Nonstore versus store retailing. A situationally based market structure assessment

Abstract

The impact of situational factors has typically been investigated in the context of goods marketing. Very few studies have investigated the impact of situational factors on retailing. This study demonstrates the importance of situational influence on retail marketing by delineating a situationally defined competitive market structure for store and nonstore retailers. This is done by 1 (characterizing ten sporting goods retailers with respect to pertinent situational contingencies, and 29) clustering the retailers in terms of the similarity/substitutability of their situational characterizations. The general marketing implications of the procedure and the specific retailing implications of the findings are discussed.