Enterprise and Society Advance Access originally published online on June 15, 2009
Enterprise and Society 2009 10(3):529-558; doi:10.1093/es/khp016
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The Co-Creation of a Retail Innovation: Shoppers and the Early Supermarket in Britain
ANDREW ALEXANDER, School of Management, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, UK. E-mail: A.Alexander{at}Surrey.ac.uk. He is Reader in Retail Management at the University of Surrey, and leads the School of Management's Retail Research Group. His research interests include retail development, the marketing and management of retail locations, and consumer behavior
DAWN NELL is Visiting Fellow, School of Management, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK
ADRIAN BAILEY is Lecturer in Management, Business School, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4PU
GARETH SHAW is Professor of Retail and Tourism Management, Business School, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4PU
In this paper we examine shoppers' reactions to the development of early supermarket retailing in post-war Britain. Positioning our discussion in relation to multi-disciplinary contributions on the role of consumers in innovation, we argue that more attention needs to be given to the shopper's input in the debate on retail innovation, including the supermarket. New oral history data drawn from a nationwide survey is presented in support of our arguments. Shoppers' contributions to the supermarket innovation are shown to be multi-faceted in nature, incorporating processes of co-production and value creation; processes that were altered in the transition from counter-service to self-service retail environments. Shoppers' discussions of such alterations were frequently structured around four aspects of interaction; with the physical environment of the store, with the goods for sale, with other shoppers and with shop staff. Whilst increasingly part of ‘ordinary consumption’ routines, the data highlights that in the switch to the supermarket, shopping became a more reflective activity and one that resulted in a variety of experiences and emotions.
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the UK Arts & Humanities Research Council in funding this research. They would also like to thank Dr. Jane Hamlett for her assistance in collecting some of the oral history data used in this paper.