Time-based competition as a competitive strategy for online grocery retailers

• Published in: Journal of Contemporary Management Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 433 - 460
• Main Authors: Badenhorst-Weiss, J.A., Weber, A.N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Prof. Marthie Grobler 01.01.2016; JCMAN
• Subjects: Competitive advantage; Online grocery retailing; Online shopping; Social Issues; Time-based competition; online grocery retailing; competitive advantage; online shopping; time-based competition
• ISSN: 1815-7440

In an attempt to stay competitive in customer-driven markets, many industries have morphed to include internet-enabled services as part of their day-to-day business. Grocery retailing is one such industry. The aim of this study was to firstly, explore the role of time in online grocery retailing. Secondly, the study investigated whether time-based competition (TBC) (i.e. when an organisation achieves a significant competitive advantage through the effective utilisation of time) could be a feasible competitive strategy for online grocery retailers to gain a competitive advantage. A qualitative methodology was used to collect empirical data for this study. An interview and two focus group discussions were analysed by means of thematic analysis. The findings suggest that time is an important issue in online grocery shopping and that online grocery retailers could gain a competitive advantage through effective time management, since one of the main motivations for consumers to participate in online grocery shopping is the perceived time-saving characteristic of purchasing groceries online. However, saving time along a grocery supply chain is challenging, and further research could focus on determining what constitutes time saving along the online grocery supply chain.