Measuring adaptive behaviour in a retail planning context : a multi stakeholder measurement experiment

In the Netherlands, new retail concepts regarding peripheral locations have recently been introduced. This is the result of changes in Dutch retail planning policies. Whereas in the past the national government had a strong hand in determining the program and location of new retail facilities, nowadays there are no restrictions for retail organizations to develop retail properties at peripheral locations. With this new legislation, the Dutch government tries to stimulate innovation in the retail landscape and anticipate the rapidly changing retail system. As a result, the interaction between public and private actors is an important determinant of local retail planning decisions. The purpose of this paper is to reveal behavioural aspects underlying these types of decisions. Three groups of stakeholders (real estate developers, retail organizations and local governments) were invited to take part in an online conjoint choice experiment. They were asked to choose different retail plans that help to enforce the retail structure of the imaginary city "Shop City". The results of this experiment uncover the viewpoints of the three groups of stakeholders towards different retail plan alternatives. Most importantly, however, it gives insight into the degree these viewpoints depend on the viewpoints of other stakeholders. Results suggest that compared to the two private stakeholder groups local governments are more hesitant to locate new retail facilities at peripheral locations. Retail organizations are the most persistent in their viewpoints while real estate developers are most sensitive to the viewpoints of others.