Innovation Through Entrepreneurship 2CMNTGV

Processes, 2022

Today’s customer no longer wants one-size-fits-all products but expects products and services to be as tailored as possible. Mass customization and personalization are becoming a trend in the digitalization strategy of enterprises and manufacturing in Industry 4.0. The purpose of the paper is to develop and validate a conceptual model for leveraging Industry 4.0 and digitalization to support product customization. We explored the implications and impacts of Industry 4.0 and digitalization on product customization processes and determine the importance of variables. We applied structural equation modeling (SEM) to test our hypotheses regarding the antecedents and consequences of digitalization and Industry 4.0. We estimated the process model using the partial least squares (PLS) method, and goodness of fit measures show acceptable values. The proposed model considers relationships between technology readiness, digitalization, internal and external integration, internal value chain, and customization. The results show the importance of digitalization and technology readiness for product customization. The results reveal that the variable of internal integration plays a crucial mediating role in applying new technologies and digitalization for customization. The paper’s main contribution is the conclusion that, for successful implementation of the customization process, models are required to focus on the internal and external factors of the business environment. Our findings are supported by various practical applications of possible product customization.

EMERGING TRENDS AND STRATEGIES FOR INDUSTRY 4.0: DURING AND BEYOND COVID-19, 2021

The coronavirus epidemic, which emerged in China and affected the whole world, caused the world economy to shrink in addition to the health problems it caused. The Covid-19 outbreak has begun to transform businesses and the economy along with human behavior all over the world. Retail sector is one of the sectors that deeply feel the negative reflections of the epidemic. The strategic managers of the businesses had to change their business plans due to the closure of the stores and the retreat of the customers to their homes due to the epidemic. Customers who follow governments' calls to stay home have started to turn to e-commerce instead of retail shopping. This epidemic will of course end in the future. However, in the world that has changed due to the epidemic, nothing will be the same as before. Businesses that want to find a place in the market in the new process have to make some innovations in order to adapt to this new process. In line with all these, this study will explain the developments in the retail sector during the Covid- 19 period and after the Covid-19 outbreak, the strategic managers of businesses that want to adapt to the new process will be informed about the applications they can do.

Journal of Economic and Administrative Sciences, 2021

Purpose-This paper takes a critical look at the meaning of corporate social responsibility (CSR) based on the available literature on the subject matter. As CSR is an evolving concept both in meaning and practice, this study aims to highlight CSR actions of the world's six largest organizations (Google, Twitter, Amazon, Apple, ExxonMobil and Walmart). The purpose of choosing these organizations and their CSR adoption was to examine the business-society relationship and the role of key stakeholders in establishing this association. Design/methodology/approach-This study examined CSR through the case study approach and provides valuable insights by showing that CSR is a connecting link between business and society.

Walmart store closures, especially in rural areas, seem to be continuing since the company is moving forward in serving its urban customers and investing heavily in its digital features and markets. If this scenario happens, then many townspeople in a rural area will lose their only Walmart store, which has been part of the town for decades. There are many studies on the impact of Walmart's entry and presence in towns. However, investigating the effects of Walmart when they leave small towns is still rare. For this reason, this study is focused on addressing the impact of Walmart store closures in small towns in Missouri. The purpose of this study is to identify factors affecting the residents' perception of and response toward the impact of Walmart's store closure in Rural Areas. Our conceptual framework is designed to assess household vulnerability and incorporate food insecurity factors to capture how vulnerability and resilience in rural communities change because of...

SN Business & Economics

Digitalization and big data are continuing to revolutionize industries impacting the global economy, environment, and society as a whole. The retail industry is not an exception and is facing a paradigm shift in many aspects of its operations. One of the latest innovations in this industry is the development of unmanned stores concepts and business models. These novel business models are mostly used in the grocery stores segment with an impetus to eliminate the need for check-out lines and to create more efficiencies in the whole process of the shopping experience. Because of the disruptive nature of this business model, it is important to research the effects of its expansion into society. In this article, we are making a critical analysis of the sustainability impact of unmanned stores and assess the strategic direction and growth strategies of major corporations and organizations within the value chain. We used an unambiguous and straightforward questionnaire as the research tool and the results show grocery as the current target for expansion, however, future expectations from business developers lean heavily towards coffee and books. Interestingly, the investment logic for expected benefits from the participants seemed to be biased towards efficiencies and the value chain benefits seemed to mostly come from the use of big data and data analytics. The most important use of the data was associated with the dynamic pricing models. Additionally, our study shows interesting insight for example to the growth segments, the role of sustainability, and barriers of entry.

2020

2020

The younger generation, i.e., Gen Y and Gen Z, would make up 67% of Malaysia’s population in 2019. They are technically savvy and have huge spending power. Since this young generation is attracted to novel and exciting shopping experiences, Malaysian retailers should entice them by incorporating Retail 4.0 technologies into their existing retail formats. This paper used the technology construct from the Technology-OrganizationEnvironment (TOE) Framework to study the factors which will play a crucial part in the adoption of Retail 4.0 technologies. Although retailers are likely to face many challenges during the technology adoption process, proper strategy and also financial aid from the government will help retailers to overcome these obstacles and will eventually lead to the full digitalization of the Malaysian retail industry.

Graspingthe Cyber-world: Artificial Intelligence and Human CapitalMeet to Inform Leadership, 2019

The 21st century ushered in continuous change, artificial intelligence, which is driving immaterial assets of the human capital feature not recorded on organizations' balance sheets. This qualitative semi-structured exploratory grounded theory interview research examined points to develop best practice approaches for implementing human capital with artificial intelligence within organizations. Human capital is categorized as the econo mic value of employees' knowledge, skills, and experiences. Today, organizations must learn to categorize artificial intelligence in workforces. Such change is driving paradigm shifts. First, artificial intelligence was presented as a new approach to human capital aimed at expanding human capability. From nine (9) research questions, 24 themes were revealed. Major findings were that organizations are faced with a new human capital category, mechanistic learning and its impacts, which must be intertwined into required competencies due to artificial intelligence. A significant conclusion is that there has to be a transformation of job processes as well as position redesigns for the purpose of ushering in this new era of employees plus technologies for more effectual outcomes as collaborative units in this fifth industrial revolution encompassing artificial revolution. This text offers to practitioners, learners, and academicians information for long and short term business growth and adaptive progression.

Cultural Politics, 2013

Walmart is not only the world’s single largest retailer and employer, it is also a crystallization and an agent of a broader paradigm shift towards “securitization”: the convergence of financial and security-oriented logics of risk-management. This paper examines the way Walmart mobilizes and manipulates risk to cultivate profit and power and to transform the social and cultural politics of those who fall within its orbit. Walmart emblematizes and advances a paradigm securitization and offers a “risk free” consumer space as a refuge in an uncertain world, yet it ultimately contributes to systemic insecurity and economic anxiety.

Australasian Marketing Journal, 2020