The Role of Digital Technology in Food Retailing Ecosystem

Nowadays the retail industry is changing so fast by means of digitalization processes. Digital and interactive technologies are mediating relationships and strategies among actors and modifying the way through retailers manage their value propositions. This paper applies an ecosystem perspective and represents a preliminary study about the contribution of technology to the workability, management, and survival of retail ecosystem. In particular the work compares service ecosystem features with retail industry dynamics focusing on the role of technology. A qualitative methodology has been adopted emphasizing specific focus useful to further academic research and to practitioners in order to consider retail sector as an ecosystem. Specifically, findings achieved are threefold. Firstly, this paper presents the technology as a key actor able to give a 'soul' to the ecosystem multiplying the relationships and improving the resource integration. Secondly, the work considers the relationship management as a key feature to deal with complexity and to help the retail ecosystem to survive during the time. Finally, considers the retailer as the actor able to balance the equilibrium among actors in a retail ecosystem, due to the multiplicity of actors involved and directly connected and the mutual influence they play.