Distributed energy resources (DERs) including distributed generators (DGs) and controllable loads (CLs) are managed in the form of several microgrids (MGs) in active distributions networks (ADNs) to meet the demand locally. On the other hand, some loads of distribution networks (DNs) can be supplied by retailers which participate in wholesale energy markets. Therefore, there are several decisio...

BACKGROUND Tobacco retailers are potential public health partners for tobacco harm reduction (THR). THR is the substitution of highly reduced-risk nicotine products, such as smokeless tobacco (ST) or pharmaceutical nicotine, for cigarettes. The introduction of a Swedish-style ST product, du Maurier snus (dMS) (Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited), which was marketed as a THR product, provided a uni...

In the present competitive retailing environment, retailers are confronted with consumers who are prone to switch between online and physical retail channels as well as across retailers. This research attempts to understand the factors that influence multichannel consumer attitude to engage in switching. We propose a model based on the push-pull-mooring theory to study the impact of various det...

Emerging technologies enable customers to define by themselves through which channels they would like to interact with retailers. These technologies also enable retailers to emancipate from traditional channels, to offer services anytime and anywhere, and eventually to evolve into omni-channel retailers. In fact, most interactions between customers and retailers are enabled by information techn...

E-commerce is a fast growing channel for new business in China. However, Chinese small retailers have many difficulties in ecommerce applications nowadays, such as lack of IT skills, expensive of operation cost, etc. In this paper we present an intelligent retail system named eIRS which can help small retailers to implement their e-commerce strategies. eIRS whose single terminal entity looks li...

This paper analyses the sources of buyer power and its e¤ect on sellers’ investment in quality improvements. In our model retailers make takeit-or-leave-it o¤ers to a producer and each of them obtains its marginal contribution to total pro…ts (gross of sunk costs). In turn, this depends on the rivalry between retailers in the bargaining process. Rivalry increases when the retailers are less di¤...

Radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabled smart shelves have recently attracted enormous attention from both industry and academia. Retailers have an explosion of interest in deploying smart shelves for the automatic ordering and the reduction of inventory inaccuracy. This study explores the retailers’ optimal policy for investing in a smart shelf inventory control system. Since the decisio...

Intense competition among online retailers and high customer expectations drive product returns, which eat into online retailers’ profits. Thus, online retailers need to find ways to reduce return rates without causing a concomitant decrease in sales. Using a grounded theory approach which combines literature-based insights and in-depth qualitative interviews with managers from major online ret...