Big Box Research Articles

Big Box Thinking: Overcoming Barriers to Creativity in Manufacturing

Focusing on the process of package design, Peter Clarke and Jeff George propose several strategies for simultaneously streamlining and improving the outcomes of this important dimension of the product development process. They stress the need for earlier and closer links to end users, an ongoing analysis of design and price tradeoffs, and an open-minded review that expands the options in package fabrication.

Supersize It: The Growth of Retail Chains and the Rise of the 'Big Box' Retail Format

This paper documents and explains the recent rise of big box general merchandisers. Data from the Census of Retail Trade for 1977-2007 show that general-merchandise chains grew much faster than specialist retail chains, and that general merchandisers that added the most stores also disproportionately increased their product offerings. We explain these facts with a model in which a retailer's scale economies interact with consumer gains from one-stop shopping to generate a complementarity between a retailer's scale and scope.

The Death of Great Ships: Photography, Politics, and Waste in the Global Imaginary

The iconic images heralding an age of connectivity are the plane and the trace of digital flows bearing information. However, not far behind has been the cumbrous yet essential ‘big box’ of containerization, shipping all manner of goods across the planet on great vessels remorselessly circling the globe. Critiques of global trade have latched upon the counterimage of these mighty ships' ruinous carcasses beached and being broken in South Asia. Here then is the antipode of globalization—ships, once carrying cargoes, now themselves sold around the globe for scrap and ending up broken up according to the very logics of cheap locations that their routes made possible. This paper interrogates these counterimages of global capitalism. Looking at the works of various photographers it examines how waste ships are made to work aesthetically. It examines the photo-documentary and traditions of the industrial sublime to find ‘time-images’ that speak to the material and labour worlds of global capital.

How Do You Measure a “Technological Revolution”?

It is hardly news that we are in the midst of rapid economic change. The advances in infor mation and communication technology (ICT), in the life and other sciences, and their profusion of innovative products, from the newest electronic devices to the latest drugs and treatments, are ample evidence. Equally pervasive are new busi ness models in services (big box retail, online banking, on-demand media ) and the explosion in social networking and new business practices ushered in by the Internet (telework, virtual meetings, job boards ). Given the magnitude of the changes brought on by these innovations, it is useful to step back and ask: What does eco nomic analysis have to say about the sources and mechanisms of these shifts and revolutions, and what economic metrics are available to measure their overall size and impact? The received theory of economic growth is the natural candidate for this job. It came of age in the 1950s and 1960s with the neoclassi cal models and emergence of aggregate growth accounting. The latter has become the work horse of empirical macroeconomic growth analysis and the basis for official productiv ity statistics put out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) since 1983. A technological revolution appears, in this framework, as an increase in the fruits of innovation, as measured by the shift in an aggregate production function (termed multifactor productivity or MFP ), and possibly as an increase in the aggregate saving rate, as reflected in an increased rate of capital formation. MFP is an exogenous phenomenon

An Individual Health Plan Exchange: Which Employees Would Benefit and Why?

On average, US workers fortunate enough to be offered health insurance through their place of work are given a small number of choices: 80 percent of firms, accounting for 37 percent of workers, offered only one plan in 2005. Although there are merits of limited choice— including lower administrative costs for sponsoring employers, and better pooling of risk within a given employee population—substantial consumer surplus is forgone by preventing employees from selecting plans that best suit their needs. In Dafny, Ho, and Varela (2010), we build a model to quantify this deadweight loss. Using data on plan offerings and enrollment for 800+ large US firms in 139 geographic markets, over the period 1998–2006, we estimate a model of consumer preferences for characteristics of health plans. We use the parameters of that model to predict employee choices under different hypothetical scenarios of expanded choice, assuming employers’ total outlays for health insurance remain constant and plans are made available to new enrollees at “large group rates.” We quantify those gains for each employee group-year we observe (for example, Big Box Retailer’s employees in Houston in 2003), and conclude these gains are sizable compared to average premiums. We estimate that employees would be willing to forgo ten to 40 percent or more of their employer subsidies for the right to apply those subsidies to the plan of their choosing, with the exact magnitude depending on the demand specification as well as the definition of the expanded choice set. An Individual Health Plan Exchange: Which Employees Would Benefit and Why?

