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PurposeDrawing on the resource-based view, this study aims to investigate the conditions under which small- and medium-sized retailers can improve competitive benefits through the lens of brand equity and strategies for competitive advantage in retail buying groups.Design/methodology/approachThis study collected 241 samples from small- and medium-sized supermarket retailers who joined retail buying groups in Japan.FindingsThis study offers two key findings. First, the results indicate that a buying group's brand equity partially mediates the relationship between member retailers' strategic integration and their buying group benefits. Second, member retailers with a stronger differentiation orientation strengthen the positive impact of strategic integration on the buying group's brand equity and buying group benefits. The moderating effects of low-cost orientation were not found to be significant.Practical implicationsTo highlight the sustainable growth of small- and medium-sized retailers in retail buying groups, which are often ignored in the extant literature, this study offers practical guidance on the importance of a buying group's brand equity. In addition, based on the findings, this paper postulates that member retailers pursuing differentiation orientation, rather than low-cost orientation, are more beneficial to retail buying groups in terms of relational outcomes and performance consequences.Originality/valueBy conceptualizing brand equity in retail buying groups, this study suggests a novel approach for retail management that investigates how a buying group's brand equity is linked to strategic integration, strategies for competitive advantage and buying group benefits from the viewpoint of member retailers.

This study addresses issues arising in the management of retail buyers. We consider the impact on supplier relationship management and organizational performance when retailers manage buyers based on an outcome-based control. To confirm the trends indicated in our proposed research model, this study conducts a survey of merchandising division heads at Japanese retail companies. The results from structural equation modeling analysis reveal that outcome-based control, through the central, mediating role of relationship continuity, encourages cooperation with suppliers, and this cooperation yields greater organizational performance for retailers. The findings raise questions as to the significance of forming a clan-like system when managing results-oriented buyers on an outcome basis.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a model investigating the relationship among inter-departmental communication, buyer innovativeness, and retail competitiveness. The authors also explore whether a retail strategy of supply base diversification for managing suppliers moderates the association between innovativeness and competitiveness.Design/methodology/approachHypotheses were tested using a structural equation model and survey data drawn from general merchandise managers of 149 supermarket retailers in Japan.FindingsThe results indicate that inter-departmental communication between merchandising and store divisions drives innovativeness among retail buyers and ultimately strengthens firm competitiveness. Moreover, when buyer innovativeness is evident and less actively the retail buyers utilize supply base diversification, the stronger is the retailer's competitiveness. The study failed to find any direct impact of inter-departmental communication on retail competitiveness.Practical implicationsThis study offers managerial insights into the roles that buyer innovativeness, inter-departmental communications, and supply base diversification play in developing effective competitive strategies.Originality/valueThis study makes two key contributions. First, it is novel in using inter-departmental communication to explain the antecedents of buyer innovativeness. Second, drawing on the power-dependence theory, the authors extend the well-established innovativeness-performance linkage by exploring the moderation effect of supply base diversification.

PurposeBy adopting a cross-country analysis, this study aims to investigate how consumers' perception of book covers affects their online book purchases in terms of feelings of delight and perceived value of the book.Design/methodology/approachThe authors tested the hypotheses using a structural equation model using two countries' datasets obtained from 191 Japanese and 207 French consumers.FindingsThe perceived attractiveness of a picture/photo on a book cover can positively influence feelings of delight. Such emotion enhances a book's perceived value, resulting in active online book purchases. Furthermore, when the perceived value of a book is evident, the French are more strongly motivated to purchase books compared to Japanese consumers.Originality/valueBy simultaneously examining emotion and perceived value as an organism, the authors advance the knowledge of the relationship between book covers and online book purchases. In addition, the authors offer evidence that cross-cultural differences (between the French and Japanese) can stimulate different responses to each affective and cognitive internal state, although similar environmental stimuli are provided.