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Due to the fact that user-generated content (UGC) and online brand communities (OBCs) are gaining popularity, the purpose of this paper is to identify the type of UGC that has a real effect on product success, in terms of the number of owners, within a popular OBC associated with video games.

Different types of UGC for 205 video games were manually collected (the number of positive and negative comments, discussions, screenshots, artwork, videos, guides developed by users and the presence of a workshop) to test their influence on product success. The proposed hypotheses were tested using multiple ridge regression analysis.

Results show that users look for simple and quick reviews and content about products in OBCs (i.e. guides developed by users, comments, artwork and screenshots). However, results also show that users do not guide their purchases based on UGC when the process of gaining understanding is more time consuming (i.e. reading discussions, watching videos) or requires more active involvement (i.e. workshop presence).

Limited research has been conducted on the type of UGC found in OBCs. This study contributes to the understanding of the potential influence of different types of UGC on product success. In addition, it offers managerial insights for companies into how to manage content in online communities.

The purpose of this study is to explore the role played by digital channel integration in the town-centre shopping experience. It also explores how customers perceive the role of digital in the town-centres shopping journeys, improves shopping experiences and encourages positive future patronage behaviour. Ultimately, the aim is to identify the likely implications of a connected shopping experience on patronage intentions.

A qualitative research design using focus groups to explore customers' perceptions of connected town-centre shopping experiences was deployed. Then, data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify overarching themes.

Digital integration has the potential to serve discreetly different functions in the town-centre context: create interconnected information channels, facilitate improved connected shopping experiences, generate positive perceptions of a town, which subsequently shape future patronage intentions. The study also revealed expectations of digital integration are yet to be fully realised in the town-centre context and there are tensions between physical and digital domains to be overcome if digital integration is to positively influence patronage intentions.

The nature of exploratory research tends to pose questions and open out a problem rather than provide definitive answers. This study has sought to highlight key issues and also provide points of departure for future studies. The significance and generalisability of the results are limited by the size and nature of the sample.

This study provides theoretical contribution to the town-centre literature by expanding the understanding of consumers' perceptions of the role of digital integration in shopping journey experiences and unlocks insights into its potential impact on future patronage intentions. Practical considerations for integrating digital in the town centre to create more connected shopping experiences.

There has been a strong focus in the literature upon the factors that affect the adoption of e‐commerce, and the demographics of Internet users, but few attempts to link these two bodies of knowledge. This empirical study investigates the extent to which the adoption of e‐commerce amongst retailers is influenced by the socio‐demographic characteristics of their target customers. The questionnaire was mailed to senior marketing executives in the UK’s largest retail organisations, and ultimately resulted in the receipt of 164 useable replies, giving an overall response rate of 18 per cent. The results of a set of analyses demonstrate that organisations are most likely to adopt the Internet for information provision, marketing and direct sales purposes if their typical customer is male, young and a member of the professional/managerial classes. This is not surprising, as young, professional males are typically enthusiastic and competent users of information technologies.

The primary aim of this paper is to critically review the literature that explicitly addresses the adoption and application of internet technologies, by retailers, for the promotion and sale of merchandise. In particular, this study seeks to present a holistic and critical review of what is currently known, in order to help establish the gaps that will need to be addressed in future research studies.

The study adopts both quantitative and qualitative approaches to conduct the review, in an attempt to ensure that it is well focused and systematic.

The key finding of this study is that whilst the internet retailing literature is extremely wide‐ranging, and somewhat fragmented, it can be decomposed into three broad categories: the retailer perspective; the consumer perspective; and the technological perspective. Moreover, it has been noted that whilst the strategic potential of the internet is routinely mentioned in nearly all studies of electronic retailing, there have been very few studies that have explicitly or empirically targeted its strategic management.

The major limitation of this study is that due to the sheer volume and fragmentation of the literature in the domain, the paper has been based primarily upon a review of ten key journals, rather than every paper that has been published on internet retailing. However, because the target journals have been carefully chosen and systematically reviewed, we believe that the study should have many important implications for researchers, particularly in terms of where future studies of internet retailing might best be positioned.

This research offers a synthesis of the literature, which provides significant new insights into the field of internet retailing, and in particular its strategic importance.

The primary aim of this paper is to critically review the literature that explicitly addresses the adoption, application and impact of internet technologies, by retailers, for the promotion and sale of merchanidise. In particular, this paper seeks to present a holistic and critical review of the early predictions, with regard to the uptake and impact of internet retailing; critically reappraise these claims in light of current trends in internet retailing; and explore where e‐tailing may be heading in the coming years.

The paper adopts an extensive and critical review of the literature, with regard to the adoption, uptake and impact of internet retailing, as published in the academic literature over the past 20 years.

In hindsight, it can be seen that many of the original predictions, made at the dawn of the internet era, have not become a reality: retailers are not cannibalising their own custom, virtual merchants are not dominating the market‐place, and the high street has not, as yet, been put out of business. By contrast, other predications have come to pass: electronic intermediaries are playing an increasingly important role, “one‐to‐one” marketing has become a reality, prices are more competitive, and perhaps most importantly the consumer has become more powerful.

Providing a brief review of the past, present and future of online retailing is an extremely ambitious undertaking, especially given the vast amount of literature that has been published in this area. In attempting to provide an overall impression of the broad themes, and most important findings, to emerge from this important body of literature, it is inevitable that many important pieces of work will have been either missed or underplayed. Consequently, there is a need for follow‐up studies that aim to provide deeper and richer reviews of more narrowly defined elements of this vast landscape.

