Richard's research focuses on the interactions between customers, suppliers and the firm, as well as their influence on society and economic development.
Richard’s most recent research focuses on the disruptive challenges to the service sector created by new technologies. Service firms have traditionally been bimodal; either large, capital-intensive, corporations serving a mass market, or small family run enterprises serving a local geographically limited market.
Online and mobile services enable new entrants, both mass and niche, to bypass heavy investments in fixed assets and to avoid regulatory issues by employing new business models. By leveraging such advantages, technologically-driven international competition has created substantial challenges for established retailers and service providers in markets across the globe.
Moreover, the impact of these changes on the service sector then has indirect effects on product suppliers, commercial real estate owners, transport specialists and public policy makers. This is creating a transformation in how a consumer society operates, replacing firm investment in traditional assets and resources with investment in new customer experiences, service systems and business models.