This paper discusses the literature on the established determinants of productivity in the retail... more This paper discusses the literature on the established determinants of productivity in the retail sector. It also draws attention to some neglected strands of research which provide useful insights into strategies that could allow productivity enhancements in this area of the economy. To date, very few attempts have been made to integrate different specialisms in order to explain what drives productivity in retail. Here this paper rectifies this omission by putting together studies from economics, geography, knowledge management and employment studies. It is the authors' view that quantitative studies of retail productivity should focus on total factor productivity in retailing as the result of competition/composition effects, planning regulations, information and communications technology, the multinational operation element and workforce skills. Further, the fact that retail firms possess advantages that are transferable between locations suggests that investment in strategies enhancing the transfer of explicit and tacit knowledge between and within businesses are crucial to achieve productivity gains.
Management practices are undoubtedly inextricably linked to a company's productivity, however res... more Management practices are undoubtedly inextricably linked to a company's productivity, however research findings are mixed. This paper provides a multi-disciplinary review of the current evidence of such a relationship and offers suggestions for further exploration. We first summarise recent work investigating the existence and size of the productivity gap between the UK and other countries. We then lead on to discuss how productivity and management practices have been measured. Research findings from studies trying to understand how Information and Communication Technology (ICT), operations, and Human Resource (HR) management practices (amongst others) impact upon productivity are discussed. Finally, we suggest the application of a new operational research methodology (agent based modelling and simulation) to provide new insights into the effect of management practices. The paper ends with a summary of findings.
This paper discusses the literature on the established determinants of productivity in the retail... more This paper discusses the literature on the established determinants of productivity in the retail sector. It also draws attention to some neglected strands of research which provide useful insights into strategies that could allow productivity enhancements in this area of the economy. To date, very few attempts have been made to integrate different specialisms in order to explain what drives productivity in retail. Here this paper rectifies this omission by putting together studies from economics, geography, knowledge management and employment studies. It is the authors' view that quantitative studies of retail productivity should focus on total factor productivity in retailing as the result of competition/composition effects, planning regulations, information and communications technology, the multinational operation element and workforce skills. Further, the fact that retail firms possess advantages that are transferable between locations suggests that investment in strategies enhancing the transfer of explicit and tacit knowledge between and within businesses are crucial to achieve productivity gains.
Management practices are undoubtedly inextricably linked to a company's productivity, however res... more Management practices are undoubtedly inextricably linked to a company's productivity, however research findings are mixed. This paper provides a multi-disciplinary review of the current evidence of such a relationship and offers suggestions for further exploration. We first summarise recent work investigating the existence and size of the productivity gap between the UK and other countries. We then lead on to discuss how productivity and management practices have been measured. Research findings from studies trying to understand how Information and Communication Technology (ICT), operations, and Human Resource (HR) management practices (amongst others) impact upon productivity are discussed. Finally, we suggest the application of a new operational research methodology (agent based modelling and simulation) to provide new insights into the effect of management practices. The paper ends with a summary of findings.
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Papers by D. Higon