Question:
Disucss about the Evolution of Innovation Contextual System.
Retail sector is one of the key sectors that have experienced an unprecedented success and growth in the last few decades. The sector has witnessed extreme success across the globe with an upsurge and continuous rate of development. The retail sector comprises of selling of services and goods to the consumers by the means of numerous distribution channels. With the growth and development, the sector has also faced continuous changes and modifications which have led a direct impact upon the organisations that are the part of the retail sector. The spectrum of the retail sector is extremely wide and it offers services and products to the con summers from a huge departmental store to a small outlet. The purchasing power and the needs of the consumers are rising rapidly that are resulting in increased developments in the sector. As a result of these developments, the organisations are also making efforts to adjust accordingly. The report will present the significant trends and drivers for change which are likely to influence and impact the retail sector and the organisations. There will also be highlighted the theoretical viewpoint for evaluating the respond of the organisations and the managers to respond to the changes. The next part of the paper will throw light upon the qualities and skills required by the managers for managing sustainable responses to the changes taking place in the industry.
The retail landscape across the globe has transformed so intensely in the recent year that there has been observed the emergence of a pioneering consumer environment. The traditional ways and norms of performing retail business no longer satisfy the customers in present scenario. The retail sector now positions on the cusp of the powerful modernization and rebirth, driven by the rapidly growing technologies, global environment and the customer centricity[1]. There are several trends and drivers for change that are likely to have an impact and influence the retail sector and the retail organisations. These significant trends are in context with several factors such as changes in the productivity, economic developments, political developments, research and development, technological change and innovation, transformational business models, internal competition and globalization, market developments, empowered consumers, consumer trends, regulatory framework, sustainable development practices, social developments and demographic change, disruptive technologies, labour market and gender issues restructuring and human resource strategy and skill gaps and training issues. All these are the significant and the most widely analyzed trends in the retail industry that forces the organisation to have adequate strategies to sustain in the highly diverse and dynamic business environment[2].
Among all the significant trends and drivers of change there are few key and the most primary areas of change that have the most concerned and direct impact upon the organisations and the organisational managers are the disruptive technologies, empowered consumer and the transformative business models. These are the key areas of change with which the managers are required to work with[3].
From the various technologies and up gradations there are few of the disruptive technologies that will impact the retail sector and will offer unprecedented opportunities are Block chain, Augmented reality (AR)/ virtual reality (VR), 3D printing, Digital traceability, Robotics, Artificial intelligence (AI)/ machine learning, Autonomous vehicles (AV)/ drones and Internet of Things (IoT). The use of these technologies will alter or sooner will impact all the organisations of the retail sector and the managers also to manage them in the most efficient manner[4].
The present customer bases are shaping the future of the retail sector. The empowered customers have a rapid and easy access to the information which results in different decision making by diverse set of consumers[5]. There are basically three factors in respect with the empowered consumer on the basis of which there are extreme changes in the retail sector and these three factors are convenience, choice and cost. In terms of choices, the consumers are expecting diverse products and services with utmost specification and in respect to meet these needs and requirements; there is a need to have changes in the production and operational practices and to have continuous development[6]. The second factor is convenience, the empowered consumers wants to have products and services which are available in the most convenient manner. The retailers are now expected to have more of online visibility so that the consumers can have an easy and doorstep access. The third aspect of empowered consumers is cost; it is essential that the retail sector must have new and pioneering technologies which can reduce the purchasing cost of the consumers. There is a need to manage the costs so that more number of customers can be targeted[7].
Several retail organisations are achieving huge success by incorporating new and innovative business models which have blurred the boundaries that exists between the offline and the online retail[8]. In the upcoming decades, when there will be more and more innovative proliferate business models in the online retail, the physical stores will be continued to take place. But fo attracting the consumers, these stores are required to have a more innovative and strategic approach towards building recognized business models so that there can be increased value propositions for the consumers. In the present scenario there are significant changing trends of digitally enabled business models which are required to be adopted by the retail sector organisations for serving the needs of the consumers and developing a next frontier of the digitalized retail[9].
