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PurposeThe advent of grocery sales through online channels necessitates that bricks-and-mortar retailers redefine their logistics networks if they want to compete online. Because the general understanding of such bricks-and-clicks logistics systems for grocery is still limited, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the internal logistics networks used to serve customers across channels by means of an exploratory study with retailers from different contexts.Design/methodology/approachA total of 12 case companies from six European countries participated in this exploratory study. Face-to-face interviews with managers were the primary source for data collection. The heterogeneity of the sample enabled the authors to build a typology of logistics networks in grocery retailing on multiple channels and to understand the advantages of different warehousing, picking, internal transportation and last-mile delivery systems.FindingsBricks-and-mortar grocery retailers are leveraging their existing logistics structures to fulfill online orders. Logistics networks are mostly determined by the question of where to split case packs into customer units. In non-food logistics, channel integration is mostly seen as beneficial, but in grocery retailing, this depends heavily on product, market and retailer specifics. The data from the heterogeneous sample reveal six distinct types for cross-channel order fulfillment.Practical implicationsThe qualitative analysis of different design options can serve as a decision support for retailers developing logistics networks to serve customers across channels.Originality/valueThe paper shows the internal and external factors that drive the decision-making for omni-channel (OC) logistics networks for previously store-based grocery retailers. Thereby, it makes a step toward building a contingency and configuration theory of retail networks design. It discusses in particular the differences between grocery and non-food OC retailing, last-mile delivery systems and market characteristics in the decision-making of retail networks design.

Worldwide investments in influencer marketing are growing and could reach US$ 101 billion in 2020. But how can the brands shield themselves from scandals and other limitations of human influencers? The solution for many companies has involved robots. Virtual influencers (VI) are virtual robots that can emulate human appearance and behaviour and have become a trend in marketing. This study analyses how non-human influencers affect marketing communication by adopting two methods that are unpublished in the investigation of this phenomenon: a systematic literature review and netnography in conjunction with in-depth interviews with specialists resulting in the study identifying five categories (two of which are unpublished and unexplored in the literature) that can facilitate management decisions and also future studies around VIs: anthropomorphism/humanization, attractiveness, authenticity, scalability, and controllability. This study also identified more convergences than divergences between the virtual and the real and between humans and non-humans, generating challenges, opportunities, and guidelines for future research and for assisting management in making decisions concerning digital marketing.

Purpose - This paper seeks to demonstrate the importance of uses and gratifications theory to social media. By applying uses and gratifications theory, this paper will explore and discuss the uses and gratifications that consumer receive from using social media. This paper seeks to provide a better and more comprehensive understanding of why consumers use social media.Design methodology approach - Exploratory study was conducted. 25 in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals who use social media.Findings - This study identified ten uses and gratifications for using social media. The ten uses and gratifications are: social interaction, information seeking, pass time, entertainment, relaxation, communicatory utility, convenience utility, expression of opinion, information sharing, and surveillance knowledge about others.Research limitations implications - Limitations are small sample size. Research implications are that uses and gratifications theory has specific relevance to social media and should be given more prominence. Uses and gratifications theory helps explain the many and varied reasons why consumers use social media.Practical implications - This paper helps organizations to understand why consumers use social media and what gratifications they receive from social media.Originality value - This paper makes the contribution that uses and gratifications theory has specific relevance and should be given more prominence within the area of social media. This paper also provides a rich and vivid understanding of why consumers use social media.

Discussions is a new feature of GitHub for asking questions or discussing topics outside of specific Issues or Pull Requests. Before being available to all projects in December 2020, it had been tested on selected open source software projects. To understand how developers use this novel feature, how they perceive it, and how it impacts the development processes, we conducted a mixed-methods study based on early adopters of GitHub discussions from January until July 2020. We found that: (1) errors, unexpected behavior, and code reviews are prevalent discussion categories; (2) there is a positive relationship between project member involvement and discussion frequency; (3) developers consider GitHub Discussions useful but face the problem of topic duplication between Discussions and Issues; (4) Discussions play a crucial role in advancing the development of projects; and (5) positive sentiment in Discussions is more frequent than in Stack Overflow posts. Our findings are a first step towards data-informed guidance for using GitHub Discussions, opening up avenues for future work on this novel communication channel.

Background Evaluations of complex interventions in public health are frequently undermined by problems that can be identified before the effectiveness study stage. Exploratory studies, often termed pilot and feasibility studies, are a key step in assessing the feasibility and value of progressing to an effectiveness study. Such studies can provide vital information to support more robust evaluations, thereby reducing costs and minimising potential harms of the intervention. This systematic review forms the first phase of a wider project to address the need for stand-alone guidance for public health researchers on designing and conducting exploratory studies. The review objectives were to identify and examine existing recommendations concerning when such studies should be undertaken, questions they should answer, suitable methods, criteria for deciding whether to progress to an effectiveness study and appropriate reporting. Methods We searched for published and unpublished guidance reported between January 2000 and November 2016 via bibliographic databases, websites, citation tracking and expert recommendations. Included papers were thematically synthesized. Results The search retrieved 4095 unique records. Thirty papers were included, representing 25 unique sources of guidance/recommendations. Eight themes were identified: pre-requisites for conducting an exploratory study, nomenclature, guidance for intervention assessment, guidance surrounding any future evaluation study design, flexible versus fixed design, progression criteria to a future evaluation study, stakeholder involvement and reporting of exploratory studies. Exploratory studies were described as being concerned with the intervention content, the future evaluation design or both. However, the nomenclature and endorsed methods underpinning these aims were inconsistent across papers. There was little guidance on what should precede or follow an exploratory study and decision-making surrounding this. Conclusions Existing recommendations are inconsistent concerning the aims, designs and conduct of exploratory studies, and guidance is lacking on the evidence needed to inform when to proceed to an effectiveness study. Trial registration PROSPERO 2016, CRD42016047843

