We examine the relationship between investments in information technology (IT) and two measures of retail firm performance: labor productivity and productivity growth over the 1992 to 1997 period. We use untapped firm and establishme nt micro data from the Censuses of Retail Trade and the Assets and Expenditures Survey. We show that large firms account for most retail IT investment, employment ...

This paper presents an overview of the new issues and research opportunities related to four service operations design topics—the design of retail and e-tail service processes, design of service processes involving waiting lines and workforce staffing, service design for manufacturing, and re-engineering service processes. All four topics are motivated by new technologies (particularly web-base...

As the Internet has evolved, it has become an information, entertainment, retail, and communication source that millions of people use as a matter of routine. Given the diversity of views and the ability to post any kind of information on the Internet, very often, material that is considered objectionable can be easily accessed on the Web. This is particularly problematic when children are able...

Substantial increases in retail concentration (particularly in Europe) raise concerns about the welfare implications for consumers. In a formal model, we argue that retailer market power reduces upstream firms incentives to introduce new products. On the basis of a survey of firms in German food manufacturing, the results of a negative binomial regression model supports the proposition of a det...

Nicholls, David L. 2002. Evaluation of the retail market potential for locally produced paper birch lumber in Alaska. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-493. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 17 p. An evaluation of the retail market potential for random-width paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) lumber in Alaska was conducted. Information f...

Purpose Urban consolidation centres (UCCs) are often conceived to improve services in retail stores and potentially reduce costs. However, few studies have examined how retail stores perceive the services a UCC could provide. The purpose of this article is to explore retail stores’ potential demands for different services that a UCC could provide in order to foster the development and implement...