Quartz: Ryan Raffaelli of Harvard “studies how mature organizations and industries faced with technological change reinvent themselves. Raffaelli has termed this line of research ‘technology reemergence.’ It began with his study of the Swiss watch industry, which collectively reinvented itself (and thus survived) in the wake of digital watches. Five years ago, he set out to discover how independent bookstores managed to survive and even thrive in spite of Amazon and other online retailers.”
“Here are some of Raffaelli’s key findings so far, based on what he has found to be the ‘3 C’s’ of independent bookselling’s resurgence: community, curation, and convening. Community: Independent booksellers were some of the first to champion the idea of localism; bookstore owners across the nation promoted the idea of consumers supporting their local communities by shopping at neighborhood businesses … Curation: Independent booksellers began to focus on curating inventory that allowed them to provide a more personal and specialized customer experience.”
“Convening: Independent booksellers also started to promote their stores as intellectual centers for convening customers with likeminded interests—offering lectures, book signings, game nights, children’s story times, young adult reading groups, even birthday parties. ‘In fact, some bookstores now host over 500 events a year that bring people together,’ Raffaelli says.” He adds: “The theoretical and managerial lessons we can learn from independent bookstores have implications for a wide array of traditional brick-and-mortar businesses facing technological change.”