To response to the changes occurred in the retail sector due to various key trends and changes the managers and the organisations have to take several initiatives for sustaining in the dynamic environment. Several authors and researchers have highlighted numerous frameworks and theories that explain the response of the managers and the organisations towards the changes occurred in the industries because4 of several key factors. The researchers have highlighted the importance of managing change by taking use of the adaptive management framework[10].
According to this framework there are six major phases under which the managers try to overcome the issues of changes and try to have a more effective and competent practices to sustain the changes in the industry[11]. In the adaptive management framework the first phase is of assessing problems which states that the challenges or issues which are the result of industrial changes are assessed and analyzed in an in-depth manner, the challenges and their outcomes are assessed in an effective manner. After having assessment, the second phases states designing of appropriate and relevant strategic moves and practices fir managing those changes. For example for sustaining the change occurred due to disruptive technologies, the managers design the operations by taking use of more pioneering and innovative technologies. There is restructuring and effective designing of the organisational process and functions[12]. The next phase is of implementing which means implementing those strategies and practices which are framed to manage the changes. By taking adequate measures, these strategies are incorporated and implement in the most efficient manner. The fourth phase focuses upon having a strict monitoring of the strategies implemented to manage the organisational dynamics and the changes generated in the retail sector due to key trends. There is checking and monitoring of various things that these strategies are properly executed and managed or not. The next phase is evaluation in which the results of the strategies implemented and changes incorporated in the business operations and practices[13]. With the help of evaluation, it is checked that whether the outcomes are as desired or not or it is also evaluate that what all issues still prevail in the organisations for sustaining the change occurred in the industry. The sixth phase is adjust, it states that change is continuous and inevitable, thus, it is essential that the managers and the organisations must prepare themselves to adjust themselves in the future also as with the development of the industry and technologies there will be continuous changes in the sector. With the help of this framework, the organisations and the managers are able to respond in a positive manner to the changes occurring in the sector[14].
In the various academic literature there has also been highlighted the Congruence Model for managing the continuous changes impacting the organisations. The mangers and the organisations take use of this model to have a better understanding of the changes and the way in which these changes must be managed effectively[15].
According to this model or framework, there are three key factors that leads to transformation or changes in the industries and that leads to organisational change. The three factors as per this model are environment, resources and history. In context with the changes in the retail sector, it can be stated that there are resource related transformations in terms of new technologies, environment in terms of changing consumer need and preferences and history in terms of innovative products and services. To manage the changes, the organisations adopt strategy to have transformation in the existing processes by the means of four different levels. The first level from where the organisations and the managers start incorporating practices to manage change are at the work or task level where modifications takes place in the business operations. The second level is the informal organisation where the strategies are imposed informally by making the people understand about the need of managing these changes. The third is the individual level where the individual have an approach of managing the changes at their individual level so that they can achieve increased sustainability in context with the changes. And the last and the fourth level is the formal organisation where numerous agreements are prepared and practices are performed at the organisational level where there is increased participation of the managers as well as the employees. When the organisations implement effective strategies for managing changes at four different levels than there is efficiency occurs at two major parts that comprises of the organisational group and the individuals. Both these groups attain increased efficiency to manage the key trends and changes in the businesses and the operations[16].
In understanding the response of the managers and the organisations there is one more well-known framework that helps in managing the changes and having a better understanding of the issues and challenges if the Lewin’s change model. It is one of the most recognized and well known framework emphasized by the researchers for developing a way to manage the organisational dynamics and the changes is the Lewin’s Change Model.
