IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v172y2021ics0040162521004613.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Triggers of consumers’ enhanced digital engagement and the role of digital technologies in transforming the retail ecosystem during COVID-19 pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Jiang, Yangyang
  • Stylos, Nikolaos

Abstract

This study seeks to unravel the factors that have triggered changes in individuals’ engagement with online consumption during the COVID-19 crisis and investigate the influence of digital technologies on the retail ecosystem during the lockdowns, as seen through the eyes of consumers. In doing so, a qualitative empirical research approach was adopted, and data was collected via in-depth interviews with 35 respondents during the COVID-19 lockdown in China. The study has delineated a systematic mapping of the retail ecosystem's reactions to the COVID-19 shock. Three overarching dimensions related to consumers’ online purchasing behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic were identified: triggers of enhanced digital engagement, transformative capacity of digital technologies, and socio-economic adaptability during crises. The relevant themes underlying each aggregate dimension were further elaborated with evidence from the interviews. The study findings advance the extant literature on purchasing behavior and online retailing in times of crisis and offer important practical implications on improving crisis management capabilities of the retail ecosystem via digital technologies. As a final output, four propositions were extracted to serve for further research.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiang, Yangyang & Stylos, Nikolaos, 2021. "Triggers of consumers’ enhanced digital engagement and the role of digital technologies in transforming the retail ecosystem during COVID-19 pandemic," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:172:y:2021:i:c:s0040162521004613
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121029
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162521004613
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121029?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Reinartz, Werner & Wiegand, Nico & Imschloss, Monika, 2019. "The impact of digital transformation on the retailing value chain," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 350-366.
    2. Julie Sneath & Russell Lacey & Pamela Kennett-Hensel, 2009. "Coping with a natural disaster: Losses, emotions, and impulsive and compulsive buying," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 45-60, March.
    3. Naeem Akhtar & Muhammad Nadeem Akhtar & Muhammad Usman & Moazzam Ali & Umar Iqbal Siddiqi, 2020. "COVID-19 restrictions and consumers’ psychological reactance toward offline shopping freedom restoration," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(13-14), pages 891-913, October.
    4. Sheth, Jagdish, 2020. "Impact of Covid-19 on consumer behavior: Will the old habits return or die?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 280-283.
    5. Harwood, Stephen & Eaves, Sally, 2020. "Conceptualising technology, its development and future: The six genres of technology," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    6. Badgaiyan, Anant Jyoti & Verma, Anshul, 2015. "Does urge to buy impulsively differ from impulsive buying behaviour? Assessing the impact of situational factors," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 145-157.
    7. He, Hongwei & Harris, Lloyd, 2020. "The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on corporate social responsibility and marketing philosophy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 176-182.
    8. Dolata, Ulrich, 2009. "Technological innovations and sectoral change: Transformative capacity, adaptability, patterns of change: An analytical framework," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 1066-1076, July.
    9. Kuppelwieser, Volker G. & Finsterwalder, Jörg, 2016. "Transformative service research and service dominant logic: Quo Vaditis?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 91-98.
    10. David Frederick Ross, 2015. "Information Technology and Supply Chain Management," Springer Books, in: Distribution Planning and Control, edition 0, chapter 15, pages 827-886, Springer.
    11. Acquila-Natale, Emiliano & Iglesias-Pradas, Santiago, 2021. "A matter of value? Predicting channel preference and multichannel behaviors in retail," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    12. Verma, Surabhi & Gustafsson, Anders, 2020. "Investigating the emerging COVID-19 research trends in the field of business and management: A bibliometric analysis approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 253-261.
    13. Wang, Yonggui & Hong, Aoran & Li, Xia & Gao, Jia, 2020. "Marketing innovations during a global crisis: A study of China firms’ response to COVID-19," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 214-220.
    14. Laato, Samuli & Islam, A.K.M. Najmul & Farooq, Ali & Dhir, Amandeep, 2020. "Unusual purchasing behavior during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: The stimulus-organism-response approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    15. Eunae Jung & Hyungun Sung, 2017. "The Influence of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Outbreak on Online and Offline Markets for Retail Sales," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-23, March.
    16. Brem, Alexander & Viardot, Eric & Nylund, Petra A., 2021. "Implications of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak for innovation: Which technologies will improve our lives?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    17. Japutra, Arnold & Ekinci, Yuksel & Simkin, Lyndon, 2019. "Self-congruence, brand attachment and compulsive buying," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 456-463.
    18. Timo Phillip Böttcher & Lukas Rickling & Kristina Gmelch & Jörg Weking & Helmut Krcmar, 2021. "Towards the Digital Self-renewal of Retail: The Generic Ecosystem of the Retail Industry," Lecture Notes in Information Systems and Organization, in: Frederik Ahlemann & Reinhard Schütte & Stefan Stieglitz (ed.), Innovation Through Information Systems, pages 140-146, Springer.
