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Adoption barriers for retail optimisation solutions
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School of Business |
Bachelor's thesis
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en
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52
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Due to intensified competition, operational efficiency and data-driven decision-making have become increasingly important in a retail sector already characterised by low margins. Although retail optimisation solutions, such as demand forecasting, pricing, and assortment optimisation, have shown potential to improve performance, their adoption is still limited. This thesis aims to identify the most critical barriers that hinder the initial adoption of retail optimisation solutions and also the continued use after implementation.
The study is a qualitative case study based on semi-structured interviews with seven vendor-side experts that have extensive experience working with retail organisations at different stages of the adoption lifecycle. The Technology–Organisation–Environment (TOE) framework is used as an analytical lens that helps structure and interpret the findings.
The results reveal five adoption barriers that appear particularly critical: digital unreadiness, organisational culture, financial considerations, human factors, and a lack of internal ownership of the solution. Digital unreadiness, and especially poor data quality, stands out as the most prominent barrier, while the other identified barriers relate mainly to organisational factors and thus to the organisational dimension of the TOE framework. The environmental dimension does not appear to play a role in this context. Furthermore, the findings indicate that optimisation solutions are often discontinued because they fail to deliver expected value, which is mainly caused by weak ownership of the solution, limited use among employees, and inadequate change management.
The study contributes to the existing technology adoption literature by addressing an area that has received limited attention so far, and it highlights that stronger organisational capabilities and engagement are needed to ensure the successful adoption and long-term value creation of retail optimisation solutions.