According to the Lewin’s Change model, there are taken several steps and initiative’s to make an organisation ready to adopt the changes as well as to restructure itself in a manner that it can sustain those changes[17]. The mangers have their vital role in incorporating the framework of Lewin’s change model at the organisations and achieve desired objectives. According to the authors there are three phases in this model; the first phase is unfreeze where as per the key changes and trends, the managers try to change the existing business operations and other factors to have competitive benefit and to sustain in the dynamic environment[18]. The second phase is change where as per the needs and requirements generated as a result if the changes in the industry, the organisation also have associated changes in its structure and this stage is where the change is implemented at all the levels of the organisations. The mangers check, analyses and evaluate that the operations and business functions have incorporated the new changes and now wok as per the demands of the consumers. The last phase is freeze where the managers now freeze the newly adopted changes as per the demands of the industry. The purpose of this stage is that the managers must ensure that the organisations are now working on pioneering technologies and other new factors so that the diverse need of the consumers can be met effectively. All the above mentioned frameworks, model and theories as well as other relevant theories have a direct connection with the organisational changes and the industrial dynamics. The organisations take use of these frameworks for sustaining the market competition, industrial revolution, key market trends and the various other changes which took place in the retail sector.
Leaders are the one which have the capability and the competence to change the future of the organisations. In the report it has been identified that there are several trends and changes that are most likely to influence and impact the retail sector. But to manage and sustain the organisations in such a dynamic environment, it is essential for the organisations and the managers to have incorporation of effective approaches, skills and qualities. These activities of the managers will result in better and improved management of the changes and significant trends. There are several leading qualities that are required for the managers to possess for managing the present and the future changes occurring in the industry[19]. The first and the key quality of the managers are to have effective integration among the existing business practices and the required practices to implement because of the continuous industrial changes. With effective integration practices, there develops a sound base for the organisations to have robust application of the strategies and practices in the organisations. The second most vital quality of the managers to have a sustainable response to the changes is to take sue of the most pioneering and innovative technologies so that the requirements and increasing demands of the customers can be met with utmost effectiveness[20].
The other skills and approaches required by the managers comprises of having an analytical and forecasting perspective. With this quality and skill of the managers, there is better understanding of the market trends and the upcoming changes in the industry. They managers who tends of possess the quality of having an analytical targets the foreseen requirements of the empowered customers and implement such strategies and technologies which can effectively manage the dynamicity and can sustain the changes. The next approach or the key skill is restructuring of the business models as there is a need that the business models must be evaluate from time to time and the managers must restructure and have modifications in the business model so that the business models does not loses its efficiency and have the competence to sustain the changes[21]. The other skills, approaches and qualities that can help in managing the sustainable response includes system thinking by the managers for identifying the paradigms which drive change, mediation skills for facilitating knowledge sharing, fostering innovation, and knowledge sharing, decisiveness, collaborative, skills to empower change, and effectively manage and control the same[22]. The most important skills and quality is to manage the resistance towards change as in the several organisations there are numerous resistances and it is essential that the managers must manage those resistances and have a collaborative approach towards change management[23].
Conclusion
Globalization and continuous developments are changing the scenarios and future of the retail sector. It is such a wide and extensive industry which has continuous changes and modifications in the business process and functions. From this report, it has been analyzed and identified that there are several significant trends and drivers for change which impact the organisations. The trends and changes highlighted in the report are the most significant and probable which will be ruling the retail sector in the upcoming decades. It has been concluded that the retail sector is highly impacted as well as influenced by three key areas of change that comprises of empowered consumers, transforming business models and disruptive technologies. The overall analysis states that the innovative and ground breaking technologies are making the employee to become more empowered and demands for diverse, specific and highly fluctuating needs and demands of the consumers. From the report it can also be analyzed that there are few frameworks which supports the way in which the changes occurred in the industry. From these frameworks, it has been concluded that in every model, framework, it is essential that the managers or the leaders and the organisations must first prepare the business operations and the workforce to make them ready to have implementation of the strategies which can sustain the change. From the report, it can also be stated that there is a key role of the skills, approaches and the qualities of the managers to manage the changes and to achieve sustainability managing the responses towards the changes that occurred and will be continuously occurring the retail sector. Thus, from the overall analysis, it can be concluded that to manage the rapidly occurring trends and changes in the retail sector, the managers must have a forecasted approach and have proper integration so that the changes does not impact the businesses, their productivity and the efficiency.
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