A Christian Remedy in a Climate of Fear: Francesco Bernadone, the War with Perugia, and Conversion

IN A 1957 LECTURE, medieval historian Christopher Brooke said, No medieval saint has been as popular in the last two generations as St. Francis; and popular, not only with Roman Catholics, but with men and women of every denomination and of none. (1) He goes on to attribute this popularity to the publication of Paul Sabatier's Vie de S. Francois d'Assise in 1893. While there is no comparable publication today, the figure of Francis of Assisi remains popular. During a recent visit to a big box retail outlet this author noticed plastic outdoor-display versions of the saint available in three different sizes. While the modern fascination with Francis is closely tied to his perceived association with animals and the environment, there is something to be gained a reexamination of this iconic character. By considering not only his teachings but also the setting of Francesco Bernadone's life one uncovers a uniquely Christian remedy for a society locked in a climate of fear and change. I. The Setting Located on a rocky hilltop in the Spoleto valley in central Italy, late twelfth-century Assisi afforded a young man all the temptations of medieval urban life. While the modern attraction of both Perugia and Assisi is their picturesque beauty, as hilltop citadels their strategic command of the valley speaks to their once competitive and violent posturing. Although neighboring Perugia had eclipsed it for two centuries, the year 1200 proud Assisi was preparing for a showdown to establish dominance. The climate was particularly hostile since Perugia had interfered in an internal struggle between Assisi's popular and noble classes. Assisi wanted revenge. The civic atmosphere was, therefore, one of retribution. Born into this climate of civic pride bolstered a growing economy in 1181, Francis was the child of a wealthy textile tradesman, Pietro di Bernardone (whose family came from Lucca), and his Provencal wife, Pica. (2) From a young age his father instilled in Francis the concept that material possessions were the measure of existence. It is no surprise then that he was a greedy youth and that this greed manifested itself even on a civic level. In 1202 Assisi formally launched a war against Perugia. Francis, the sources tell us, as a personification of Assisi's vices of pride, revenge, greed, and vanity, happily stepped forward to fight. Given Francis's later advocacy of peace, his contemporary biographers are not only telling a story, but also teaching a lesson. The conflict went beyond mere rivalry. Larger Perugia's loyalties lay with the papacy while smaller Assisi was allied with the Holy Roman Emperor. It was the classic smaller emperor-allied Ghibelline city versus a larger papal-allied Guelf city--a situation that encouraged violence throughout Italy in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as the unity of the Holy Roman Empire was beginning to crack. Warfare between Italian towns such as Assisi and Perugia was almost incessant. When small towns were at war it was not uncommon for all men over the age of fourteen to render military service. (3) Friedrich Heer provides an appropriate description of medieval society. He writes that its daily life was warfare, unrest, tumult, hatred, envy and the lust for power. (4) It is often easy for the modern student of history to forget the inherent violence of medieval Europe. This instability was partially due to weak centralized authority. Caught in the crosshairs between vacillating loyalty either to Church or emperor, the communities of the Spoleto valley were particularly prone to violence. Because of the constant conflict, the fighting classes became increasing brutal the tenth century. In fact, John McNeill suggests that after the tenth century terrorism was widespread. He states that the soldiers fought by plundering and ravaging the unarmed peasantry and devastating the lands they tilled, rather than in honest battle with foemen worthy of his steel. …

Feeling boxed in by the big boxes? Tools of the trade for successful customer relationship management

Feeling boxed in by the big boxes? Tools of the trade for successful customer relationship management

Big Boxes, Mega Stores, and Category Killers Overseas: The Emerging Geography of North American Chain Stores (NACS) in Puerto Rico

Las cadenas de tiendas de Norteamérica (NACS)se han estado moviendo a mercados internacionales como parte de su expansión corporativa en una economía globalizada. Puerto Rico, como un sitio central del Caribe, se está convirtiendo en un mercado atractivo. La llegada de estos grandes minoristas coincide con la implementación de prácticas neoliberales en la isla. Nuevos minoristas como Wal-Mart han estado desafiando a otros minoristas establecidos como K-Mart. La competencia entre estos dos gigantes se ha ido haciendo internacional. Ambos mega-minoristas están generando niveles de competencia y estrategias geográficas similares a las de los Estados Unidos continentales. Otros grandes minoristas como Sears, JCPenney, Home Depot, COSTCO y Sam's también están intensificando su presencia, afectando a los pequeños y medianos minoristas y reestructurando el patrón general de utilización de tierras en la isla. En los últimos 15 años, Puerto Rico se ha convertido en un importante prototipo regional que se pudiera difundir a importantes áreas urbanas de América Latina en el futuro cercano.

