Research Seminar: Assoc Prof Indranil Biswas
Seminar Title: Examining retail store strategies in the era of quick commerce: to partner or not to partner?
Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the optimal partnership strategy for small retailers in a developing economy, where they have the option to either handle product deliveries through their own setup or partner with a quick commerce (QC) platform. In order to investigate this phenomenon, we first conduct interviews with small retailers in India. Drawing from their insights, we construct a dynamic game of incomplete information to model the interaction between a small retailer and a QC platform. In this model, the platform lacks knowledge of the retailer’s type. We analyse how factors like promised delivery lead times, the platform’s business model, and its incentive compatibility affect a retailer’s decision to partner, focusing on three distinct business models: pure delivery service, commission-based model, and dark store model. We further validate our findings through empirical investigation. Our main findings are as follows: First, retailers encounter a profitability dilemma while deciding whether to partner with a QC platform. Second, the commission-based model helps a QC platform attract more customers by lowering delivery fees, while the dark store model allows the platform to maximize revenue. Third, in markets with a high percentage of tech-savvy retailers, an increase in both the share of hasty customers and the customers' per-unit disutility cost makes tech-savvy retailers less likely to partner with a QC platform compared to traditional retailers.
Bio: Dr. Indranil Biswas is an Associate Professor in the Department of Information Systems, Supply Chain Management & Decision Support at NEOMA Business School, France. Prior to joining NEOMA, he served as an Associate Professor at Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow and as a visiting faculty at several IIMs in India. He holds a Ph.D. in Management (Operations & Supply Chain) from IIM Calcutta and a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, India. Dr. Biswas’s research interests lie in supply chain coordination, closed-loop and sustainable supply chains, and quick commerce supply chains. His work has appeared in leading journals such as the European Journal of Operational Research, International Journal of Production Economics, Public Management Review, and Transportation Research Part E. He has received multiple awards for teaching and research, including first prizes in the CEEMAN (2017), EFMD (2013), and ISB–Ivey (2012) international case writing competitions, as well as the InsideIIM Professor of the Year (2019) recognition. Before joining academia, Dr. Biswas worked in the aerospace (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) and energy (Reliance Industries Limited) sectors, managing large-scale engineering projects.
Note: Tea, coffee, and sandwiches will be provided in front of Café Jolt (Lower Ground Floor) at 12 pm.
Photographs will be taken during this seminar and may be shared on social media. If you do not wish to appear, please notify tbs.research@tcd.ie.