IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/asiapa/v37y2020i3d10.1007_s10490-019-09662-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Strategizing in small informal retailers in India: Home delivery as a strategic practice

Author

Listed:
  • Atul Arun Pathak

    (Indian Institute of Management Nagpur, IIM Nagpur)

  • George Kandathil

    (Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, IIM Ahmedabad)

Abstract

Small informally organized family-owned grocery retailers—kiranas—are ubiquitous in India and have retained market dominance while facing increasing competition from large formally organized retailers (FORs). Yet, strategy literature has under-explored such informal businesses. We explore kiranas’ distinct strategic practices that give them competitive advantage over FORs, generating kiranas’ sustained market dominance. To explore kiranas’ informal strategizing, grounded theoretic analysis of our multi-year case study suggested the employment of strategy as practice (SAP) framework, enriched with the social exchange theory (SET) concepts of trust and reciprocity. We find that the kiranas’ sustained enactment of strategic practice such as free-of-charge home-delivery significantly depends on contextually rich, reciprocity-based social exchange relationships with customers which evolve through praxes involving continuous exchange of trust. The practice enactment and exchange relationships constitute strategy-practitioner’s emerging dual-identity, which in turn reinforces the practices, generating a self-reinforcing cycle of practice enhancement. Within this cyclic relationship, an inimitable enactment of a strategic practice can be a key source of competitive advantage for informally organized small retail retailers over large FORs. By linking two unconnected prominent approaches to understanding patterns of workplace interactions, namely SAP and SET, the study opens theoretical avenues for exploring strategizing of informal businesses.

Suggested Citation

  • Atul Arun Pathak & George Kandathil, 2020. "Strategizing in small informal retailers in India: Home delivery as a strategic practice," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 851-877, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:asiapa:v:37:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s10490-019-09662-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s10490-019-09662-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10490-019-09662-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10490-019-09662-4?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. Minten, Bart & Reardon, Thomas & Sutradhar, Rajib, 2010. "Food Prices and Modern Retail: The Case of Delhi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 1775-1787, December.
    2. Eero Vaara & Richard Whittington, 2012. "Strategy as practice : Taking Social Practices Seriously," Post-Print hal-02276672, HAL.
    3. John Haltiwanger & Ron Jarmin & C. J. Krizan, 2010. "Mom-and-Pop Meet Big-Box: Complements or Substitutes?," NBER Chapters, in: Cities and Entrepreneurship, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Mathew Joseph & Nirupama Soundararajan & Manisha Gupta & Sanghamitra Sahu, "undated". "Impact of Organized Retailing on the Unorganized Sector," Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi Working Papers 222, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi, India.
    5. Sarah Kaplan, 2008. "Framing Contests: Strategy Making Under Uncertainty," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(5), pages 729-752, October.
    6. Coyne, Kevin P., 1986. "Sustainable competitive advantage--What it is, what it isn't," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 54-61.
    7. Olivier Torres & Pierre-André Julien, 2005. "Specificity and denaturing of small business," Post-Print hal-02311807, HAL.
    8. Eero Vaara & Brigit Kleymman & Hannu Seristö, 2004. "Strategies as Discursive Constructions : The Case of Airline Alliances," Post-Print hal-02311665, HAL.
    9. House, William J, 1984. "Nairobi's Informal Sector: Dynamic Entrepreneurs or Surplus Labor?," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(2), pages 277-302, January.
    10. Ramakrishnan, K., 2010. "The competitive response of small, independent retailers to organized retail: Study in an emerging economy," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 251-258.
    11. Damon Golsorkhi & Linda Rouleau & David Seidl & Eero Vaara, 2015. "Cambridge Handbook of Strategy as Practice," Post-Print hal-02298228, HAL.
    12. Mathew Joseph & Nirupama Soundararajan & Manisha Gupta & Sanghamitra Sahu, 2008. "Impact of Organized Retailing on the Unorganized Sector," Macroeconomics Working Papers 22167, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    13. Birger Wernerfelt, 1984. "A resource‐based view of the firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(2), pages 171-180, April.
    14. Eero Vaara & Richard Whittington, 2012. "Strategy as practice : Taking Social Practices Seriously," Post-Print hal-02312709, HAL.
    15. Manju Smita Dash, 2011. "Next-Generation Retailing In India: An Empirical Study Using Factor Analysis," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 1(2), pages 25-35, June.
    16. Mathew Joseph, 2008. "Impact of Organized Retailing on the Unorganized Sector," Working Papers id:1672, eSocialSciences.
    17. Darbi, William Phanuel Kofi & Knott, Paul, 2016. "Strategising practices in an informal economy setting: A case of strategic networking," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 400-413.
    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. Carlos M. Jardon & Xavier Martinez-Cobas, 2022. "Leadership and Marketing Capabilities in Small Businesses of Subsistence Marketplaces," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, April.

