2025
Autores
Amorim, P; Eng-Larsson, F; Rooderkerk, RP;
Publicação
JOURNAL OF RETAILING
Abstract
In online grocery retail, out-of-stocks can cause order fulfillment failures. Store-based fulfillment models have heightened this challenge. Here, online customers often receive orders not fulfilled as expected, with products being substituted, partially fulfilled, or reimbursed. When order fulfillment fails, the customer may change future ordering behavior by delaying the next order or by spending less in the online channel. Using data from the online operation of a leading omnichannel grocery retailer, we evaluate the magnitude of impact on the next order when the prior one is not fulfilled as expected. We also explore the role of retailer efforts in mitigating this impact. We find that failures significantly delay the time to the next order by 7.22% on average, with delays becoming more pronounced for non-perishable products. Spending reductions are especially evident when promoted items fail to ship. Mitigation efforts, substitutions in particular, often exacerbate delays and compound the dissatisfaction. Although substitutions help recover lost sales, they negatively impact future customer behavior. This suggests that selective stockout prevention, coupled with improved substitution practices, should be prioritized to optimize economic and customer outcomes.
2025
Autores
Marques, N; Figueira, G; Guimaraes, L;
Publicação
COMPUTERS & INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
Abstract
Uncertainty is pervasive in modern manufacturing settings. In order to cope with unexpected events, scheduling decisions are commonly taken resorting to dispatching rules, which are reactive in nature. However, rule performance varies according to shop utilisation and due date allowance, which often change in dynamic real-world job shops. Therefore, this paper explores systems that select dispatching rules as conditions change over time, namely periodic and real-time dispatching rule selection systems, which are based on supervised learning and reinforcement learning algorithms, respectively. These types of systems have been proposed in the past but have been further improved in this work by carefully selecting the most relevant state features and dispatching rules. Moreover, by testing both approaches on the same instances, it was possible to compare them and determine the most advantageous one. After the tests, which included a wide array of job shop instances, both periodic and real-time systems outperformed state-of-the-art dispatching rules by over 10% tardiness-wise. Nonetheless, the periodic rule selection approach was more robust across all tests than the real-time approach. These results demonstrate that there is a real incentive for managers to adopt dispatching rule selection systems.
2025
Autores
Ferreira, MC; Dias, TG;
Publicação
Lecture Notes in Mobility
Abstract
This study seeks to comprehensively analyze the multidimensional determinants underlying perceptions of safety, security, and comfort in transport mode choice, specifically focusing on private transport, public transport and walking. The research begins with an extensive literature review to identify and delve into the factors influencing perceptions of safety, security, and comfort across various transport modes. This inquiry is further enhanced by organizing two focused group sessions. A total of 35 key factors were identified, forming the basis for subsequent investigation. The study then progressed to the development and administration of a survey aimed at capturing responses from a diverse audience, with the goal of exploring the factors influencing perceptions related to different transport modes. A total of 302 responses were collected and meticulously analyzed to discern the factors impacting various relationships and to identify consistent perceptions across diverse transport modes. Additionally, a factor analysis was conducted to validate the findings derived from the data. The outcomes of this research constitute a significant contribution to the existing literature, offering valuable insights that pave the way for a more holistic understanding of the factors guiding transport mode choices. © The Author(s) 2025.
2025
Autores
Cambra Fierro, J; Patrício, L; Polo Redondo, Y; Trifu, A;
Publicação
JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN INTERACTIVE MARKETING
Abstract
Purpose - Customer-provider relationships unfold through multiple touchpoints across different channels. However, some touchpoints are more important than others. Such important touchpoints are viewed as moments of truth (MOTs). This study examines the impact of a series of touchpoints on an MOT, and the role MOTs play in determining future profitability and other behavioral outcomes (e.g. customer retention and customer cross-buy) in a business-to-business (B2B) context. Design/methodology/approach - Building upon social exchange theory, a conceptual model is proposed and tested that examines the impact of human, digital, and physical touchpoints and past MOTs on customer evaluation of a current MOT and on future customer outcomes. This research employs a longitudinal methodology based on a unique panel dataset of 2,970 B2B customers. Findings - Study results show that all touchpoints significantly contribute to MOTs, while human and physical touchpoints maintain their primacy during MOTs. The impact of MOTs on future customer outcomes is also demonstrated. Practical implications - This study highlights the need for prioritizing human and physical touchpoints in managing MOTs, and for carefully managing MOTs across time. Originality/value - Given its B2B outlook and longitudinal approach, this research contributes to the multichannel and interactive marketing literature by determining relevant touchpoints for B2B customers.
2025
Autores
Grozea-Banica, B; Miguéis, V; Patrício, L;
Publicação
ENERGY RESEARCH & SOCIAL SCIENCE
Abstract
Engagement in the ongoing energy transition is particularly challenging for energy-poor citizens. As such, there is a pressing need for a better understanding of their experiences and for strategies that enable their engagement. In this study, we identify different groups of citizens based on their energy poverty issues and examine their engagement behaviors (seeking information, proactive managing, sharing feedback, helping others, and advocating). Using cluster analysis and multiple correspondence analysis, we analyzed a sample of 915 citizens from eight European cities participating in a Horizon2020 EU project (Alkmaar-NL, Bari-IT, Celje-SI, Evora-PT, Granada-ES, Hvidovre-DK, Ioannina-GR, & Uacute;jpest-HU). Several groups of citizens reported either multiple energy issues, a single issue (energy bills, insulation, cooling, heating), or no issues, and the statistical tests showed significant differences across these groups in terms of engagement in seeking information, helping, and advocating. Moreover, we identified that certain groups tend to have specific levels of engagement (high, medium, low) and that sharing feedback generally has a low level of engagement. Overall, this study provides empirical insights into how energy-poor citizens exercise agency through engagement behaviors and offers actionable insights for designing measures to mitigate energy poverty in complementarity with technical and economical solutions.
2025
Autores
Sousa, MS; Loureiro, ALD; Miguéis, VL;
Publicação
EXPERT SYSTEMS WITH APPLICATIONS
Abstract
In today's highly competitive fashion retail market, it is crucial to have accurate demand forecasting systems, namely for new products. Many experts have used machine learning techniques to forecast product sales. However, sales that do not happen due to lack of product availability are often ignored, resulting in censored demand and service levels that are lower than expected. Motivated by the relevance of this issue, we developed a two-stage approach to forecast the demand for new products in the fashion retail industry. In the first stage, we compared four methods of transforming historical sales into historical demand for products already commercialized. Three methods used sales-weighted averages to estimate demand on the days with stock-outs, while the fourth method employed an Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm to account for potential substitute products affected by stock-outs of preferred products. We then evaluated the performance of these methods and selected the most accurate one for calculating the primary demand for these historical products. In the second stage, we predicted the demand for the products of the following collection using Random Forest, Deep Neural Networks, and Support Vector Regression algorithms. In addition, we applied a model that consisted of weighting the demands previously calculated for the products of past collections that were most similar to the new products. We validated the proposed methodology using a European fashion retailer case study. The results revealed that the method using the Expectation-Maximization algorithm had the highest potential, followed by the Random Forest algorithm. We believe that this approach will lead to more assertive and better-aligned decisions in production management.
The access to the final selection minute is only available to applicants.
Please check the confirmation e-mail of your application to obtain the access code.