Abstract:

Quick commerce (Q-commerce) is promptly transforming retail systems by prioritizing speed accessibility, and real-time fulfilment, yet its broader service and societal implications remain underexplored in emerging markets. Drawing on transformative service research (TSR), service ecosystem theory, and institutional theory, we examine how Q-commerce platforms in Ghana and Nigeria construct and institutionalise service immediacy. Using a qualitative multi-case design across six service industries, which we employed both documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews to collect data, our findings reveal that immediacy is not merely an operational attribute but an ecosystem-level capability. Our work develops transformative service immediacy systems (TSIS) model, demonstrating how Q-commerce reshapes value creation, consumer time-sensitive, and well-being under conditions of infrastructural fragility. Practically, the findings highlight how service markets and policymakers can design inclusive immediacy-driven services while mitigating new vulnerabilities for workers and consumers. This work advances theory and practice by repositioning immediacy as a transformative service condition in emerging markets retail sector.

Please choose your submission type: Full Paper

Primary Track: African Studies

Keywords: Entrepreneurial process & other spatial/temporal issues on African entrepreneurship.

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Dr. Kofi Kwarteng