Retailers in the Era of Digital Darwinism. A study fundament for adaptation-performance relationship research with focus on Danish retailers

Grecu, Alina

4. term

Economics and Business Administration (International Marketing), Master

2017

99

Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan forskere har begrebsliggjort organisatorisk tilpasning—altså hvordan virksomheder tilpasser sig ændrede vilkår—og tester, hvordan forskellige tilpasningstilgange hænger sammen med performance (virksomheders resultater) hos 185 danske detailhandlere. Med en positivistisk tilgang og et deskriptivt korrelationsdesign kombineres primære data indsamlet til studiet med eksisterende sekundære data for at vurdere, om bestemte typer tilpasning er forbundet med bedre resultater. Analysen viser, at sammenhængen mellem tilpasningsstrategier og performance ikke kan generaliseres til alle detailhandlere; den varierer efter butikstype. Afhandlingen ser også nærmere på, hvordan e-handel påvirker den danske detailbranche. Praktisk giver den indblik på to niveauer: et makroniveau om e-handlens betydning for detailhandlen i Nordjylland og et mikroniveau om, hvordan de enkelte detailhandlere har reageret på ændringer i deres omgivelser.

This thesis reviews how researchers conceptualize organizational adaptation—how firms adjust to changing conditions—and tests how different adaptation approaches relate to performance among 185 Danish retailers. Using a positivist approach and a descriptive correlational design, it combines primary data collected for the study with existing secondary data to assess whether certain types of adaptation are linked to better outcomes. The analysis shows that the link between adaptation strategies and performance cannot be generalized across all retailers; it varies by retailer type. The thesis also examines how e-commerce is affecting the Danish retail sector. In practical terms, it offers insights at two levels: a macro-level view of the implications of e-commerce for the retail industry in Northern Jutland, and a micro-level view of how individual retailers have responded to changes in their environment.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

Retailing ; Organizational adaptation ; Digital Darvinism ; e-commerce

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