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The purpose of this study is to consolidate the existing literature on small retail and develop a conceptual framework using thematic analysis.

The relevant set of 224 articles has been obtained from the Scopus database by applying the PRISMA framework. Bibliometric analysis has been performed using Biblioshiny in Bibliometrix and VOSviewer.

Four major themes have been identified within the conceptual structure of the small retail domain, and a conceptual framework has been developed using the interlinkages within the themes. The intellectual structure of the domain has been explored using citation analysis, co-citation analysis and bibliographic coupling. Future research directions are also identified and documented based on the thematic analysis and overall consolidation of the literature.

This is perhaps one of the first attempts to consolidate the published literature on small retail using bibliometric analysis.

The present study aims to understand small retailers' current use of various low-cost technologies and the factors responsible for small retailers' adoption. Furthermore, these factors of adoption were mapped back to beliefs within the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), and an attempt was made to understand if some of the beliefs dominated over the others and their implications.

The study takes a qualitative approach comprising in-depth semi-structured interviews and direct observation. The qualitative data were analysed through a thematic analysis to identify technology adoption factors.

Amongst the various technologies (mobile apps), payment and procurement apps were the most widely used. The authors identified eight factors influencing technology adoption: the top being customer demand for payment apps and convenience and cost-saving for procurement apps. The study also highlights the role of the dominant beliefs in technology adoption, which managers could use to improve adoption rates.

The current study is a cross-sectional study and the sample was predominantly of grocery retailers, limiting the generalisability of the results.

Small retailers face stiff competition from organised retail and e-commerce platforms which threatens small retailers' existence. Small retailers' survival is vital as many people depend on the small retail sector for livelihood. Increased use of technology seems the only way for them to stay competitive and increase profitability. The study's outcome could help increase technology adoption amongst small retailers and increase small retailers' competitiveness.

Despite the widespread presence of small retailers in emerging economies, few studies have examined technology adoption amongst them. This study is also the first to use the TPB theory in the small retailer technology adoption context.

The objective of the study is to understand the reasons for the resilience of rural periodic markets. Small retailers patronise these markets, and by identifying the reasons for their continued market participation, an attempt has been made to explain the continued existence of these traditional evolved retail agglomerations.

A qualitative research design was adopted for the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 small retailers, and responses were used to identify the reasons for their continued market participation. A mix of purposeful and snowball sampling was used to select the respondents.

In a novel endeavour, this study presents rural periodic markets as an evolved retail agglomeration. It identifies six factors responsible for the continued participation of small retailers in these markets. Seven attributes of the rural periodic market, an evolved retail agglomeration, were also identified which contribute to the resilience of these markets.

This study contributes to the literature on retail agglomerations and identifies the reasons for the continued market participation of small retailers, suggesting some trends about their future in emerging economies.

Rural periodic markets have affected the overall well-being of surrounding villages by providing opportunities to participate in many ways. This has been identified as a reason for the economic growth of the area.

To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to explore the resilience of periodic markets from the perspective of small retailers by identifying the reasons for their continued market participation.

The purpose of this paper is to explore channel conflict from the small retailer’s perspective in the context of emerging economies. The study investigates the factors and probable outcomes of perceived channel conflict.

A qualitative research design is adopted. This study involves semi-structured in-depth interviews with 14 small retailers, selected through the purposive sampling technique, in a capital city of North India.

This exploratory study reveals five key reasons for channel conflict in the context of small retailers: coercive sources of power, retailer dependence, competitive intensity, retailer characteristics, and distributors’ role performance. The findings also highlight channel exit and passive acceptance as two probable outcomes of perceived channel conflict. Conflict may also lead to changes in the channel structure, which may significantly affect the success of multinational firms in emerging economies. The paper concludes with a discussion and presents an agenda for further research.

Channel conflict is a well-researched area, but the context of most existing studies has been larger retailers in developed economies. The findings of this study provide the reasons for and outcomes of the channel conflict encountered by small retailers in emerging economies. This study should be of interest to marketing managers, especially of consumer packaged goods firms, who want to succeed in emerging economies. These managers can use insights from the study to manage channel conflict in the context of small retailers.