    19. Devezas, Tessaleno, 2020. "The struggle SARS-CoV-2 vs. homo sapiens–Why the earth stood still, and how will it keep moving on?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    20. Hu, Tun-I & Tracogna, Andrea, 2020. "Multichannel customer journeys and their determinants: Evidence from motor insurance," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    21. Denise DeLorme & George Zinkhan & Scott Hagen, 2004. "The Process of Consumer Reactions to Possession Threats and Losses in a Natural Disaster," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 185-199, December.
    22. Smith, Adrian & Stirling, Andy & Berkhout, Frans, 2005. "The governance of sustainable socio-technical transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(10), pages 1491-1510, December.
    23. Jin, Byoungho Ellie & Shin, Daeun Chloe, 2020. "Changing the game to compete: Innovations in the fashion retail industry from the disruptive business model," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 301-311.
    24. Verhoef, Peter C. & Kannan, P.K. & Inman, J. Jeffrey, 2015. "From Multi-Channel Retailing to Omni-Channel Retailing," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 174-181.
    25. Yoon, Sungjoon & Park, Ji Eun, 2018. "Tests of in-store experience and socially embedded measures as predictors of retail store loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 111-119.
    26. Ivanov, Dmitry, 2020. "Predicting the impacts of epidemic outbreaks on global supply chains: A simulation-based analysis on the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2) case," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    27. Alejo Sison, 2009. "From CSR to Corporate Citizenship: Anglo-American and Continental European Perspectives," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(3), pages 235-246, November.
    28. Islam, Tahir & Pitafi, Abdul Hameed & Arya, Vikas & Wang, Ying & Akhtar, Naeem & Mubarik, Shujaat & Xiaobei, Liang, 2021. "Panic buying in the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-country examination," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    29. Cristina Ziliani & Marco Ieva, 2014. "Innovation in Brand Promotion: Reacting to the Economic Crisis with Digital Channels and Customer Insight," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Juan Carlos Gázquez-Abad & Francisco J. Martínez-López & Irene Esteban-Millat & Juan Antonio Mondéja (ed.), National Brands and Private Labels in Retailing, edition 127, pages 151-159, Springer.
    30. Prince Clement Addo & Fang Jiaming & Nora Bakabbey Kulbo & Li Liangqiang, 2020. "COVID-19: fear appeal favoring purchase behavior towards personal protective equipment," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(7-8), pages 471-490, June.
    31. Tuominen, Matti & Rajala, Arto & Moller, Kristian, 2004. "How does adaptability drive firm innovativeness?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(5), pages 495-506, May.
    32. Pantano, Eleonora & Pizzi, Gabriele & Scarpi, Daniele & Dennis, Charles, 2020. "Competing during a pandemic? Retailers’ ups and downs during the COVID-19 outbreak," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 209-213.
    33. Shan, Wei & Qiao, Tong & Zhang, Mingli, 2020. "Getting more resources for better performance: The effect of user-owned resources on the value of user-generated content," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    34. Bruce Tether, 2003. "The sources and aims of innovation in services: Variety between and within sectors," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(6), pages 481-505.
    35. Dubois, Anna & Gadde, Lars-Erik, 2002. "Systematic combining: an abductive approach to case research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 55(7), pages 553-560, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ali Zackery & Joseph Amankwah-Amoah & Zahra Heidari Darani & Shiva Ghasemi, 2022. "COVID-19 Research in Business and Management: A Review and Future Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-32, August.
    2. Khurana, Indu & Dutta, Dev K. & Singh Ghura, Amarpreet, 2022. "SMEs and digital transformation during a crisis: The emergence of resilience as a second-order dynamic capability in an entrepreneurial ecosystem," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 623-641.
    3. Costa Melo, Isotilia & Alves Junior, Paulo Nocera & Callefi, Jéssica Syrio & da Silva, Karoline Arguelho & Nagano, Marcelo Seido & Rebelatto, Daisy Aparecida do Nascimento & Rentizelas, Athanasios, 2023. "Measuring the performance of retailers during the COVID-19 pandemic: Embedding optimal control theory principles in a dynamic data envelopment analysis approach," Operations Research Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 10(C).
    4. Liu, Hua & Ma, Ruili & He, Guangyao & Lamrabet, Abdesslam & Fu, Shaoling, 2023. "The impact of blockchain technology on the online purchase behavior of green agricultural products," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    5. Iheanachor, Nkemdilim & Umukoro, Immanuel & Yela Aránega, Alba, 2023. "Ecosystem emergence in emerging markets: Evidence from the Nigerian digital financial services ecosystem," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    6. Pinto, Marcelo Rezende & Salume, Paula Karina & Barbosa, Marcelo Werneck & de Sousa, Paulo Renato, 2023. "The path to digital maturity: A cluster analysis of the retail industry in an emerging economy," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    7. Hashemi, Hossein & Rajabi, Reza & Brashear-Alejandro, Thomas G., 2022. "COVID-19 research in management: An updated bibliometric analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 795-810.
