SERVICE-PROCESS CONFIGURATIONS IN ELECTRONIC RETAILING: A TAXONOMIC ANALYSIS OF ELECTRONIC FOOD RETAILERS

Service-processes of electronic retailers are founded on electronic technologies that provide flexibility to sense and respond online to the dynamic and complex needs of customers. In this paper, we develop a taxonomy of service-processes in electronic retailing and demonstrate their linkage to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The taxonomy is grounded in a conceptual classification scheme that differentiates service-process stages on a continuum of flexibility. Using data on electronic service-processes collected from 255 electronic food retailers, we identified eight configurations for the taxonomy. We also collected and analyzed publicly reported customer satisfaction survey data that were available for 52 electronic food retailers in the study sample. The results of this analysis indicate positive and significant correlation of the ordering of the taxonomy configurations with (i) customer satisfaction with product information, product selection, web site aesthetics, web site navigation, customer support, and ease of return, and (ii) customer loyalty. Taken together, the results of our empirical analyses demonstrate that the taxonomy captures information and variety within and across the electronic service-process configurations in ways that can be related to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.Marketing, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

DESIGN AND DELIVERY OF ELECTRONIC SERVICES: IMPLICATIONS FOR CUSTOMER VALUE IN ELECTRONIC FOOD RETAILING

Electronic food retailers can satisfy their customers more effectively if they understand how this particular market works. As in other service segments, the emergence of electronic business-to-customer services in the retail food industry poses questions for managers about the design of new food retailing services and the redesign of existing services for delivery through electronic channels. Important topics include characteristics of electronic service offerings, the typical operational configurations used to deliver electronic services, and the ways in which they relate to the effectiveness of electronic service delivery. We address this issue by developing a product-process matrix for understanding and analyzing electronic retailing services in general. We tailor the matrix to food retailing in particular. The product-process matrix allows electronic food retailers to determine in advance what features they need in a web site to serve their chosen market effectively.Consumer/Household Economics, Marketing, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS OF U.S. FOOD PROCESSING PLANTS

This paper presents a model-based approach for competitive analysis of manufacturing plants in the U. S. food processing industry. As part of this approach, plant competitiveness is measured using Operational Competitiveness Ratings Analysis (OCRA) -- a new non-parametric method of computing relative inefficiency. Drivers of competitiveness are identified in terms of policies related to plant structure and infrastructure. Policies related to plant structure are those decisions that are related with "bricks and mortar" and have long term implications, such as decisions related to plant size and capacity. Policies related to plant infrastructure are decisions related to how the " bricks and mortar" are used. These policies are typically under the direct control of the operations managers and have a short-term orientation, such as decisions related to equipment, quality, inventory, workforce and confusion-engendering activities (e.g. new product introductions and product variety). The empirical analysis is based on detailed cross-sectional data on 20 processed food manufacturing plants. With respect to plant structure, the results suggest that small sized food processing plants are competitive, and both capacity underutilization and overutilization are detrimental to plant competitiveness. Among the significant results with respect to plant infrastructure, equipment maintenance, quality management programs, packaging supplies inventory, workforce training and product variety are positively associated with plant competitiveness. The results also suggest that introduction of new products disrupts plant operations, at least in the short run, and is negatively associated with plant competitiveness.Agribusiness,

Evaluating Product-Centric Continuous Improvements: Impact on Competitive Capabilities and Business Performance

Product-centric continuous improvements (CIs) are actions via which firms modify the design of a product after the start of its production and release into the market. Product-centric CIs are initiated to help build competitive capabilities and sustain competitive advantage throughout the product life cycle. This study complements the perspective pervasive in the extant literature that actions related to product-centric CIs can be disruptive to firms and be associated with negative performance consequences. It investigates a topic that is relatively much less researched, namely the upside potential of product-centric CIs. The empirical analysis is based on data collected from 144 plants in the United States representing process and discrete part manufacturing industries. Specifically, the study analyzes the impact of product-centric CIs on competitive capabilities and business performance. The results of the empirical analysis indicate the following: First, there exist two categories of product-centric CIs: (1) actions for quality improvement and (2) actions for cost reduction. Second, while there is a positive association between each type of CI and the intended competitive capability, there also is a trade-off—i.e., actions for quality improvement increase quality capability but reduce cost capability, and vice versa. Third, there is a strong linkage between business performance and quality capability, but not cost capability. All in all, the study presents empirical evidence that product-centric CIs have a significant impact on competitive capabilities related to quality and cost, and, in turn, have an impact on business performance. From the standpoint of practice, the study suggests that product-centric CIs should be managed to develop competitive capabilities and improve business performance

