A general systems approach to retail evolution: an existing institutional perspective

Abstract

To date, no attempt has been made to advance a common perspective from which to classify existing theories of retail evolution and to offer direction for future theory development. The focus from which our framework is advanced is that of the existing retail institutional marketplace. Through their reluctance/inability to change, existing retail institutions provide opportunities for innovative retail forms to originate and prosper. A unifying perspective from which to view theories of retail change is that of open system inquiry. The relationship between theories of retail change and system inquiry offers a number of opportunities to advance the application of retail theory development. A frequent criticism advanced towards theories of retail change, that they are context dependent, could thus be overcome. Future theory development with regard to retail change might be served by explicitly recognizing the relevance of the existing retail institutions' inquiring system processes relative to a given change agent. Further, the focus upon existing retail institutions as a vital component of retail change development formally recognizes the need for this perspective in future research.