Effects of Information Technology on Reducing Perishable Waste in Supermarkets

Leaders within retail supermarkets struggle to manage perishable waste that has been at least partly attributed to shoppers' desire to buy fresh food; however, supermarket managers do not always exhaust the stock of fresh food as scheduled. Based on disruptive innovation theory, the purpose of this case study was to explore employee use of an information technology (IT) inventory control application in perishable food departments for possible reasons for why perishable waste persists. Data were obtained from interviews with 30 participants working in perishable departments from 3 supermarkets in Tennessee. The transcribed interviews were coded to generate themes and validated through member checking. The most prominent themes developed included (a) employee knowledge of the information technologies and perishable waste management, (b) suggestions for improvement, and (c) effectiveness of the IT inventory control application. The results suggested a strong need for increased employee training in IT inventory control application. The study findings may enable supermarket retailers to determine where improvements to IT integration could be more effective in meeting individual store goals. The results of this study may contribute to positive social change, as supermarket retailers could apply these solutions to improve inventory control in their perishables departments. This application can result in training programs that enable employees to learn perishable waste management.