The Killing of Queues: A story of why some companies can create competitive advantage from using Technology-Based Self-Service

Sammanfattning: Self scanning and Self checkouts are two popular in-store Technology-Based Self-Service (TBSS) systems used among food retailers in Sweden. These systems bring new opportunities and challenges for stores to consider. The result of implementing these in-store TBSS systems actually seems to differ quite a lot. Some are able to reduce the queues at the checkouts and save costs, while other stores have not been able to do this. The purpose of this thesis is therefore to explain why different results of using in-store TBSS systems occur between stores, based on how their internal resources, competencies and capabilities differ. It also aim at assessing if an in-store TBSS can be a source of creating sustained competitive advantage. A multiple case study, including five food retail stores, was conducted using the classical Resource Based View (RBV) on strategy. The study shows that it is useful for managers to have a RBV on strategy before making investments. The following six resources, competencies and capabilities were found to serve as explanations for why the result of using in-store TBSS systems differ: (1) Type of location, (2) Physical store design, (3) Maintenance competence, (4) Customer service approach, (5) The store managers goals and commitment and (6) The marketing efforts. Although the study shows that the physical in-store TBSS system itself cannot be a source of sustained competitive advantage, having a high capability of deploying the system can be a source of sustained competitive advantage.