“Barriers to entry” form a key construct in strategy scholarship and pedagogy. However, limited empirical evidence exists for many putative barriers. For example, although considerable evidence suggests that managers perceive the existence of significant distribution-related barriers to...

Examining changes in two different retail formats, we show that consumers alter their purchases depending on the retail environment. In both settings, the change in behavior coincides with a reduction in the interpersonal interaction required to complete a transaction. As such, we contend that...