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Purpose To cope with online competitors and new consumer behaviors, retailers need to hybrid digital and physical offerings to implement an omni-channel business model. This constitutes a digital transformation of the traditional business model. However, business cases on how traditional retailers are shifting from multi-channel to omni-channel retailing are lacking. This paper aims to explore the different issues and organizational paths during the transformation of a business model. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a qualitative multiple case study of five retailers with a global reach currently implementing an omni-channel business model. Findings This research sheds light on three main issues encountered by retailers and the different underlying decisions when moving toward an omni-channel business model. The first relates to revenue attribution across channels, which involves rethinking traditional key performance indicators to give incentives to stores when promoting digital offers. The second issue concerns the supply chain decisions associated with cross-channel operations. The third issue relates to the delicate balance between global reach (digital channel) and local reach (specific store) for communication on social media and marketing decisions on pricing. This study provides empirical evidence about the variety of choices that retailers make to cope with the issues during the implementation of an omni-channel business model. Originality/value This work explores the issues faced by established firms when moving toward a new business model that is the hybridization of two existing business model managed separately. It provides comprehensive and clear illustration of how to manage such a business model transformation process that can be used by both business strategy practice and academic research.

This qualitative research adopts a strategy-as-practice perspective to explore the roles of micro-level practices during a business model (BM) innovation process. Using the context of omni-channel retailing for empirical analysis, this research demonstrates that the capabilities required to successfully design and implement a new BM for digital transformation fall within the capacity of managers from middle and lower management levels to develop practices of bricolage. This research demonstrates that business model innovation (BMI) does not only occur through organizational level test-and-learn processes but also relies on micro-level practices of bricolage from lower-level managers within the organization. A BMI is a process in which implementation (top-down) and emergence (bottom-up) are intertwined. Indeed, some micro-level practices of bricolage may be used by top management in the design of the new BM to improve implementation phases.