"We are out of toilet paper”: Testing the mediating effect of product scarcity on consumers' competitive arousal in family firms

Drawing on Lemon and Verhoef's customer journey, this study examines the context of local family businesses to investigate product scarcity's role as a mediator between information overload and competitive arousal in affecting consumers' behavioural intentions during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected regarding purchases in three famous local family businesses operating in the Food and Beverage sector in the North of Italy. Results reveal that during a sanitary emergency, the consumer in family firms are less inclined to react impulsively than those in large distribution, except when they perceive product scarcity, which increases their level of competitiveness towards the market and other consumers. This behaviour towards other businesses is due to the family business efficacy, which pushes family firms in reinventing themselves and takes care of their trusted consumers. The paper ends by highlighting the main theoretical and managerial contributions, delineating new paths of analysis.

Has COVID-19 pushed digitalisation in SMEs? The role of entrepreneurial orientation

PurposeThe authors' aim is to investigate if entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has a role in interpreting an external crisis, such as COVID-19, as an opportunity for investing in digital transformation.Design/methodology/approachThe authors undertook multiple case study research on the digital transformation of seven "Made in Italy” SMEs and proposed a conceptual framework that sees an external stimulus (e.g. the pandemic) as a driver of the digitalisation, filtered by the entrepreneurial orientation of SMEs.FindingsThe authors' results show how EO deals with the changing environment and helps address the market opportunities related to digitalisation.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the existing literature on EO and digital transformation of SMEs, creating a new model for forthcoming studies on this topic. In addition, interesting insights are offered on the role of EO to promote the introduction of digital transformation in SMEs operating in the "Made in Italy” sectors.Practical implicationsThis study shows the role of EO as a reactive characteristic during a crisis. Thus, the authors' suggestion to SMEs is to develop their EO as a part of the strategic orientation. In addition, this work encourages policymakers to invest in the promotion of specific interventions aimed at supporting entrepreneurs in enhancing their capacity to effectively manage digital transformation.Originality/valueIdentifying the most important triggers of digitalisation in times of crisis remains an underexplored area of research. Thus, this study adds value to both digital transformation and entrepreneurial orientation topics.

Sensory disclosure in an augmented environment: memory of touch and willingness to buy

The recent movement restrictions due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and subsequent booming in online buying, show consumers the crucial role of touch as a pre-purchase indicator of good quality products, especially in grocery and fashion sectors. During the pandemic time, consumers were somehow forced to find different alternatives to understand the quality of items before buying. Among these, the adoption of multi-sensory technologies (e.g., augmented reality, AR) or the visual activation of the memory of a material (e.g., wool) was certainly attracting attention from consumers. In this scenario, the purpose of this paper is to explore how AR can activate the memory of products and consumers’ willingness to purchase. Building on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 18 Italian consumers, our analysis reveals that AR might enhance consumers’ memory of products, with this sometimes occurring unconsciously. Our findings further deepen the scientific and managerial debate around the role AR might have in influencing/altering consumers’ shopping routines. Contributions to the body of knowledge and managerial implications are discussed and suggestions for further research are given. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43039-022-00060-1.