Consumer driven electronic transformation : Applying new technologies to enthuse consumers and transform the supply chain

The Symposia have become important, unique - casions in the international calendar of business research. The papers c- lected here, first presented in Athens, represent an important contribution to the research literature of modern business. The wide-scale institutional development of collaborative practices in the European consumer goods business began in 1994 with the creation of ECR (“Efficient Consumer Response”) Europe, a joint initiative of ma- facturers and retailers working together to improve the quality and p- formance of the value chain. At the heart of ECR was a business envir- ment characterised by dramatic advances in information technology, shifts in consumer demand, and the increasing movements of goods across int- national borders. This new reality required a fundamental reconsideration of the most effective way of delivering the right products to consumers at the right price.