Data-Driven Retail Transformation, Financial Governance, and Organizational Resilience: A Comparative Institutional Analysis of Walmart and Carrefour

Abstract

Retail organizations are increasingly transformed by digital platforms, business analytics, automated accounting systems, supply chain intelligence, and omnichannel governance. This study examines how data-driven retail transformation influences financial transparency, managerial adaptation, organizational resilience, and socio-economic performance through a comparative institutional analysis of Walmart and Carrefour. The article argues that retail competitiveness in the digital era depends not only on e-commerce expansion but on the institutional integration of accounting systems, supply chain analytics, governance accountability, and strategic organizational capability. Using comparative institutional analysis, financial governance assessment, and digital business analytics, the study evaluates corporate disclosures, ESG reports, retail performance indicators, international economic reports, and interdisciplinary academic literature. The findings indicate that Walmart demonstrates stronger analytics-driven scale, supply chain digitalization, and omnichannel integration, whereas Carrefour exhibits stronger sustainability-oriented governance, localized adaptation, and European institutional accountability. The comparative evidence suggests that digital transformation improves resilience when supported by financial discipline, data governance, managerial coordination, and stakeholder legitimacy. This article contributes to economics, accounting, management, and digital business scholarship by developing an interdisciplinary framework linking retail digital governance, accounting transparency, organizational capability, strategic adaptation, and sustainable socio-economic outcomes.