Omni-channel approach: a utopia for companies?
(A2019-8000)

AUTHORS

Susana Silva, Universidade Católica Portuguesa; Joanna Radomska, Strategic Management Department, Wroclaw University of Economics and Business; Monika Hajdas, Marketing Management Department, Wroclaw University of Economics and Business

KEYWORDS

channel integration; omni-channel strategy; strategy implementation

ABSTRACT

A shift toward seamless consumer journey experience is a new concept observed in the retail industry resulting from customer-centric approach (Schoenbachler & Gordon, 2002). In the new paradigm, channels are becoming more intertwined and intricate and ultimately we have to face the omni-channel alternative. However, this alternative seems to be difficult to operationalize by companies. This is mainly due to several difficulties that need to be unveiled and disentangled. Therefore, in this paper, we aimed at identifying the barriers faced by firms and categorize them depending on the perspective: operational and strategic (where employee-related and strategy related factors were identified). Based on that, some propositions of further research were suggested to verify if the framework proposed effectively explains the main reasons why firms are facing difficulties in implementing a real omni-channel approach.