B2c e-commerce adoption in inner cities: An evolutionary perspective

Internet makes it possible for consumers to shop without visiting a physical store. As online shopping is becoming more popular, this could have significant impact on in-store shopping. The extent to which consumers, producers and retailers make use of the Internet as a complementary channel or as a substitute for in-store shopping is fundamental for the way traditional retailing will be affected. It is only recently that geographers are becoming interested in the spatial consequences of this new form of commerce. From a traditional geographical perspective, one could expect that business-to-consumer (b2c) e-commerce could make physical shopping redundant, leading to a ‘death of distance’. There are, however, several factors that may limit this new form of commerce, such as logistical constraints (e.g., personal delivery of goods may be quite expensive), habits of people, and the need for social contact. The main goal of the paper is to draw some expectations concerning the relationship between b2c e-commerce and inner city retailing. Using new insights based on evolutionary economics, hypotheses will be developed concerning the impact of b2c e-commerce on consumers’ shopping behaviour, retailers’ store strategy, and the inner city retailing environment as a whole. We claim that habits may act as a constraint to change consumers’ shopping behaviour. In addition, routines can explain why retailers may be rather reluctant in exploiting this new channel of commerce, and why they are most likely to adopt rather conservative e-commerce strategies. We also explain how and why inner cities, as important retailing and consumption places, may affect the way actors deal with this new form of commerce. One may expect that especially in these localities, both stimulating and limiting factors of b2c e-commerce adoption are predominant, depending on the quality or the attractiveness of the inner cities, among other things.evolutionary economics, e-commerce, urban economics

An evolutionary perspective on Internet adoption by retailers in the Netherlands

The paper analyses from an evolutionary perspective how retailers respond and adapt to b2c e-commerce. As such, the paper explores the diversity of behavior of retailers with respect to the adoption of e-commerce. More in particular, it examines empirically the extent to which the adoption of Internet strategies is affected by firm-specific features (e.g., habits of the entrepreneur, routines of firms), network relationships, and geographical proximity. Logistic regression analyses of 643 independent retailers in the Netherlands suggest that geography matters, controlling for other factors. That is, the probability of having an Internet strategy increases significantly when (a) the more knowledge spillovers are locally available; (b) the more demanding local customers are; and (c), the less rivalry is present locally.evolutionary economics, Internet strategies, retailers, city centres, the Netherlands

Strategic orientations and digital marketing tactics in cross-border e-commerce: Comparing developed and emerging markets

In this article, the impact of strategic orientations on the use of digital marketing tactics and, subsequently, on the international business performance of small electronic retailers (e-retailers) in cross-border electronic commerce (e-commerce) is analysed. Furthermore, these relationships are compared between e-retailers originating in both developed and emerging e-commerce markets. Using a sample of 446 small business-to-consumer e-retailers from 20 European countries, we find that the deployment of digital marketing tactics has a positive effect on international business performance. Of the strategic orientations examined, foreign market orientation is most associated with the use of digital marketing tactics. Remarkably, growth orientation only has a positive effect on e-retailers from developed e-commerce markets, while customer orientation negatively affects e-retailers from emerging e-commerce markets. The differences between e-retailers from developed and emerging e-commerce markets are prominent and show that markets should not be considered as either uniform or generalisable

The Geography of Internet Adoption by Retailers

Up till now, the literature on Internet adoption by retailers paid little attention to spatial variables. Using data on 27,000 retail outlets in the Netherlands, we investigate the geographical diffusion of Internet adoption by Dutch retailers. More precise, we examine to what extent retail Internet adoption differs between shopping centers, cities, and regions, while controlling for product and organizational variables. Results of the linear and multinomial logistic regressions suggest that shops at city centers are more likely to adopt the Internet than shops located at shopping centers at the bottom of the retail hierarchy. Furthermore, shops in large cities have a higher probability to adopt the Internet than shops in small cities. On the regional level, the likelihood of Internet adoption is higher for shops in core regions than for retail outlets in the periphery. In conclusion, geography seems to matter for retail Internet adoption.evolutionary economics, internet adoption, retailing

Naar effectieve regulering voor een eerlijke bezorgeconomie

De opkomst van onlineplatformen zoals Thuisbezorgd.nl en Bol.com hebben consumenten en bedrijven grote voordelen gebracht in de vorm van meer keuze en een groter bereik. Van alle onlineproductaankopen in Nederland werd eind 2019 circa 54% via onlineplatformen gedaan. En bij het online kopen van diensten en tweedehands producten bedraagt het aandeel van onlineplatformen respectievelijk 45% en 95%. Tegelijkertijd leidt de toenemende macht van sommige van deze platformen ook tot zorgen over mogelijk misbruik van die macht ten opzichte van ondernemers en consumenten. De motie-Moorlag/Van den Berg (35 300 XIII, nr. 90) verwijst naar nadelige sociaaleconomische effecten van de huidige marktordening in de bezorgeconomie die mogelijk doorwerkt in aspecten als sociale (on)rechtvaardigheid en economische (on)doelmatigheid. Tegen deze achtergrond is de centrale vraagstelling van deze bijdrage: Wat is het belang van onlineplatformen in Nederland, welke mogelijkheden biedt het bestaande regelgevingskader om op te treden tegen mogelijk oneerlijke praktijken en welke aanvullende maatregelen zou Nederland kunnen nemen voor een effectievere bescherming van ondernemers en consumenten die actief zijn op onlineplatformen? Als zodanig geeft deze bijdrage inzicht in het belang van onlineplatformen voor Nederlandse ondernemers en consumenten en laat zien dat onlineplatformen niet in een juridisch vacuüm opereren. Bestaande regelgeving stelt beperkingen aan het gedrag van platformen, maar niet alle mogelijkheden om te komen tot een eerlijke bezorgeconomie lijken al te worden benut. Dit is deels te verklaren door een gebrek aan effectieve toepassing van de bestaande regels op nieuwe gedragingen waarvoor nog geen precedent bestaat. Aanvullende maatregelen en betere afstemming tussen handhavingsinstrumenten zouden toezichthouders meer handvatten kunnen bieden om proactiever op te treden

Crowd-pleasing, niche playing and gentrifying: Explaining the microgeographies of entrepreneur responses to increasing tourism in Amsterdam

Touristification of consumption spaces describes a process in which retail and hospitality businesses adapt to the tourist demand, eroding place attachment among local residents. While this is an important cause of resistance to tourism, little is known about the mechanisms that drive or mediate this process. We address this gap by interviewing entrepreneurs in Amsterdam. We found three distinct areas in close proximity where entrepreneurs responded to increasing tourism in markedly different ways; by crowd-pleasing, niche-playing and gentrifying. The resulting microgeographies of touristification of consumption spaces have not only been overlooked in literature, but also in urban policies. This causes a mismatch between the more generic, city-wide regulation and the highly differentiated effects of tourism on consumption spaces

Worldwide internet penetration, 2000-2016

This viz shows the trends in worldwide Internet penetration (percentage of population with Internet access) over time using ITU data from 2000-2016

Twinkle100 2017 Dashboard

Een interactief dashboard met feiten en cijfers uit de Twinkle100 2017, de ranglijst van de grootste online retailers en travel-bedrijven in Nederland