Retail market structure scenarios and their strategic applications

Abstract

To survive these turbulent times, retailers must do more than respond to changing competitive conditions -they must anticipate them. This article is focused on constructing scenarios for retailing formats in the growth stage of the life cycle. Such scenarios are derived largely by integrating available theoretical and empirical research. They afford insights into the evolution of geographical competitive patterns and provide a sound basis for territorial growth and entrenchment planning.

Scenarios as a scholarly methodology to produce “interesting research”

“…The scenarios methodology in retail research was first advocated to provide an alternative approach to study the competitive dynamics of retail formats that had reached the more advanced stages of the life cycle [41].The idea was that to survive and even thrive in turbulent times [42], retailers would have to do more than just respond to changing competitive conditions -they would have to try to anticipate them. Porter [43] recommended that in such contexts, firms with incipient competitive groups and industries could construct scenarios to help them envision the evolution of the competitive environment, and in turn, help them formulate and implement appropriate and timely courses of action.…”