Technology Adoption by Mom and Pop: Drivers of Digitization in the World’s Largest Retail Channel

Authors: Rafael Escamilla (KLU and Tilburg University), Prof. Dr. Jan Fransoo (Tilburg University), Prof. Dr. Prisca Brosi (KLU), Camilo Mora-Quiñones (Monterrey Tech) and Dr. Christopher Mejía-Argueta (MIT)

Millions of nanostores around the world fail to adopt technology, which creates significant operational challenges for themselves and their suppliers - typically large Consumer Packaged Goods companies. Through the application of a survey and vignette experiments on the field, we explain the perceptions and processes that are incorporated by shopkeepers in making technology adoption assessments. Given their informal status, shopkeepers exhibit privacy concerns, in the sense that they are concerned that their data may be shared with tax authorities, which reduces the likelihood that they will adopt technology. Nevertheless, shopkeepers seem willing to adopt as long as it adds a substantial amount of value to their business.

Rafael Escamilla is a PhD Candidate in the field of Supply Chain Management at Kühne Logistics University and Tilburg University under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Jan Fransoo. He holds an Engineering diploma in Industrial Systems, specializing in outbound logistics, from the Université de Technologie de Troyes, in France, and is also an Industrial Engineer from Tecnológico de Monterrey, in Mexico. Throughout his career, he has contributed to a number of projects with the Center for Transportation and Logistics of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he also obtained a certificate in Logistics and Supply Chain Management. In his research, he focuses on improving last-mile urban distribution for Consumer Packaged Goods` companies in emerging countries, specifically through cashless and value-added technologies. He further investigates the drivers of adoption of these technologies by retail microbusinesses.