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The purpose of this study is a comparative analysis of two electronic grocers, one success and one failure, in order to attempt to identify the critical success factors that contributed to their different performances.

Four aspects of each company's operations are explored and compared in this side‐by‐side case study. The foci of this study are strategic management, logistical infrastructure, information technology deployments, and marketing strategies.

The success of Peapod was the result, in general, of application of good strategy and knowledge about the opportunities provided in e‐commerce. Webvan's failure, in general, was attributable to the design of its logistics system, the misunderstanding of the capabilities of information technology, and ineffective marketing.

This study investigates only two online grocers, and the lessons learned in this comparative case study may not be applicable to other types of online business.

This paper provides insights into successful retail e‐commerce operations through the comparison of successful and unsuccessful firms in a specific business. From the analysis, businesses and individuals who are considering the future of e‐commerce for their enterprise should better understand the factors that contribute to success and failure in a pure‐play environment.

Several studies have investigated how internet businesses function, and how the customers of online businesses differ from traditional business customers. Some studies have offered comparisons of differing levels of performance within a specific e‐business; however, this report investigates the reasons for the success and failure through its comparative analysis of specific managerial activities.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the housing improvement expenditure as a consumption smoothing strategy for Japanese households.

Tobit estimation method is used to empirically investigate the role of home improvement expenditure in smoothing consumption for households in Japan using data from Japan Housing Demand Survey for 2003.

Findings suggest that: households in Japan use home improvement expenditure to adjust fluctuation in income. Income-constrained elderly households reduce their housing consumption by not improving their homes ceteris paribus in order to maintain their consumption levels. The mortgage repayment burden also plays an important role in home improvement expenditure decisions.

An implication of the analysis is that households who do not own houses may require policy intervention to maintain their welfare. Policies such as subsidies for renters in Japan need to be devised which will provide renters opportunities to smooth consumption. Further, reduction in home improvement expenditure leads to deterioration of quality of housing stock if economic downturn persists longer. This suggests that policies such as tax reduction, tax allowance or tax credit to bolster home improvement behaviour are needed during economic downturn to sustain quality of housing stock.

The paper contributes to the limited literature on the role of home improvement expenditure as a consumption smoothing instrument for households. Those who do not own houses are constrained in maintaining their welfare during downturn. Findings are important for policy makers and paper makes some suggestions in this regard.