Search

This paper develops a framework for a generic retail stakeholder charter that addresses expectations of relevant retail business stakeholders to achieve success and sustainability. Hevner's design science research model was used for the development of this framework. Relevant literature on retail business management, stakeholder theory, and existing charters was reviewed and used for the design of a draft generic retail charter framework. The draft framework was submitted to expert practitioners and academics for verification in terms of correctness, completeness, and relevance to develop the final retail charter framework. The framework addresses stakeholder expectations regarding relevant categories, and the structure of the retail charter addresses the identity, elements, and the management of the retail charter. The elements in the generic retail charter are structured to achieve stakeholder support by ensuring compliance, satisfaction, and excitement. This generic retail charter framework creates research opportunities for the development of detailed retail charters for every stakeholder category, and customized retail charters for individual retail businesses. The framework provides further research opportunities for retail businesses operating in a particular industry, ecommerce, various Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes, and other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critiques the retail business management curriculum as currently offered in the Higher Education (HE) sector. The study used an exploratory qualitative approach, which involved conducting telephone interviews with a purposively selected sample of 25 participants conversant with the phenomenon studied, retail management practitioners, students and curriculum review experts. This was augmented by secondary literature. The study found out that by and large the retail business management (RBM) curriculum that is currently rolled out in the HE sector is largely based on Western epistemologies. The knowledge economy that is consumed by the recipients of the RBM curriculum in the HE sector is mainly from American and European academics and that is at the expense of the local or indigenous knowledge. It was found out, that the majority of the curriculum recipients do not identify with the current curriculum because it is divorced from their lived experiences that include their culture in particular their languages, beliefs and values. The study avers that indigenous knowledge systems were left out in the process of the RBM curriculum development and that partly explains its alienation from the lived realities of the local students and academic staff. The study therefore recommends that the current RBM curriculum needs to be effectively decolonised and the starting point for this decolonisation process is the involvement of all stakeholders in the curriculum development process. Secondly, the use of diverse educators to reflect the country's racial mix is recommended. The study also recommends the convening of all stakeholder curriculum review engagements, the use of a local knowledge economy and local languages in teaching and learning of the RBM curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]