This study presents one of the first and most thorough reappraisals of the initial literature with regard to the likely development, implications, and impact of internet retailing. Moreover, the paper seeks to break new ground by attempting to use the current literature to help predict future directions and trends for online shopping.

The purpose of this study is to explore empirically the relationship between the scope of the e‐commerce strategies currently being deployed by the largest and most influential UK‐based retailers, the drivers for their adoption, and perhaps most importantly the degree to which they are perceived to be successful.

The objectives of this research were addressed by using a quantitative research strategy, based on a postal questionnaire survey of the UK's largest retailers. The research strategy produced a wealth of primary data, which were thoroughly analysed using a variety of multivariate, statistical techniques.

The study's findings suggest that the scope of the retailers' e‐commerce strategies is strongly associated with the strength of management support behind the strategy and its perceived strategic fit. By contrast, the perceived success of their strategies is most strongly associated with the degree to which the retailer has deployed a portfolio of appropriate resources and capabilities, in support of its online operations.

The major limitation associated with the study is with respect to the rather disappointing response rate of 10 per cent. However, this level of response is similar to many previous surveys in this domain, and it is probably not surprising, given the commercially sensitive nature of the data. Moreover, the extensive phone‐based follow‐up of non‐respondents has provided an important reassurance that any resultant bias is likely to have only a modest effect on the results.

The findings highlight that, despite their close relationship, the scope of an e‐commerce strategy and its success are rather different entities, and therefore the factors that affect the scope of adoption cannot be relied on to deliver success. In particular, retailer managers must recognise that, while their support and commitment may well be the impetus necessary to deliver a wide‐ranging strategy, its ultimate success may be dependent on their ability to deploy a suitable portfolio of resources and capabilities.

The study makes a major contribution in a number of ways. It provides one of the first attempts to measure the relationship between the drivers, scope and perceived success of e‐commerce strategies, and, in so doing, it delivers an objective comparison between those factors that affect the scope and the success of e‐commerce strategies. Moreover, important new measures of e‐commerce scope and success have been developed and deployed.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a better understanding of the expansion and development strategies used by retailers based in the UK for creating sustained competitive advantage in online grocery retailing.

The objectives of this research were addressed by using a qualitative research strategy consisting of two specific methods of data collection: primary and secondary data collection.

The study suggests that retailers have tended to follow an incremental approach towards the development and expansion of their online service provision. This route to expansion involves the trialling of new ideas, keeping close watch on the competition while endeavouring to introduce innovative new services to capture consumer interest and deliver customer benefits.

The major limitation associated with this study is with respect to its heavy reliance on secondary sources. Consequently, assumptions have had to be made about the retailers' strategic thinking, as we were not able to secure any first hand accounts. However, in terms of the research implications, this study has both demonstrated the value of secondary data sources, and highlighted the benefits of adopting a resource‐based analysis.

The findings highlight the importance of viewing an organisation's web‐based IT resources, as being only one element of its e‐commerce strategy.

This study makes a major contribution in two ways. First, it has mapped out the strategic pathways followed by the UK's five leading grocery retailers, in terms of their adoption of e‐commerce during the first complete decade of online retailing. Second, the paper has demonstrated how the resource‐based theory provides a very useful lens through which these pathways can be viewed and ultimately explained.

The primary aim of the research presented in this paper is to address the gap in the literature with regard to the factors that affect the uptake and application of e‐procurement within the public sector.

This analysis was achieved through five in‐depth case studies – based upon extensive interviews, observation and documentation reviews ‐ conducted within central and local government organisations.

The study shows that despite being very different in terms of their form and function, each of the five case study organisations had achieved similar levels of progress in terms of their adoption of e‐procurement technologies. In short every organisation had already adopted BACS, all five were also actively planning to implement: e‐tendering; e‐award; e‐contract and e‐catalogue systems, but none had any intention of adopting e‐marketplaces or e‐auctions.

The results of this study will help individual organisations to better understand their current situations and the barriers that will need to be overcome before they can significantly expand their adoption of e‐procurement technologies.

In addition to presenting one of the first detailed studies of the adoption of e‐procurement technologies, this study also breaks new ground through its use of the lens of “Institutional theory” to help interpret the findings.

Many traditional retailers use the internet as a complementary business channel and thus sell products through multiple channels. In contrast, “pure player” internet retailers only sell products via the internet. A proliferation of pure players over the past few years has intensified competition in the online shopping market and the question of who is better at offering physical distribution service quality (PDSQ), multi‐channel retailers or pure players, is open to debate. Despite PDSQ's importance in an electronic commerce environment there are few studies to date and most have focused on general service quality of internet shopping. The purpose of this paper is to discuss this phenomenon and posit a conceptual framework for further investigation.

This paper reviews the literature to develop variables and constructs for investigation following the first stage of Churchill's paradigm for scale development, which are presented in a framework based on the concept of order fulfilment as a key driver in electronic PDSQ, or e‐PDSQ.

The framework is presented for future investigation, thus there is no empirical study in this paper.

PDSQ has strategic importance for retailers to achieve competitive advantage and offer superior customer service, particularly for pure players as they are considered intangible services compared to their multi‐channel competitors. This importance also extends to the e‐commerce environment.

Earlier work has provided insight into how e‐PDSQ, represented by availability, timeliness and reliability, is affected by pricing, transactions and firms. This paper extends this work and presents an e‐PDSQ framework to investigate differences between multi‐channel and pure player retailers.