Are food retailers resilient amid crisis? A cultural resource-based exploration of Lebanese consumers’ engagement with the food retail landscape

Rachel Bahn, Fatiha Fort (), Florent Saucède () and Gumataw Kifle Abebe
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Rachel Bahn: AUB - American University of Beirut [Beyrouth]
Fatiha Fort: UMR MoISA - Montpellier Interdisciplinary center on Sustainable Agri-food systems (Social and nutritional sciences) - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CIHEAM-IAMM - Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier - CIHEAM - Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement
Florent Saucède: UMR MoISA - Montpellier Interdisciplinary center on Sustainable Agri-food systems (Social and nutritional sciences) - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CIHEAM-IAMM - Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier - CIHEAM - Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement
Gumataw Kifle Abebe: Dalhousie University [Halifax]

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Abstract: Supermarketization is transforming global food retailing, but research gaps around this transformation include the role of consumers and of crises in informing the supermarketization process, with implications for the resilience of retail structures. This study aims to apply a cultural-resource based theory of the customer and show that retailers need to think more broadly about the value they create for consumers and the meaning they engage in their interactions with consumers. We performed in-depth interviews with Lebanese consumers to understand whether and to what degree COVID-19, economic, and political crises have altered their food purchasing habits and perceptions, and the implications for the developing country context of supermarketization and retail modernization. Findings reveal that multiple factors influence the choice of food shopping destination ranging from those identified in mainstream retail theories (price, product assortment) to the individual-level activation of meaning and identity creation consistent with the cultural resource-based theory of the customer. Recent shifts in retail patronage patterns are linked to specific crisis impacts but do not uniformly favor modern or traditional retailers, suggesting ambiguous impacts on retailers' resilience and the future trajectory of supermarketization in Lebanon.

Keywords: Supermarketization; Cultural-resource based theory of the customer; Food retail; Crisis; COVID-19; Resilience; Emerging country (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-01
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Published in Journal of retailing and consumer services, 2025, 82, pp.104064. ⟨10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104064⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04692651

DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104064

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