BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//132.216.98.100//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.20.4// BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20260703T120537EDT-3901fG0ut7@132.216.98.100 DTSTAMP:20260703T160537Z DESCRIPTION:Mr. Cameron McRae\, a doctoral student at 91ºÚÁÏÍø 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:/desautels/channels/event/phd-thesis-defense-prese ntation-cameron-mcrae-358024 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR