quantitative research. This weight and meta-analysis enabled the synthesis and integration of previous literature on the scope of individual DT adoption, evaluating the state of the art and filling a void on the subject. Athwart 88 studies and 99 datasets by international sources, our results demonstrate that attitude and satisfaction are relevant predictors of behavioral intentions and promising outcomes, including compatibility and personal innovativeness. Behavioral intentions, satisfaction, and habit are the best predictors for DT use. Usefulness and ease of use are critical for DT adoption intention and use, being moderated by individualism, as a cultural factor, human capital, and knowledge-technology, as innovation indicators. We present a conceptual model of promising and best predictors for future research on DT individual adoption.

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An update of digital transformation (DT) through a weight and meta-analysis.

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Contribution to DT literature by surpassing biases and limitations of size estimates.

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Identification of promising and best predictors for further DT adoption research.

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Behavioral intentions, satisfaction, and habit are best predictors for DT use.

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Usefulness and ease of use are pivotal, being moderated by culture and innovation.

Channel Depth or Consistency? A Study on Establishing a Sustainable Omnichannel Strategy for Fashion Department Store Retailers

In recent years, fashion department stores have struggled to sustain their foothold in the competitive market due to changing consumer behavior as well as technological advancement. This study aimed to examine customers’ perspectives on the shopping channels of omnichannel fashion department stores. The analysis was based on data from 552 customers who shopped at U.S. omnichannel fashion department stores. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were utilized to analyze the hypothesized relationship. The results showed that brand attitude mediated the influence of perceived fluency of customers’ purchase intentions in the omnichannel fashion department store setting. Content consistency and process consistency also positively affected customers’ perceived fluency of the channels of those fashion department stores. Customers are more likely to purchase from a fashion department store that provides consistent content and processes across the multiple shopping channels from which they can purchase merchandise. Further, customers value consistency of the content and processes across all fashion department store channels. The results are insightful especially for industry practitioners, as it enables them to develop a sustainable omnichannel business strategy by focusing on the depth of the channels and channel consistencies (content and process) while improving customers’ purchase intention from their stores.