    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. Eero Vaara & Laura Fritsch, 2022. "Strategy as language and communication: Theoretical and methodological advances and avenues for the future in strategy process and practice research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(6), pages 1170-1181, June.
    2. Rajeev Kohli & Jagdish Bhagwati, 2011. "Organized Retailing In India: Issues And Outlook," Working Papers 6666, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, revised Jan 2011.
    3. Kohtamäki, Marko & Rabetino, Rodrigo & Einola, Suvi & Parida, Vinit & Patel, Pankaj, 2021. "Unfolding the digital servitization path from products to product-service-software systems: Practicing change through intentional narratives," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 379-392.
    4. Richard Whittington, 2018. "Greatness Takes Practice: On Practice Theory’s Relevance to “Great Strategy”," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(1), pages 343-351, March.
    5. Gary T. Burke & Carola Wolf, 2021. "The Process Affordances of Strategy Toolmaking when Addressing Wicked Problems," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(2), pages 359-388, March.
    6. Kumar, V. & Sunder, Sarang & Sharma, Amalesh, 2015. "Leveraging Distribution to Maximize Firm Performance in Emerging Markets," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 91(4), pages 627-643.
    7. Darbi, William Phanuel Kofi & Knott, Paul, 2016. "Strategising practices in an informal economy setting: A case of strategic networking," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 400-413.
    8. Lakatos, Csilla & Fukui, Tani, 2014. "The Liberalization of Retail Services in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 327-340.
    9. Landes, Maurice R. & Burfisher, Mary E., 2009. "Growth and Equity Effects of Agricultural Marketing Efficiency Gains in India," Economic Research Report 55959, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    10. Gupta, Shaphali & Ramachandran, Divya, 2021. "Emerging Market Retail: Transitioning from a Product-Centric to a Customer-Centric Approach," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(4), pages 597-620.
    11. Seth Schindler, 2014. "Producing and contesting the formal/informal divide: Regulating street hawking in Delhi, India," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(12), pages 2596-2612, September.
    12. Eero Vaara & Juha-Antti Lamberg, 2016. "Taking historical embeddedness seriously : Three historical approaches to advance strategy process and practice research," Post-Print hal-02276732, HAL.
    13. Ge, Jiwen & Honhon, Dorothee & Fransoo, Jan C. & Zhao, Lei, 2020. "Manufacturer competition in the nanostore retail channel," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 286(1), pages 360-374.
    14. Shameen Prashantham & Mark P. Healey, 2022. "Strategy as Practice Research: Reflections on its Rationale, Approach, and Contributions," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(8), pages 1-17, December.
    15. Vamsidhar Reddy, T.S. & Hall, Andy & Sulaiman V., Rasheed, 2010. "New Organisational and Institutional Vehicles for Managing Innovation in South Asia: Opportunities for Using Research for Technical Change and Social Gain," MERIT Working Papers 2010-054, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    16. Linden, Erik, 2021. "Pandemics and environmental shocks: What aviation managers should learn from COVID-19 for long-term planning," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    17. Markus Helfen & Jörg Sydow & Carsten Wirth, 2020. "Service Delivery Networks and Employment Relations at German Airports: Jeopardizing Industrial Peace on the Ground?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(1), pages 168-198, March.
    18. Pizzo, Anthony D. & Kunkel, Thilo & Jones, Gareth J. & Baker, Bradley J. & Funk, Daniel C., 2022. "The strategic advantage of mature-stage firms: Digitalization and the diversification of professional sport into esports," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 257-266.
    19. Kohtamäki, Marko & Heimonen, Jesse & Sjödin, David & Heikkilä, Vili, 2020. "Strategic agility in innovation: Unpacking the interaction between entrepreneurial orientation and absorptive capacity by using practice theory," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 12-25.
    20. Englund, Hans & Gerdin, Jonas & Burns, John, 2020. "A structuration theory perspective on the interplay between strategy and accounting: Unpacking social continuity and transformation," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 73(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:kap:asiapa:v:37:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s10490-019-09662-4. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.