The aim of this paper is to understand the influence of the external environment and rural retailer purchase preference on the length of channels in rural areas in India.

The methodology involved the survey of over 686 rural retailers in 103 villages across rural India, to trace the structure of distribution channels.

The correlation analysis and ANOVA test show that channel length varies in regions based on variation in the external environment. Village retailer with his unique buying preferences also influences the distribution channel.

The study involves only two product categories and ignores the evolutionary aspect of distribution channels.

The study provides pointers to marketers interested in gaining access to rural markets.

The paper is one of the first empirical studies which focuses on understanding the distribution channel in rural areas, by starting from the village retailer onwards to the channel intermediaries in the nearest small town.

This paper aims to study organisations involved in rural tourism during the COVID-19 crisis and draw out lessons for similar organisations.

A qualitative approach has been adopted to develop the case studies for the three organisations, and the popular crisis management model has been used to analyse their responses.

The three organisations studied responded well to survive the COVID-19 crisis, and, the responses were grouped into three broad themes, namely importance of a good team supporting the business, increased digital engagements and the need to diversify their customer bases.

Organisations working in tourism sector have been facing several crises concurrently. The findings of this study on rural tourism should hopefully provide feedback and guidance to face the future challenges that might emerge in the tourism sector.

This study would perhaps be one of the first to map the responses of organisations working in India during the COVID crisis, where rural tourism has slowly started to become a significant rural development strategy.

This study aims to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on small retailers, and their response to it, using the crisis management model. The research documents the impact and responses and attempts to identify the factors contributing to and hindering retailers’ attempts to achieve resilience.

Semi-structured interviews were used to collect qualitative data from small retailers. The interview transcripts were analysed using MAXQDA 2020 Analytics Pro data analysis software. The heterogeneity in responses to the challenges posed by the pandemic is explained using self-determination theory and diffusion of innovation theory.

One of the most significant impacts of the crisis was the disruption in the regular supply chain network on which the studied retailers relied for their traditional buying. The retailers increased customer services such as free home delivery and enhanced the use of technology in their shops. However, and worryingly, although the retailers faced two waves of the pandemic, the urge to plan and prepare was missing. The overall crisis can, therefore, be seen as an opportunity for small retailers to improve their responses when facing similar situations.

Small retailers are part of the social fabric in many emerging economies and function as a source of employment. They have been facing challenges from organised retail and e-commerce. The Covid-19 crisis pushed them to respond, and the authors hope that they will take some cues from this disruption and become more efficient and competitive in the future.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is among the first studies to map the impact of the crisis on small retailers and their response to it, drawing implications for retailers and companies and analysing the efforts made by small retailers to achieve resilience.

This study examines how formal retail formats (FRFs), and informal retail formats (IRFs) may coexist as substitutes and complements in emerging markets because of store patronage driven by customers’ chronic shopping orientations, and differences in salesperson consultation in the two retail formats.

Using a shopping motivational orientation framework, we develop and test a moderated mediation model using survey data from 515 shoppers of formal and informal grocery retail outlets in India.

While task-focused and experiential-focused shopping orientations influence both FRF and IRF patronage, store satisfaction mediates these relationships and crucially attenuates the negative impact of task-focused orientation on FRF patronage. Salesperson consultation moderates the mediating effects of satisfaction in the link between shopping orientation and patronage of both FRFs and IRFs.

The findings suggest that FRFs and IRFs could coexist as complements and substitutes when patronage is examined as repeated visits determined by shopping orientation, mediated by satisfaction and moderated by salesperson consultation.

For FRFs and IRFs to be complements, both formats must prioritize their distinctive attributes that satisfy a consumer's chronic shopping orientation. Substitution depends on how both retail formats prioritize salesperson consultation and in-store characteristics that appeal to consumers’ chronic orientation during specific shopping trips.

Whilst FRFs must satisfy task-focused shoppers to compete with IRFs, salesperson consultation can inhibit such satisfaction. However, the extent of coexistence between FRFs and IRFs depends on how each format leverages salesperson consultation to enhance satisfaction of experiential-focused shoppers.