MODERN RETAIL DEVELOPMENT
cod. 1007208

Academic year 2019/20
1° year of course - Second semester
Professor
- Alberto GUENZI
Academic discipline
Storia economica (SECS-P/12)
Field
Economico
Type of training activity
Characterising
64 hours
of face-to-face activities
8 credits
hub: PARMA
course unit
in ITALIAN

Learning objectives

The students:
- will: learn about the processes have determined the birth and the development of Large scale distribution systems in the USA and Europe;
- understand the changes in the economic framework that have influenced (and still influence) the dynamics through which Large scale distribution systems spread;
- evaluate the performance of Large scale sales channels and critically analyze innovations that are directly and indirectly related to the retail industry
- acquire a cultural background useful to communicate and interact with private management and institutional regulation subjects concerning issues related to the spread of Large scale distribution;
- experience a teaching method varied contents.

Prerequisites

A basic knowledge of economic history

Course unit content

The course takes into analysis the processes that, from the 19th century to the last decades of the 20th century, brought to the birth, development, and change of the large retail sector in Europe and in the United States. To do so, a set of crucial topics will be considered: the retail institutions (Department stores, chain store systems, supermarkets, and hypermarkets); the retail industry development from a comparative geographical angle (USA, Great Britain, and Italy); the social and economic spin-offs of the technologies adopted by large retail firms (as for refrigeration, accounting, transports, etc.)

Full programme

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Bibliography

THE READINGS FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE ELLY PLATFORM.
Boothman B., Distributive orders. The evolution of North American retailing, in Jones B. and Tadajewski M. (eds.) The Routledge Companion to Marketin History, New York, Routledge,
2016, pp. 131-154; Drzazga M. 2017, The Transformations of Retail Trade Formats in Europe at the Beginning of the 21st Century, Economics World, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 94-100; Ellickson P., The evolution of the Supermarket Industry: From A&P to Wal-Mart, 2007, pp. 1-17; Fox K., The history of marketing in Russia, in Jones B. and Tadajewski M. (eds.) The Routledge Companion to Marketin History, New York, Routledge, 2016, pp. 433- 454; Hahn B. 2000, Power centres: a new retail format in the United States of America, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 223-231; Hawkins R., The Influence of American Retailing Innovation in Britain: A Case Study of F. W. Woolworth & Co., 1909-1982, in CHARM 2009, pp. 118-134; Nystrom P., The economics of retailing, New York, Ronald Press, 1915, pp. 195-254; Resseguie H, Alexander Turney Stewart and the development of the department store, 1823-1876, Business History Review 39.03 (1965), pp. 301-322; Scarpellini E. 2006, Esselunga: agli albori del commercio moderno, Bologna, ART; Shaw G., The Shaw G., The evolution and impact of large-scale retailing in Britain, in Benson J., Shaw G. (eds.), The evolution of retail systems, c. 1800-1914, Leicester, Leicester University Press, 1992, pp.135-165; Shaw G., The evolution and impact of large-scale retailing in Britain, in Benson J., Shaw G. (eds.), The evolution of retail systems, c. 1800-1914, Leicester, Leicester University Press, 1992, pp.135-165; Toda Y. Marketing history in Japan, in Jones B. and Tadajewski M. (eds.) The Routledge Companion to Marketin History, New York, Routledge, 2016, pp. 407-418; Witkowshi T., A history of consumption in the United States, in Jones B. and Tadajewski M. (eds.), The Routledge Companion to Marketin History, New York, Routledge, 2016, pp. 41-59 - Zimmerman M., The Super Market. A Revolution in Distribution, New York, McGraw-Hill,1955, pp. 16-68 e 289-327



THE READINGS FOR NON ATTENDING STUDENTS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE LIBRARY OF THE DEPARTMENT
Benson J., Shaw G. (eds.), The evolution of retail systems, c. 1800-1914, Leicester, Leicester University Press, 1992.
Seth A., Randall G. (eds.), The grocers: the rise and rise of the supermarket chains, London, Kogan, 2011.
Dupuis M. and Dawson J. (eds), European Cases in Retailing, Malden (MA), Blackwell, 1999

Teaching methods

During lessons, issues related to the changing patterns in the retail industry will be discussed drawing on different types of materials: history and marketing essays (mainly in English), integrated by case-studies concerning leading firms in Large scale distribution. It is also envisaged that audiovisual contents will be shown and discussed in the framework of a partecipatory lesson teaching method.

Assessment methods and criteria

Attending students:
students are asked to prepare an essay, academically stuctured (research hypothesis, topic development, and conclusions), in which the subjects put forward by the paper are discussed. The work will be organized in small teams within which the personal contribution provided by each student will be assessable.
The grade achieved by each student will count for 50% of the overall grade, and will be averaged with a written exam concerning the course content. This exam is structured on an open question referring to the topics discussed during the lessons.
Knowledge and understanding will be verified by analyzing the essay and the written exam contents. The ability in applying knowledge and understanding will be verified by
analyzing the essay. Learning skills and the ability in making judgments will verified by analyzing the answer given to the written exam question. Communication skills and the ability in using the proper technical language will be verified by considering the oral presentation of the essay’s results.

Non-attending students:
Written exam structured in 2 open questions divided in: (a) a general part each providing a maximum of 10 marks, and (b) a section devoted to applied historical cases each providing a maximum of 5 marks.
Knowledge and understanding will be verified by analyzing the contents of both answers.
The ability in applying knowledge and understanding will be verified by analyzing the answers given to the sections devoted to applied historical cases.
Learning skills and the ability in making judgments will verified by analyzing the answers given to the general part of the questions.
Communication skills and the ability in using the proper technical language will verified by analyzing the terms adopted in the answers and the propensity in clarifying their meaning.

Other information

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