Le présent article est une ébauche consacrée au "hakam" arabe, juge-arbitre de la période préislamique. Elle procède à l’examen de cette fonction à la lumière des données lexicographiques, sociales ...et historiques disponibles. Elle insiste sur la dynamique interne de la société tribale et son impact sur le déploiement de cette fonction. Pour se faire, elle balise le terrain et l’environnement de l’Arabie préislamique et montre son poids sur cette fonction. Mais, elle pointe surtout la rupture. Comme elle évoque son évolution amorcée depuis l’avènement de l’Islam. - This article is a draft of the Arabic Hakam, pre-Islamic arbiter. It shall examine this function in the light of the lexicographic, social and historical data available. It emphasizes the internal dynamics of tribal society and its impact on the deployment of this function. To do so, it marks the ground and environment of pre-Islamic Arabia and shows its weight on this function. But, above all, it points to the rupture. As it evokes its evolution initiated since the advent of Islam.
PurposeDigitalization has transformed several industries during the past two decades. In this paper the authors focus on the retail sector, where new business models help retailers and suppliers meet ...the ever changing and demanding needs of retail shoppers. One example of this business model innovation is multi-sided digital platforms, which have become popular as they connect consumers with suppliers from around the world with a large ecosystem to support the retail platform. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of how multi-sided digital platforms are transforming the retail exchange logic and assess the implications and impact of these platform-based businesses on the retail sector, especially for business managers and consumers.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the authors employ literature review, conceptual analysis and qualitative case study methodology. The authors provide an overview of how the platform economy is affecting the retail sector through the illustration of four digital multi-sided platforms: Alibaba Group, Amazon.com, eBay and Rakuten Group, and what differentiates them from incumbent business models in retailing.FindingsThe findings suggest that platforms transform the transaction logic of retailing as they simply intermediate transactions between buyers and suppliers rather than handling the entire supply and logistics chain themselves. The authors highlight the role of consumer understanding and Big Data as one example of how multi-sided digital platforms differentiate from their non-platform competitors.Practical implicationsThe paper highlights how incumbent retailers can compete against new forms of business, such as digital platforms, and the authors demonstrate some of the managerial capabilities needed to remain relevant amidst this new digital competition.Originality/valueVery little empirical studies in marketing and retail literature have focused on multi-sided digital platforms and their business models. The present study fills this gap with an overview of how multi-sided digital platforms transform the retail sector.