Cooperative Green Technology Innovation of an E-Commerce Sales Channel in a Two-Stage Supply Chain

The potential broad market of green consumption has encouraged an increasing number of enterprises to carry out green technology innovation activities. This paper examines a two-stage supply chain of e-commerce sales channels under different cooperative models. We find that consumers’ green preferences are the main factor that affects green product market demand. The manufacturer and the retailer can raise the levels of green technology innovation and extend green promotional services to expand product market demand in online and offline channels. However, consumers’ e-commerce preferences and online free-riding behaviors affect the manufacturer’s sales channel choice. The retailer can improve the level of green promotional services to hold offline channel market demand, while promotional behaviors have a positive/negative spillover effect on online market demand if the level of free riding falls above/below consumers’ e-commerce preferences. The higher the cooperative level is, the later the manufacturer will open the online channel and close the offline channel to ensure a high level of green promotional service from the cooperative retailer. The results show that the stronger the level of cooperation among all members is, the better the economic, ecological, and social benefits will be. Therefore, we design a revenue-cost sharing contract that can effectively motivate green technology innovation and green promotional services and afford all members win-win profits.

Implementation of the Digital Sales Channel in the Coatings Industry

The development process in the coatings industry can be shortened by digital transformation, and its costs can be reduced using a technical enabler. However, formulators need up-to-date and comprehensive data on existing and potential ingredients to develop the formulation. We were curious about how to supply formulators with data. The idea was that suppliers of ingredients provide data using the “common enabling technology”. We hypothesize that direct data entry compensates suppliers because they can shorten the sales process and increase sales. We used a survey to select key sales channels in the industry. Detailed process models were designed using structured interviews. We analyzed models using structural and operational indicators. Finally, we formed a new digital sales process and verified it. The results show that the digitally formatted sales process can be shortened by up to 32%. Simultaneously, more potential customers can be accessed using the common technology. Existing sales channels would not be closed down. Nevertheless, the digital sales channel is expected to prove its worth over time and gradually increase its share. The suppliers of ingredients can thus avoid a radical process transformation and the immediate integration of additional information technology into the company information system in such an evolutionary way.

COMMERCIAL EXPENSE MANAGEMENT TOOLS

A tool for managing commercial expenses is proposed – a matrix that compares the target purpose of costs, sales channels and the stages of the sales channel life cycle.

The Strategic Value of the Mono-Brand Store for European Luxury Fashion Brands

Mono-brand stores have traditionally served as the pre-eminent sales and distribution channel for luxury fashion goods. Although the emergence of digital sales channels platforms has certainly challenged the sales channel dominance of mono-brand stores, the consequential impact of digitalisation of luxury-brand selling has been to recast and intensify the strategic value of mono-brand stores, principally as a means of reinforcing, protecting, and communicating the luxury brand’s proposition across international markets. By drawing from and applying agency theory and institutional theory to an understanding of the role of the mono-brand store, we can gain insight into the evolution of the most traditional of luxury-brand distribution methods in the twenty-first century.

Environmental marketing as an optimal system of marketing and certification as a part of commodity policy

The article reveals some aspects of environmental marketing. The issue of choosing the optimal sales system and certification as part of enterprise policy is studied. It is established that products with excellent environmental characteristics, when organizing the system of its distribution often require specific conditions of storage of goods and compliance with certain rules in its sale. It was found that in order to choose the distribution channels of environmentally friendly products was optimal, it is necessary to follow a certain algorithm. Firstly, it is advisable to have a clearly defined purpose of organizing the sales channel. Secondly, to formulate the conditions and restrictions under which a certain distribution system is chosen. Thirdly, determine sales goals and measures to achieve them. The developed algorithm will ensure compliance of the selected system with environmental, economic, and consumer criteria for the operation of the enterprise within the concept of environmental marketing. Within the concept of environmental marketing, the certification procedure is a means of confirming the presence in the products or activities of the enterprise of different environmental characteristics, which are the core of product policy and are declared in communications. The main role of certification in the formation of demand and promotion of pro-environmental products is to disseminate information about certain characteristics of products or activities of the enterprise and confirm the reliability of such information. The effectiveness of certification as a tool of environmental marketing is to provide consumers and other members of the contact audience with certain guarantees to ensure that all stages of production (or product components) meet certain standards or requirements, as well as minimize the likelihood that the company will adversely affect the environment.

Russian insurance market: Problems of functioning and growth drivers in times of the coronavirus crisis

Subject. The article investigates indicators of certain segments of the Russian insurance market in 2020, key problems of the market functioning in the context of the coronavirus crisis, and possible solutions. Objectives. Our aim is to identify key problems in the market functioning in conditions of the coronavirus crisis, propose measures to solve them, and specify the market growth drivers in the short term. Methods. We perform a content analysis of available sources and use statistical data for the period under review. Results. The study reveals that at the current stage of the Russian insurance market development, all its key growth drivers are associated with the sales channel of banks. This highlights imbalances in the structure of sales channels for insurance products, the underdevelopment of the direct sales channel, and, consequently, imbalances in the structure of the Russian financial market. It is obvious that the level of confidence of the Russian people in the banking sector is higher than in the insurance sector, and the sale of a significant share of insurance products stems from the requirements of banks when they sell their credit products. Conclusions. The insurance sector is highly integrated with the banking sector. Furthermore, it is extremely susceptible to crisis phenomena in the credit market. To overcome this dependence, it is crucial to implement a set of measures to increase the level of insurance culture of the Russian people, their awareness of existing and newly created insurance products, the benefits of insurance, in combination with measures for boosting the effective demand.