Understanding the complexities of omnichannel retailing through a service-dominant logic framework: exploring the role of digitalization in the retail ecosystem

ABSTRACT

Retailing’s digital transformation continues to exert pressure on marketers to effectively design and manage consumers’ shopping experiences. A multi-method research approach was adopted to thoroughly examine the current state of consumer experiences in an omnichannel retailing context. Specifically, a bibliometric analysis of 561 omnichannel retailing articles in the Web of Science database was conducted, revealing a lack of research focused on the service-dominant logic perspective. Therefore, the proposed conceptual framework utilized a service-dominant logic perspective, emphasizing the interconnected roles of various actors in shaping consumers’ experiences and their assessments of value-in-use within complex omnichannel retailing. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first comprehensive framework for understanding consumer value-in-use in omnichannel retailing, linking antecedents, consumers’ value-in-use experiences, and consequences for consumers and retailers. In summary, this paper conceptualizes how consumers perceive value co-creation within an omnichannel retail ecosystem, contributing to the development of omnichannel strategies that optimize consumers’ value-in-use across the retail landscape.

KEYWORDS:

• Omnichannel consumer experience
• service-dominant logic
• value co-creation
• value-in-use
• retail ecosystem

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Samantha Gibson

Samantha C. Gibson is the Logistics Program Leader and Assistant Professor at Robert Morris University’s Rockwell School of Business. Gibson’s research focuses on omnichannel retailing, service-dominant logic, value co-creation, services marketing, and the convenience store industry. Gibson’s research has been published in Convenience Store News, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, and Journal of Customer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaining Behavior.

Andrew J. Dahl

Andrew J. Dahl is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Dahl’s research focuses on artificial intelligence, digital transformation, digital marketing, value co-creation, services and retail marketing, among other issues. His work has been published in the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, and other journals.

Maxwell K. Hsu

Maxwell K. Hsu is a Full Marketing Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. His research interests encompass innovation diffusion, service marketing (including tourism, hospitality, and higher education), and retailing. He has authored over eighty research articles published in esteemed journals such as the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, and Tourism Management.

Gabriel Moreno

Gabriel Moreno is an Assistant Marketing Professor at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, PA. He is a quantitative researcher, and his areas of expertise encompass personal selling, sales performance, buyer-seller relationships, and sales force management. His research has been published in esteemed scholarly journals, including the European Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Consumer Marketing.