[...]increasing the diversity of the study population in this type of study might increase the noise-to-signal ratio uncontrollably and unnecessarily. [...]we recommend that authors clearly state the following points in their publications, if applicable: 1. [...]in the context of small, explorative physiology studies, we find the critique inappropriate and misunderstood for the reasons laid out above. [...]we believe that by addressing the inherent issues of the limited diversity among participants in small, exploratory trials in publications authors can highlight both the merits and limitations of such studies more appropriately. Conclusion In conclusion, as much as the increased focus on diversity in participant populations of phase 3 and 4 clinical trials in general is long overdue, we advocate for a less strict approach towards diversity in small, exploratory studies taking the nature of this type of study into account.

PurposeThe growth of omni-channel retailing is causing consumers to change their habits and shopping behaviour. It is essential to understand the factors on purchase intention within the consumer context. The purpose of this paper is to explore factors that are influencing consumers to use omni-channel in their shopping behaviour – specifically in the apparel sector in Turkey as an emerging country.Design/methodology/approachDesigned as exploratory research, this study used four different focus groups. Focus groups were conducted with university students who have experienced the company’s omni-channel applications. The study sample included a total of 30 purposefully selected university students in Izmir, Turkey, who previously shopped at the same store. The selected retail store is the leading domestic shopping brand and the pioneer in omni-channel in the apparel and fashion sector in Turkey. The participants were given three company-related scenarios which were used to help the students to better understand omni-channel applications of the company. Then, they were asked to discuss their perceptions and intentions towards omni-channel shopping. Content analysis was used for analysing transcripts.FindingsThe findings of the focus groups have revealed 12 themes about the intentions of the university students towards omni-channel shopping. Among 12 themes, it is observed that 6 of them have similarities with the variables of the UTAUT2 model. The findings of the study showed that, beside the additional themes, the predetermined variables of the UTAUT2 model within the literature; which are “performance expectancy”, “effort expectancy”, “facilitating conditions”, “hedonic motivation”, “habit” and “price value” have affected purchasing intentions towards omni-channel shopping. This study proposed six additional themes which were not revealed in the previous studies on purchase intentions in an omni-channel shopping in apparel sector. The six additional themes proposed in this study are; “perceived trust”, “situational factors”, “perceived risk”, “anxiety”, “need for interaction” and “privacy concern”.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to the focus group interviews held in only one university with students from the same programme. The findings are obtained also only valid for the relevant retail store and city, and cannot yet be generalised.Practical implicationsThe relationships suggested in this exploratory study can further be analysed by quantitative study. It is also claimed that the findings of this study can act as a framework to extend the UTAUT2 model by integrating perceived trust, situational factors, perceived risk, anxiety, need for interaction and privacy concern. This model will enable retailers to understand consumer expectations towards omni-channel shopping and to focus on integrating these factors through whole purchasing process in order to increase omni-channel sales.Originality/valueThe literature on omni-channel has concentrated on the retailers’ perspective, whereas this study aims to reveal an insight from the consumer perspective. The contribution of the study is to provide a framework for understanding the themes on consumer viewpoint in the omni-channel shopping behaviour.

Purpose Companies are currently moving from multi-channel strategies to offer their customers an omni-channel (OC) experience. So far, OC research has been mainly tackled from a sales-based view, with numerous operational challenges to be fully investigated yet. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how companies set the logistics variables in their OC management strategy and the business logistics models currently most adopted. Design/methodology/approach A two-step methodology was adopted. First, a systematic combining approach with scientific literature review and case studies allowed to derive a framework for classifying the key logistics variables and the related options. The framework was then used to conduct a qualitative survey targeting 92 Italian companies operating in food manufacturing, food retailing and non-food retailing. Collected data were analysed by means of cluster analysis. Findings Implementing an OC management strategy requires to set 11 logistics variables belonging to four strategic areas: delivery service, distribution setting, fulfilment strategy and returns management. A broad empirical investigation showed the choices made by companies when setting the logistics variables to implement an OC management strategy. Lastly, four business logistics models, differing in terms of both business sector and OC maturity, were discussed. Originality/value The proposed framework extends earlier studies by including additional significant logistics variables. The empirical analysis provides new insights on how to re-structure the business logistics model in OC, suggesting channel integration and the coexistence of multiple configurations as main enablers of an OC proposition.

Objective: To explore the various coping strategies used by patients sustaining major burns. Study Design: Qualitative, exploratory study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Combined Military Hospital, RawalpindiPakistan, from Jan to Jun 2021. Methodology: A total of 15 patients were selected who had been admitted to CMH Rawalpindi after sustaining 20-45% total body surface area deep dermal or full thickness burns requiring operative intervention. Semi-structured interviews comprising eleven questions were conducted, and the strategies which these patients used to cope with different psychological issues post-major burns were identified. Subthemes and themes were identified, and the data was analyzed by manual thematic analysis. Results: Eight coping strategies were identified: help from religion, support from family and friends, use of recreational activities, getting out of the house, doing exercise, getting back into a routine, the role of doctors and the use of the internet. Conclusion: Solace from religion and support from family and friends were the most widely used coping strategies in our setup. Getting back to routine helped them feel normal. Relaxation techniques and exercise were helpful but infrequently used. Social media and the internet were used as a diversion and recreational tool. None of our patients went for psychological counselling or group therapy sessions or used anxiolytics or antidepressants, which are an important part of treatment in the West.