EUROPEAN RETAIL RESEARCH is based on the reputable and distinguished annual „Handels- forschung“ (Retail Research) that has been published by Prof. Dr. Volker Trommsdorff in Germany for more than two decades now. Based on his initiative and following the tradition established by him, the book will be continued to be published, with the unchanged goal to inform researchers, lecturers, students, and executives in firms about recent and generally accepted findings in the field of retail research; thus highlighting the transfer between research and management. With Volume 22 that will appear in 2008, Prof. Trommsdorff handed over this publication to a team of retail researchers currently from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.

EUROPEAN RETAIL RESEARCH welcomes manuscripts on original theoretical or conceptual contributions as well as original empirical research – based either on large-scale empirical data or on the case-study method. Following the state of the art in retail research, articles on any major issues that concern the general field of retailing and distribution are welcome, e.g.

• different institutions in the value chain, e.g. customers, retailers, wholesalers, traders, service companies such as logistics service providers, but also manufacturers’ distribution and cooperation activities,
• different value chain processes, esp. marketing-orientated processes (e.g. innovation, customer relationship management, category management), supply chain processes (e.g. purchasing, logistics, operations), organisational processes, informational, or financial management processes,
• different aspects of retail management and marketing, e.g. retail corporate and competitive strategies, incl. internationalisation, retail formats, e-commerce, customer behaviour, branding and store image, retail location, assortment, pricing, service, communication,in-store marketing, human resource management,
• different aspects of distribution systems, e.g. strategies, sales management, key account management, vertical integration, alliances and networks, channel power, conflicts, and multi channel strategies.