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DESCRIPTION:Mr. Cameron McRae\, a doctoral student at McGill University in 
 the Marketing area will be presenting his thesis defense entitled:\n\nAdva
 ncing the Science of Precision Retailing through Digital Innovation in Tra
 ditional and Modern Agri-food Markets\n\n \n\nWednesday\, July 31\, 2024\,
  at 9:00 a.m\n	(The defense will be conducted on Zoom)\n\nStudent Committee
  Co-Chairs: Professor Laurette Dubé and Professor Yu Ma\n\nPlease note tha
 t the presentation will be conducted on Zoom. If you wish to attend the pr
 esentation\, kindly contact the PhD Office.\n\n\nABSTRACT\n\nThe pursuit o
 f sustainability across environmental\, social\, health\, and economic dim
 ensions is a critical challenge. This thesis adopts a Precision Retailing 
 (PR) approach to address these challenges. Although PR is a newer term in 
 the literature\, its conceptualization and the base of this thesis are roo
 ted in a long history of convergence science. PR integrates data\, methods
 \, information\, and knowledge from various disciplines and sectors to pro
 mote sustainability by catalyzing behavior change and transformation in br
 oader systems. This thesis explores the critical role of digital innovatio
 n as a foundation for sustainable transformation in both traditional and m
 odern markets. Each of the three papers in this thesis contributes to the 
 broader PR literature while making core disciplinary contributions to info
 rmation systems and marketing sciences.\n\nThis thesis applies PR principl
 es to address sustainability challenges in the agri-food domain from tradi
 tional and modern markets. The first paper examines digitalization across 
 an agri-food value chain as inputs to grocery retailing in a traditional m
 arket. It investigates the impact of introducing a digital platform ecosys
 tem among subsistence farmers in Odisha\, India\, that supports them and c
 onnects them to a digital marketplace. Using a mixed methods approach\, we
  conducted a quasi-experimental study over one year and found that the int
 ervention significantly boosted farmers' confidence in using technology on
  their farms (β=0.810\, p=0.028). We then used qualitative methods to inve
 stigate the digital transformation process. Semi-structured interviews (n=
 12) and five focus groups (n=83) were conducted. The qualitative study unc
 overed a six-step process leading to the emergence and institutionalizatio
 n of new practices as farmers transition toward modern technology-supporte
 d farming. The second paper moves to the consumer side of the agri-food va
 lue chain to study sustainable food consumption using loyalty program data
  from Finland and Canada. It explores the disparity in price sensitivity b
 etween plant- and animal-based products\, differences across socio-economi
 c status (SES) segments\, and the impact of marketing practices on these d
 isparities. While no difference (p=0.39) was found in price sensitivity be
 tween plant- and animal-based products\, SES moderated price sensitivity o
 nly for animal-based products (p<0.01) and not for plant-based products (p
 =0.89). Increasing variety consistently increased price sensitivity across
  both types of products\, with a greater effect for consumers with low SES
  than high SES (p<0.001). Thus\, price sensitivity inequity increased as t
 he variety of brands increased. The third paper\, still in Canada\, explor
 es the accessibility and affordability of traditional foods in modern mark
 ets by Indigenous peoples compared to the general population. Using loyalt
 y program data\, it evaluates drivers of purchasing behavior of traditiona
 l foods\, revealing that only 36% of these foods are available in stores\,
  with a majority being processed and a lack of local and Indigenous-owned 
 products. The findings highlight the stronger value Indigenous consumers p
 lace on traditional foods that are locally sourced (versus imported)\, com
 pared to the general population. Targeted policy and market interventions 
 are needed to enhance access to fresh and locally sourced traditional food
 s that support the nutritional and cultural well-being of Indigenous commu
 nities and support reconciliation efforts.\n\nCollectively\, this thesis m
 akes disciplinary contributions to information systems and marketing resea
 rch by studying facets of retail from farm origins to consumers' homes. Al
 l three papers leveraged digital innovations as a building block\, either 
 by studying their influence directly or by using large datasets generated 
 by innovations in digital loyalty programs\, to advance the study of PR in
  diverse contexts where retail serves as an entry point for sustainable tr
 ansformation.\n
DTSTART:20240731T130000Z
DTEND:20240731T160000Z
SUMMARY:PhD Thesis Defense Presentation: Cameron McRae
URL:https://www.mcgill.ca/desautels/channels/event/phd-thesis-defense-prese
 ntation-cameron-mcrae-358024
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