The development and application of a process model for R&D project management in a high tech firm: A field study

a b s t r a c t In R&D organizations of high tech firms, multiple R&D projects are executed concurrently and timeliness of project completion -i.e., developing the right products at the right times -is a matter of serious concern. Given that the priority of R&D projects and the interdependencies between the projects in a high tech firm change dynamically, high tech R&D project management is a complex and challenging endeavor. To improve the understanding and management of high tech R&D projects, this paper reports the findings of a field study where we, first, develop and empirically estimate a model that relates project priority over time with the generative mechanisms of market pull and technical challenge associated with R&D projects. Next, we develop and demonstrate the application of a process model within which the time-varying project priority model is embedded. The process model makes it possible to allocate fixed resources among competing projects with time-varying interdependencies, thereby improving the timeliness of project completion. This research was conducted in collaboration with a major U.S. high tech firm. The corporate R&D center of the firm served as the research setting for the field study. We present an application of the process model to delineate the evolution of the R&D organization with the merger of its (technology driven) parent firm with another (market driven) high tech manufacturing firm. The application of the process model generates theoretical insights that are used to develop testable propositions. Implications of the study findings and directions for future research are discussed

Estimation of the Time Path of the Supply Price of an Exhaustible Resource: The Case of Oil and Natural Gas

Explores the interplay of geopolitical, economic, geological and operational factors that may disrupt the gradual upwards shift of the supply price of non-replenishable resources, specifically oil and natural gas. Describes the econometric identification of the supply price curve for oil and gas in the U.S. using two alternative independent variables: total footage drilled and number of wells completed. Develops a new constrained least squares method, the Thore regression map, of studying shifts of the supply price function over time and uses the techniques to estimate supply price drift. Provides, for the first time, statistical evidence of the time path of the drift upwards of these schedules. Shows that the shifts accelerate during times of upheaval in the oil markets, reflecting the need for a higher risk premium, but may be delayed during times of industry consolidation. A by-product of the analysis is a format for forecasting the supply price of an exhaustible resource.IC2 Institut

DESIGN AND DELIVERY OF ELECTRONIC SERVICES: IMPLICATIONS FOR CUSTOMER VALUE IN ELECTRONIC FOOD RETAILING

Electronic food retailers can satisfy their customers more effectively if they understand how this particular market works. As in other service segments, the emergence of electronic business-to-customer services in the retail food industry poses questions for managers about the design of new food retailing services and the redesign of existing services for delivery through electronic channels. Important topics include characteristics of electronic service offerings, the typical operational configurations used to deliver electronic services, and the ways in which they relate to the effectiveness of electronic service delivery. We address this issue by developing a product-process matrix for understanding and analyzing electronic retailing services in general. We tailor the matrix to food retailing in particular. The product-process matrix allows electronic food retailers to determine in advance what features they need in a web site to serve their chosen market effectively

SERVICE-PROCESS CONFIGURATIONS IN ELECTRONIC RETAILING: A TAXONOMIC ANALYSIS OF ELECTRONIC FOOD RETAILERS

Service-processes of electronic retailers are founded on electronic technologies that provide flexibility to sense and respond online to the dynamic and complex needs of customers. In this paper, we develop a taxonomy of service-processes in electronic retailing and demonstrate their linkage to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The taxonomy is grounded in a conceptual classification scheme that differentiates service-process stages on a continuum of flexibility. Using data on electronic service-processes collected from 255 electronic food retailers, we identified eight configurations for the taxonomy. We also collected and analyzed publicly reported customer satisfaction survey data that were available for 52 electronic food retailers in the study sample. The results of this analysis indicate positive and significant correlation of the ordering of the taxonomy configurations with (i) customer satisfaction with product information, product selection, web site aesthetics, web site navigation, customer support, and ease of return, and (ii) customer loyalty. Taken together, the results of our empirical analyses demonstrate that the taxonomy captures information and variety within and across the electronic service-process configurations in ways that can be related to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty

Operational Drivers of Customer Loyalty in Electronic Retailing: An Empirical Analysis of Electronic Food Retailers

The relationship between customer loyalty and the order procurement and order fulfillment processes of electronic retailers is empirically examined in this paper. The study sample contains data from 52 electronic food retailers. After controlling for the retailers' product categories based on design flexibility, our regression analysis results indicate that three order procurement variables---website navigation, product information, and price; and three order fulfillment variables---product availability, timeliness of delivery, and ease of return have significant association with customer loyalty. In terms of their relative contributions toward improving customer loyalty, these variables can be ordered in a descending order as follows: ease of return, timeliness of delivery, website navigation, product availability, price, and product information.Order Procurement, Order Fulfillment, Electronic Retailing, Empirical Analysis, Customer Loyalty