Doctor of Research in Management Dissertation Defense by Djohan Gunawan: THE ADOPTION OF OMNICHANNEL AS A RETAIL SOLUTION FOR THE MILLENNIALS CUSTOMERS

The development of technology has directly impacted the marketing aspect of business, most specifically marketing in retail. Starting from the rise of the internet which delivers what can be called Marketing 1.0, a product centric approach with only a single retail channel. Then, Marketing 2.0 was born as smartphones began to invade the modern lifestyle, in which retail companies started to process the multi-channel approach. Afterwards, Marketing 3.0 connects retail companies with consumers using the cross channel.

At last, the world has arrived in the era of Marketing 4.0, a transition from traditional to digital. This era targets the millennial generation, or usually called the digital generation. Through the retail omnichannel approach, retail companies can successfully attract and gain profits from this millennial market. The adoption of omnichannel as a retail solution is the main interest of the doctoral dissertation of Djohan Gunawan.

On Monday (24/8), the Doctor of Research in Management BINUS Business School held live streaming of an open dissertation defense by Djohan Gunawan as the promovendus. The live streaming began at 13.00 WIB and wrapped up at 15.00 WIB. However, the dissertation defense itself was held in room 800 at BINUS Anggrek Campus. Joining promovendus Djohan Gunawan, the promoter team consisted of Prof. Dr. Tirta Nugraha Mursitama, PhD, Amalia E. Maulana, PhD, and Dr. Ir. Mohammad Hamsal, MSE, MQM, MBA.

Djohan Gunawan, 30-year experience in Sales Marketing

Djohan Gunawan was born on August 28, 1969 and finished his undergraduate study in 1997. He studied in Information Systems and Management at BINUS University, then proceeded to continue his academic journey with Management Master program majoring in General Management at BINUS University starting from 2005 to 2009.

Djohan Gunawan began his professional career at Bentoel Group Indonesia in 1988. For 30 years, Djohan Gunawan has become an incomparable asset for the company, especially in Sales Marketing projects focusing on field management, sales operations, and sales development. Djohan Gunawan also acts as Founder and Director of PT Metro Mobile Indonesia that aims to help companies in transforming their business models by utilizing digital and mobile applications development.

Djohan Gunawan is a respectable figure who always seeks more knowledge and experience. This is proven by his decision to proceed with his study by taking the Doctor of Research in Management program at BINUS University with a specialization in Strategic & Growth. Prior to his dissertation defense, Djohan Gunawan has presented his academic research in several international conferences. In October 2019, Djohan Gunawan presented in ICITID 2019 held at Yogyakarta. Continuing his work, Djohan Gunawan also presented in DICDBM 2020 at Bandung.

Omnichannel adoption for millennial consumers

Djohan Gunawan presented his dissertation titled “Adoption Factor of Omnichannel Retail Integrated Solution in the Millennials Consumers” in front of the examination committee, with Prof. Dr. Ir. Harjanto Prabowo, MM as the Chairman. This dissertation aims to explore the many factors that impact the online or offline interactions in providing a shopping experience felt by the millennial consumers, specifically in the omnichannel retail. The millennial generation covers 50% of the world’s population, making them the biggest market currently.

Djohan Gunawan performed two types of research. One is a descriptive research with descriptive surveys as the research method. The second one is a verification research using explanatory surveys. Djohan Gunawan successfully gathered 423 respondents, ranging from genders, locations, age (junior/senior millennials), devices, and shopping habits.

Through this thesis, Djohan found that omnichannel experience is significantly related to the omnichannel adoption, which is in line with the variables of perceived informativeness, affordable, and accessibility. However, the omnichannel interaction does not affect the overall omnichannel adoption.

In conclusion, Djohan Gunawan proved that retail omnichannel must provide excellent, consistent, and practical consumer experience in both online and offline channels to accelerate the adoption of omnichannel. Furthermore, Djohan Gunawan also argued that the millennial generation appreciates accessibility in terms of interaction and transaction, both online and offline channels, but comprehensive product information does not affect their satisfaction.