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A strategic framework for technological innovations in support of the customer experience: A focus on luxury retailers

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  • Pantano, Eleonora
  • Pedeliento, Giuseppe
  • Christodoulides, George

Abstract

Luxury organizations have traditionally resisted technology, as they perceived it to be antithetical to the values of luxury. Recently, however, competitive and market pressures, compounded by the global pandemic, have prompted luxury organizations to utilize significant technological innovations to enhance their customer experience, mostly on an ad hoc basis. Across four case studies in the luxury fashion retail sector, we conduct 12 interviews with managers. This paper advances a framework that encourages luxury organizations to consider technological innovation in retailing from a strategic point of view. Such a view involves contemplating questions regarding what technology type to adopt (radical vs. incremental) and when the best timing is to adopt the technology (pioneering vs. following technological leaps). The framework identifies four retailer roles that emerge from the innovation process: facilitator, enabler, explorer, and initiator. Each role comprises a different set of risks, resource implications, and expected returns.

Suggested Citation

  • Pantano, Eleonora & Pedeliento, Giuseppe & Christodoulides, George, 2022. "A strategic framework for technological innovations in support of the customer experience: A focus on luxury retailers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:66:y:2022:i:c:s0969698922000522
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2022.102959
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    Cited by:

    1. Aslam, Usman, 2023. "Understanding the usability of retail fashion brand chatbots: Evidence from customer expectations and experiences," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    2. Liu, Chih-Hsing & Dong, Tse-Ping & Vu, Ho Tran, 2023. "Transformed virtual concepts into reality: Linkage the viewpoint of entrepreneurial passion, technology adoption propensity and advantage to usage intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    3. Pantano, Eleonora & Viassone, Milena & Boardman, Rosy & Dennis, Charles, 2022. "Inclusive or exclusive? Investigating how retail technology can reduce old consumers’ barriers to shopping," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    4. Lee Park, Camila & Fracarolli Nunes, Mauro, 2024. "Vegan luxury for non-vegan consumers: Impacts on brand trust and attitude towards the firm," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    5. Kullak, Franziska S. & Baier, Daniel & Woratschek, Herbert, 2023. "How do customers meet their needs in in-store and online fashion shopping? A comparative study based on the jobs-to-be-done theory," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    6. Jose Albors-Garrigos & María Miguel Molina, 2023. "The servitization of innovation in the retail grocery sector: The case of Mercadona," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 245-270, June.
    7. Allal-Chérif, Oihab & Puertas, Rosa & Carracedo, Patricia, 2024. "Intelligent influencer marketing: how AI-powered virtual influencers outperform human influencers," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    8. Eleonora Pantano & Jamie Carlson & Konstantina Spanaki & George Christodoulides, 2024. "Guest editorial: More supportive or more distractive? Investigating the negative effects of technology at the customer interface," Post-Print hal-04478502, HAL.
    9. Priporas, Constantinos Vasilios & Vellore Nagarajan, Durga & Kamenidou, Irene (Eirini), 2023. "A technology-people-integrated toolkit for retail care management during a crisis," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).

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