Convergence of Physical and Virtual Retail Spaces

Author(s):  
Bethan Alexander ◽  
Daniela Olivares Alvarado

This chapter examines the effective integration of online within the offline physical store in one holistic shopping experience in the fashion sector. It explores the merging of three key dimensions in creating an integrated experience – physical store atmospheric variables, technology implementation and consumer attitudes and motivations. An extensive literature review was conducted from which a conceptual framework ensued. A multi-method qualitative research utilising case study strategy was adopted (Bryman & Bell, 2007). The data was collected by observation of technology enabled fashion stores, experiential consumer interviews (Silberer, 2009) to examine motivations, behaviour and interaction with in-store technologies and interviews with experts providing insights on the role of the store, experiential retailing and the implementation of technologies in store design.

2008 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 438-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
TA-CHEN WANG

New England experienced a significant economic transformation after the Revolutionary War. Despite an extensive literature on American development, little is known about the precise role of banks in this process. This article exploits a detailed dataset from Plymouth County, Massachusetts to show that the first bank during its early stage was far more selective in lending than the pre-existing personal credit market. Thus the mere introduction of a single bank did not broaden access to credit. Following the liberalization of chartering policy in the 1820s, however, freer entry and competition drove banks to extend credit to farmers and artisans.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 4640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salinee Santiteerakul ◽  
Apichat Sopadang ◽  
Korrakot Yaibuathet Tippayawong ◽  
Krisana Tamvimol

Sustainable development is of growing importance to the agriculture sector because the current lacking utilization of resources and energy usage, together with the pollution generated from toxic chemicals, cannot continue at present rates. Sustainability in agriculture can be achieved through using less (or no) poisonous chemicals, saving natural resources, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Technology applications could help farmers to use proper data in decision-making, which leads to low-input agriculture. This work focuses on the role of smart technology implementation in sustainable agriculture. The effects of smart technology implementation are analyzed by using a case study approach. The results show that the plant factory using intelligence technology enhances sustainability performance by increasing production productivity, product quality, crop per year, resource use efficiency, and food safety, as well as improving employees’ quality of life.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 233-251
Author(s):  
Joe TOMLINSON ◽  
Liza LOVDAHL GORMSEN

AbstractWhile there has been much talk of the role of parliaments and courts in the Brexit process, far less—indeed very little—has been said about the challenges facing the largest part of the UK government: the administrative branch. Whatever results from the UK’s negotiations with the EU, Brexit will likely necessitate wide-ranging and fast-paced administrative reform in the UK. In this article, we use a detailed case study of a particular part of administration—the Competition and Markets Authority (‘CMA’)—to highlight the nature and extent of the challenges facing administrative agencies. This case study is demonstrative as, while there is an extant UK competition administration structure, competition law and its enforcement are highly Europeanised. We propose that the challenges facing administrative bodies in the UK—including the CMA—can be understood as possessing three key dimensions: internal organisation issues; external coordination issues; and substantive legal issues. We argue that, in many instances, these three dimensions will be in tension which each other. That is to say, the reality of reforming administration post-Brexit will involve trade-offs between questions of internal organisation, external coordination, and substantive law.


Author(s):  
Leora Hadas

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is the first filmmaking endeavour of its kind: multiple separate superhero films taking place within a single diegetic world, united in a single sequel, The Avengers (2012). The third highest-grossing film in history, The Avengers drew not only on the success of its prequels, its established characters and its stars, but perhaps most of all on its writer-director, cult favourite television auteur Joss Whedon. Having delivered on the film, and with considerable experience in creating quirky, character-based telefantasy, Whedon was a natural choice for Marvel for creating the MCU's first expansion into television, ABC’s Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.LD (ABC Studios/Marvel Television/Mutant Enemy, 2013- ). This article examines the use of Whedon's name and his presence in the promotional discourse of Agents of S.H.I.E.LD as a case study of the role of the media creator in extending the transmedia brand. With the names of creators becoming increasingly visible in association with many texts where they were previously absent, such as television series and blockbuster Hollywood cinema, the use of the author name as a brand name sees growing prevalence across the screen industries. In theorizing transmedia storytelling, Elizabeth Evans (2010) has, accordingly, named authorship as one of the key dimensions in which cohesion is established. In this context, I examine the use of Whedon's involvement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where the discourse of authorship operates as a guarantor of consistency and authenticity. Looking at the promotional surround of the series in the form of trailers, interviews and convention panels, I track the writer-director's function in validating the brand extension, acting as the glue that holds the transmedia universe together. I examine Whedon's place within the matrix of the franchise, as his authorship is incorporated into and potentially competes with Marvel Studios' own brand.


2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 1721-1742
Author(s):  
Pradeep Kumar

PurposeThis paper aims to understand the specific role of value chain flexibility (VCF) in the strategies of green service production (GSP) in healthcare. The study explores the key dimensions of VCF and their linkages with the current GSP strategies in healthcare firms.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses an exploratory case study with three representative national-level healthcare firms in India. A multiple case study methodology was utilized to explore the relationships between GSP and VCF.FindingsThe findings of the study suggest that several strategies for GSP require the support of multiple dimensions of VCF. More importantly, the role of each dimension of VCF depends upon the innovativeness of green service design, green procurement and green service practices.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was conducted in the emerging healthcare market of India. Thus, the generalizability of the framework needs to be tested in another context. The study reports the employee's perception, and the patients’ (customers) views were not included.Originality/valueThe study is a first step to understand the theoretical perspectives of the relationships between GSP and VCF by exploring the underlying concepts. Furthermore, the study explicates the dynamics of their interplay in a systematic way and contributes to a framework of GSP and VCF in the healthcare context.


1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Worrall ◽  
Ann W. Stockman

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
MADELEINE LY-TIO-FANE

SUMMARY The recent extensive literature on exploration and the resulting scientific advances has failed to highlight the contribution of Austrian enterprise to the study of natural history. The leading role of Joseph II among the neutral powers which assumed the carrying trade of the belligerents during the American War of Independence, furthered the development of collections for the Schönbrunn Park and Gardens which had been set up on scientific principles by his parents. On the conclusion of peace, Joseph entrusted to Professor Maerter a world-encompassing mission in the course of which the Chief Gardener Franz Boos and his assistant Georg Scholl travelled to South Africa to collect plants and animals. Boos pursued the mission to Isle de France and Bourbon (Mauritius and Reunion), conveyed by the then unknown Nicolas Baudin. He worked at the Jardin du Roi, Pamplemousses, with Nicolas Cere, or at Palma with Joseph Francois Charpentier de Cossigny. The linkage of Austrian and French horticultural expertise created a situation fraught with opportunities which were to lead Baudin to the forefront of exploration and scientific research as the century closed in the upheaval of the Revolutionary Wars.


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