The Determinants of Retail Productivity: A Critical Review of the Evidence |
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| Authors: | Dolores Añón Higón Ödül Bozkurt Jeremy Clegg Irena Grugulis Sergio Salis Nicholas Vasilakos Allan M Williams |
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| Institution: | 1. Universidad de Valencia, Dpt. Estructura Económica, Facultad de Ecomomía, Avda. dels Tarongers, S/N, 46022 Valencia, Spain,;2. Department of Organisation Work and Technology, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster LA1 4YX, UK,;3. Centre for International Business, University of Leeds (CIBUL), Leeds University Business School, Maurice Keyworth Building, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK,;4. Bradford University School of Management, Emm Lane, Bradford BD9 4JL, UK,;5. Policy Studies Institute, University of Westminster, 50 Hanson Street, London W1W 6UP, UK,;6. Department of Economics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK, and;7. Institute for the Study of European Transformation and the Working Lives Research Institute, London Metropolitan University, Tower Building, 166–220 Holloway Road, London N7 8DB, UK |
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| Abstract: | This paper discusses the literature on the established determinants of productivity in the retail sector. It also draws attention to some neglected strands of research which provide useful insights into strategies that could allow productivity enhancements in this area of the economy. To date, very few attempts have been made to integrate different specialisms in order to explain what drives productivity in retail. Here this paper rectifies this omission by putting together studies from economics, geography, knowledge management and employment studies. It is the authors’ view that quantitative studies of retail productivity should focus on total factor productivity in retailing as the result of competition/composition effects, planning regulations, information and communications technology, the multinational operation element and workforce skills. Further, the fact that retail firms possess advantages that are transferable between locations suggests that investment in strategies enhancing the transfer of explicit and tacit knowledge between and within businesses are crucial to achieve productivity gains. |
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