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Karen Edwards

Karen Edwards serves as interim associate dean of academic programs as well as interim co-director / BAIS and online programs and is a senior instructor in the Department of Retailing at the University of South Carolina. Recipient of the University’s 2019 Garnet Apple Award for Teaching Innovation, the 2017 Faculty Integrity Award, and the 2010-11 Harry E. Varney Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award, Edwards teaches in the areas of digital commerce, asset protection and law-related issues affecting retailers. Edwards has developed numerous undergraduate and graduate-level courses, such as Law for Retailers, Fashion and the Law and Asset Protection for Retailers. She has also led numerous study abroad programs and co-developed the University’s first-ever virtual study abroad course. In 2016, Edwards received the Brian J. and Linda L. Mihalik Global Scholar Award. She is a frequent presenter and past associate director for distributed learning at the University’s Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), where she presently serves as a faculty mentor for individualized coaching.

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Contributor Brief·Karen Edwards · 1 articles
Updated Sep 5, 2023

Retail crime demands coordinated community action, not isolated corporate responses

Edwards argues that organized retail theft has become a systemic threat requiring coordinated community intervention, not merely individual retailer security measures. She contends that when retailers abandon high-crime cities entirely, it signals a market failure that demands structural, collective solutions rather than isolated corporate flight.

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breaking point: retailers fleeing high-crime cities signals market failure

“Retailers fleeing high-crime cities signals a breaking point that demands coordinated community intervention.”

More Community Action is Needed to Help Prevent the Growing Amount of Organized Crime Targeting Retailers

Forms of organized retail crime demanding intervention

Organized theft rings targeting coordinated locations9
Mass retail exodus from urban markets8
Individual retailer security responses (insufficient)4

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43%Organized theft
Organized theft rings targeting coordinated locations
Mass retail exodus from urban markets
Individual retailer security responses (insufficient)

community-level

solution required, not corporate-isolated approaches

Growing amount of organized crime targeting retailers indicates systemic breakdown.

More Community Action is Needed to Help Prevent the Growing Amount of Organized Crime Targeting Retailers

Retailers cannot address this crisis alone without coordinated community support and intervention.

More Community Action is Needed to Help Prevent the Growing Amount of Organized Crime Targeting Retailers

“Market exodus from high-crime cities reveals the insufficiency of corporate-only security.”

Themes:Organized crime as systemic market failureCommunity coordination over corporate isolationRetail exodus as breaking point indicator

Latest article

Retail · Sep 5

More Community Action is Needed to Help Prevent the Growing Amount of Organized Crime Targeting Retailers

Retailers fleeing high-crime cities signals a breaking point that demands coordinated community intervention to combat organized theft rings

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More Community Action is Needed to Help Prevent the Growing Amount of Organized Crime Targeting Retailers

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  • AM
    Alex M.·2h agoquestion

    What sparked your research into disruptive innovation?

    Curious what the original insight was that led you to the Innovator's Dilemma framework.

  • SL
    Sophia L.·1d agoidea

    Would love a deep-dive into EdTech adoption barriers.

    Your framing of sustaining vs. disruptive innovation feels directly applicable to school systems.

  • DR
    David R.·3d agoquestion

    How do you see AI changing the personalized learning landscape?