Mgt811 Contemporary Management Capabilities | Assessment Answers

Case discussion activity can you win back online shoppers?

Case study illustration 'can you win back online shoppers?'

Using the knowledge that you have gained from the topic together with additional resources that you locate, answer the following questions:

What conflicting values are evident in this case?

What advice would you give the Board of Benjy’s about a way forward that resolves the values conflict?

What management competencies do you believe this case highlights that are important for the 21st century leader-manager in VUCA world?

Answers:

1.

The case study is mainly based on the issue which has been termed as showrooming. The Board was mainly concerned about the issue leading to huge amounts of losses for the company named Benjy’s in the retail industry. The issue is mainly based on the ways by which the customers who visit the showroom compare the products that are displayed with those which are offered online. The major conflicting values that have been depicted in this case are based on the ways by which Bertice, the daughter of the founder of Benjy’s felt that the customers who visited the stores and did not buy the products were cheating them (Daunt & Harris, 2017). On the other hand, the choice of the showroom from where the customer wants to buy the products is completely based on their will. The solutions that were thereby being proposed by the CEO and the founder of the company were totally different. The CEO had suggested the showcasing of exclusive products in the showroom. The founder was more concerned on developing immediate strategies in order to face the situation (Gensler, Neslin & Verhoef, 2017).

2.

The solution which can be provided to the company based on the ways by which it can increase the levels of profitability is based on the development of a feedback based system which will be able to identify the reasons behind changes that have taken place in behaviour of customers. The feedback provided by the customers will thereby be able to play a major role in the effective operations of the company. The major reason which can be stated behind the lack of showroom customers is related to the availability of stock. The online shopping websites on the other hand are able to offer huge variety of products to the customers. The main issue can only be analysed by the company with the help of proper feedback which will be collected from the customers who visit the stores (Kuksov & Liao, 2018). The integration of different in-store activities with the online strategies can also play a major role in resolving the conflicts which are taking place within the organization based on showrooming.

3.

Globalisation in the modern economy has been affected by the new demographics and digital technologies. The environment that has thereby been developed in the economy depicts high levels of complexity and demand new ways related to leading, thinking and fostering high levels of innovation. The competencies that have been shown in the case study are based on the ways by Benjy’s is able to develop strategies in order to respond to the issues which have occurred due to rising competition. The CEO and the founder of the company have shown high levels of competencies in the process of taking important steps related to development of the company (Rapp et al., 2015). The CEO had suggested different strategies as compared to the founder. However, the strategies have proved to be quite relevant in nature for the modern business environment.

References

Daunt, K. L., & Harris, L. C. (2017). Consumer showrooming: Value co-destruction. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 38, 166-176.

Gensler, S., Neslin, S. A., & Verhoef, P. C. (2017). The showrooming phenomenon: it's more than just about price. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 38, 29-43.

Kuksov, D., & Liao, C. (2018). When Showrooming Increases Retailer Profit. Journal of Marketing Research, jmr-17.

Rapp, A., Baker, T. L., Bachrach, D. G., Ogilvie, J., & Beitelspacher, L. S. (2015). Perceived customer showrooming behavior and the effect on retail salesperson self-efficacy and performance. Journal of Retailing, 91(2), 358-369.