    8. Niros, Meletios & Giannakis, Damian & Niros, Angelica, 2022. "Digital marketing effects on customer repurchase intentions following the pandemic. A strategic marketing analysis of customer equity dimensions," MPRA Paper 114331, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Byun, Kate Jeonghee & Park, Jimi & Yoo, Shijin & Cho, Minhee, 2023. "Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the influence of word-of-mouth on purchasing decisions?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    10. Raggiotto, Francesco & Compagno, Cristiana & Scarpi, Daniele, 2023. "Care management to improve retail customers' and employees’ satisfaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    11. Venâncio, Ana & Picoto, Winnie & Pinto, Inês, 2023. "Time-to-unicorn and digital entrepreneurial ecosystems," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    12. Szász, Levente & Bálint, Csaba & Csíki, Ottó & Nagy, Bálint Zsolt & Rácz, Béla-Gergely & Csala, Dénes & Harris, Lloyd C., 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 on the evolution of online retail: The pandemic as a window of opportunity," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ali Zackery & Joseph Amankwah-Amoah & Zahra Heidari Darani & Shiva Ghasemi, 2022. "COVID-19 Research in Business and Management: A Review and Future Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-32, August.
    2. Eger, Ludvík & Komárková, Lenka & Egerová, Dana & MiÄ Ã­k, Michal, 2021. "The effect of COVID-19 on consumer shopping behaviour: Generational cohort perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    3. Eleonora Annunziata & Tommaso Pucci & Jacopo Cammeo & Lorenzo Zanni & Marco Frey, 2023. "The mediating role of exogenous shocks in green purchase intention: evidence from italian fashion industry in the Covid-19 era," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2023(1), pages 59-79, March.
    4. Sigitas Urbonavicius & Karina Adomaviciute – Sakalauske, 2023. "Learning from Pandemic Periods: Elements of the Theory of Behavioral Transformation," Tržište/Market, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, vol. 35(2), pages 251-266.
    5. Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih & Fatheya Moustafa, 2022. "Panic Food Purchasing amid COVID-19 Pandemic: Does the Impact of Perceived Severity, Anxiety and Self-Isolation Really Matter?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-16, November.
    6. Ngoh, Cheryl-lyn & Groening, Christopher, 2022. "The effect of COVID-19 on consumers’ channel shopping behaviors: A segmentation study," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    7. Michela Piccarozzi & Cecilia Silvestri & Patrizio Morganti, 2021. "COVID-19 in Management Studies: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-28, March.
    8. Kochaniak, Katarzyna & Ulman, Paweł & Zajkowski, Robert, 2023. "Effectiveness of COVID-19 state aid for microenterprises in Poland," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 483-497.
    9. Zielke, Stephan & Komor, Marcin & Schlößer, Andrea, 2023. "Coping strategies and intended change of shopping habits after the Corona pandemic – Insights from two countries in Western and Eastern Europe," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    10. Margarida Rodrigues & Mário Franco & Nuno Sousa & Rui Silva, 2021. "Reviewing COVID-19 Literature on Business Management: What It Portends for Future Research?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-21, May.
    11. Guthrie, Cameron & Fosso-Wamba, Samuel & Arnaud, Jean Brice, 2021. "Online consumer resilience during a pandemic: An exploratory study of e-commerce behavior before, during and after a COVID-19 lockdown," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    12. Marina Sheresheva & Marina Efremova & Lilia Valitova & Anna Polukhina & Georgy Laptev, 2021. "Russian Tourism Enterprises’ Marketing Innovations to Meet the COVID-19 Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-17, March.
    13. Beniamino Callegari & Christophe Feder, 2022. "Entrepreneurship and the systemic consequences of epidemics: A literature review and emerging model," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 1653-1684, December.
    14. Katarina Valaskova & Pavol Durana & Peter Adamko, 2021. "Changes in Consumers’ Purchase Patterns as a Consequence of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(15), pages 1-17, July.
    15. Sejin Ha & Michelle Childs & Christopher T. Sneed & Ann Berry, 2021. "Consumer Sustainable Shopping Practices for Small Business during COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-19, November.
    16. Khlystova, Olena & Kalyuzhnova, Yelena & Belitski, Maksim, 2022. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the creative industries: A literature review and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1192-1210.
    17. Islam, Tahir & Pitafi, Abdul Hameed & Arya, Vikas & Wang, Ying & Akhtar, Naeem & Mubarik, Shujaat & Xiaobei, Liang, 2021. "Panic buying in the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-country examination," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    18. Carracedo, Patricia & Puertas, Rosa & Marti, Luisa, 2021. "Research lines on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business. A text mining analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 586-593.
    19. Magdalena Olczyk & Marta Ewa Kuc-Czarnecka, 2021. "Determinants of COVID-19 Impact on the Private Sector: A Multi-Country Analysis Based on Survey Data," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.
    20. Grimmer, Louise, 2022. "Lessons from the COVID19 pandemic: The case of retail and consumer service firms," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:172:y:2021:i:c:s0040162521004613. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.