Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation, and Circular Retail for Sustainable Urban and Regional Development

INSTRUCTORS

AIM

The aim of this course is to provide students with a practical and applied understanding of how artificial intelligence, web scraping, and digital data sources can be used to analyse business and consumer behaviour in the context of sustainability and the circular economy. The course examines how digital data from online platforms, reviews, corporate websites, and social media can be transformed into actionable insights that support responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), circular retail strategies, and sustainable urban and regional development. Particular attention is given to the interaction between AI-driven analysis, digital transformation of retail systems, and spatial configurations, highlighting how these elements jointly support sustainability transitions in business administration, marketing, and market research.

MAIN TOPICS

• Web scraping and digital data collection for sustainability analysis
  • Web scraping as a data collection tool in business, marketing, and retail
  • Digital data sources: online reviews, platforms, corporate websites, and social media
  • Ethical and legal considerations in data extraction
• Artificial intelligence for sustainability and circular economy insights
  • Introduction to AI techniques for text-based sustainability analysis
  • Measuring sustainability perceptions, reputation, and value creation using online data
  • AI-driven analysis of consumer and firm behavior related to responsible consumption and production (SDG 12)
• Circular economy and sustainable urban and regional development
  • Core principles of the circular economy
  • Circular cities and sustainable urban and regional development frameworks
  • The role of retail systems in sustainability transitions
• Circular retail strategies and business model innovation
  • Sustainable and circular retail practices (reuse, repair, take-back systems, reverse logistics)
  • Retail business model innovation and organisational transformation
  • Digitalisation and circular strategies in retail systems
• Digital transformation, spatial structures, and policy implications
  • Digital transformation and omnichannel retailing
  • Retail spatial patterns, urbanisation, and regional development
  • Governance and policy frameworks for sustainable and circular retail systems
• Applied cases and practical exercises
  • Practical applications to firms, destinations, cities, and regional markets
  • Data-driven decision-making for sustainable business and territorial strategies

TEACHING METHODOLOGY

This course follows an interdisciplinary and student-centered teaching methodology, combining theoretical instruction, empirical analysis, and applied learning. Teaching methods include:

• Lectures based on academic literature and conceptual frameworks related to sustainability, circular economy, retail systems, and urban–regional development
• Live demonstrations and guided practical sessions on web scraping and artificial intelligence for sustainability analysis
• Case study analysis of circular retail strategies and sustainable urban and regional systems
• Critical reading, discussion, and synthesis of peer-reviewed scientific articles
• Interactive discussions aimed at fostering critical thinking and reflective learning

The course is designed for students with no prior programming background. Technical concepts are introduced progressively through simplified code examples, visual tools, and practical applications based on real digital data sources.

DAY-BY-DAY PROGRAM

SUGGESTED REFERENCES

• Blanco-Moreno, S., González-Fernández, A. M., Munoz-Gallego, P. A., & Casaló, L. V. (2024). Understanding engagement with Instagram posts about tourism destinations. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 34, 100948.
• Blanco-Moreno, S., González-Fernández, A. M., Muñoz-Gallego, P. A., & Egger, R. (2024). What do you do or with whom? Understanding happiness with the tourism experience: an AI approach applied to Instagram. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 1-16.
• Blanco-Moreno, S., & González-Fernández, A. M. (2025). Algorithmic Service Failures and Brand Trust: Evidence from Multinational Consumer Reviews. Journal of Global Marketing, 1-23.
• Blanco-Moreno, S., González-Fernández, A. M., & Muñoz-Gallego, P. A. (2024). Big data in tourism marketing: past research and future opportunities. Spanish journal of marketing-esic, 28(3), 266-286.
• Blanco-Moreno, S., González-Fernández, A. M., & Gallego, P. A. M. (2025). Sustainable tourism insights through instagram: An artificial intelligence Approach. In Global Challenges and Uncertainty in Tourism and Hospitality, Volume II: Marketing Advancements and Value Creation (pp. 249-280). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
• Blanco-Moreno, S., González-Fernández, A. M., & Muñoz-Gallego, P. A. (2025). Decoding destination image: insights from Instagram content by residents, tourists, and influencers. Consumer Behavior in Tourism and Hospitality.
• Arruda, E. H., Melatto, R. A. P. B., Levy, W., & Conti, D. de M. (2021). Circular economy: A brief literature review (2015–2020). Sustainable Operations and Computers, 2, 79–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susoc.2021.05.001
• Pegorin, M. C., Caldeira-Pires, A., & Faria, E. (2024). Interactions between a circular city and other sustainable urban typologies: A review. Circular Economy and Sustainability, 5, Article 14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-024-00184-8
• Guimarães, P. (2023). Cities and retail: Sustainable transformation of retail in urban environments. Sustainability, 15(17), 12743. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712743
• Luo, X., Che Rose, R. A., & Awang, A. (2025). The evolution of retail outlet distribution: A systematic review of spatial patterns, drivers, and implications for urban development and economic growth. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2025.1628137
• Wiese, A., Kellner, J., Lietke, B., Toporowski, W., & Zielke, S. (2012). Sustainability in retailing: A summative content analysis. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 40(4), 318–335. https://doi.org/10.1108/09590551211211792
• Regasse, G. (2026). How e-commerce adoption reshapes Scandinavian retail organisations: Employment intensity, enterprise density, and labour productivity. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 90, 104727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2026.104727