Negotiation and Management Strategies of Street Vendors in Developing Countries

John B Forkuor,Eric H Yeboah,Kofi O Akuoko

doi:10.1177/2158244017691563

John B Forkuor, Eric H Yeboah + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244017691563

Copy DOI

Abstract

The existing literature on the relationship between regulators and street vendors remain fragmented and limited to specific countries and contexts. This article presents a narrative review of the existing literature on the relationship between regulators and street vendors, and through that creates a unified picture of an otherwise fragmented literature and knowledge base. The concepts of negotiation, power, social network, and perception are used to analyze the various strategies street vendors have used in gaining access to urban public spaces in different parts of the developing world. It is revealed that even though city regulators have access to formal power, street vendors possess a variety of negotiating strategies that gives them access to both formal and informal power.

Highlights

Street vending serves as a major source of employment and income for urban residents the world over, especially in developing countries (Chen, 2004; Donovan, 2008)
This article contributes by providing a coherent narrative and a holistic picture of an otherwise fragmented literature base on the dynamic relationship between street vendors and city regulators
Street vendors have been demonstrated as an organized political force who, through various strategies and approaches, resist or avoid the power of city authorities and continue to use public spaces

Summary

Introduction

Street vending serves as a major source of employment and income for urban residents the world over, especially in developing countries (Chen, 2004; Donovan, 2008). Operating from the streets, street vendors may work from permanent locations, or may be mobile, carrying their wares to customers at places of high pedestrian concentrations (Bhowmik, 2005) By their presence and activities, street vendors in different parts of the developing world have been in confrontation with city authorities or regulators over space for business, conditions of work, sanitation, and licensing (Anjaria, 2006; Asiedu & Agyei-Mensah, 2008; Milgram, 2011; Popke & Ballard, 2004; Skinner, 2008a). Even though different authors have documented the negotiation strategies of vendors in specific countries, this review presents a synthesized, holistic, and coherent insight by bringing together the various strategies that vendors have used in urban areas of developing countries and analyzing them through the lens of relevant theoretical concepts of power, social networks, and social perception

Literature Search and Analysis

Summary of Data Set

Results

Conclusion