The NWIMBY Effect (No Walmart in My Backyard): Big Box Stores and Residential Property Values

Recent Wal-Mart openings have been accompanied by public demonstrations against the company’s presence in the community, asserting (among other things) that their presence is deleterious to residential property values. This study empirically evaluates that claim, analyzing the spatial correlation between Wal-Mart locations and residential property values, while comparing Wal-Mart with other big-box retailers for a frame of reference and controlling for other important aspects of a home’s market value. We recognize that market value may represent a trade-off between price and patience, so perform a similar analysis using a property’s days on the market to evaluate any big-box effect. Finally, we interpret the resulting effects in two ways, from both the resident’s and retailer’s point of view, casting new light on the NWIMBY effect.

Polyoxometalate Keggin Anions at Aqueous Interfaces with Organic Solvents, Ionic Liquids, and Graphite: a Molecular Dynamics Study

A recent computational study (Chaumont, A; Wipff, G. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2008, 10, 6940) showed that, in spite of their high charge and spherical shape, polyoxometalate α-PW12O403− Keggin anions PW3− can “attract each other” and form oligomers in water. This led us to speculate that these anions should also display surface-active properties, a feature supported by molecular dynamics results presented here at aqueous interfaces with an organic solvent (chloroform), with three ionic liquids (ILs) and a solid (graphite). Simulations have been performed with 20 PW3− per box and, in some cases, with different Mn+ counterions (Cs+, H3O+, H5O2+, NBu4+, Eu3+). At the chloroform interface, the highest PW3− activity (90−100%) is found with NBu4+ counterions, while with all other counterions, it is ca. 50%. The results obtained in “standard conditions” (juxtaposed solvent boxes simulated with additive potentials and TIP3P water) are confirmed with tests using either bigger boxes, SPC/E water, or a polarizable fo...

The Land of Sunshine

The Florida I grew up with - Marineland, Coral Castle, Weeki Wachee, mom-and-pop motels - is fast disappearing, replaced with more and more theme parks and big box chain hotels. Before the interstates laced across the state, US1 was the main access to Florida and many of these older attractions (or what remains of them) lie along this highway. The Land of Sunshine is my photographic series that sets out to document these disappearing monuments before all trace of them is gone.
 So much of living in a place designed for the sole purpose of selling itself to visitors is the sacrifice of nostalgia. These cute mom-and-pops motels and the boardwalk, which hold fond memories for many in the region, just look run down and “old” to the tourists. For this reason, little stays the way it is; there is constant remodeling, a never-ending expansion, and a steady development. This happens to the point that much of Florida’s history is lost, forgotten, and covered up by the sky-rise, beach-view condos that seem to multiply daily.
 Florida’s commodity is itself. It’s an image. It’s a reflection of both careful branding as well as exterior expectations. This process creates a special sort of irony. In an area where tourism is a major part of the economy, this region chooses to let itself be shaped so that visitors will be pleased. A business could only succeed based on the public opinions of places such as Peoria, IL or Toledo, OH. Now the region mourns the loss of landmarks built primarily for others.
 Starting at the Florida-Georgia border, I have been traveling along US1 documenting the remnants of attractions, motels, roadside stands, “tourist traps” and whatever else I find along the highway. There is a reoccurring theme along this highway and throughout Florida (and probably much of America right now) - property. Past commercial successes no longer possible and unbridled ambition have motivated small groups to purchase, parcel and zone all possible land. The result is an area razed by “outsiders” in the name of progress. To those in the region, the word “developer” has become something most foul. They are seen as destroyers of mass pleasure for the sake of private profit. They are seen as vampires.
 In my series I photographed an empty lot that once was the Daytona Bowl. My memories of the Daytona Bowl include skipping class one afternoon to go there with a friend in high school. I had never been bowling before and although it seemed like an odd way to spend a skip day (usually young people enjoy more “dangerous” or exciting activities) but there, with the unemployed and the retired, I bowled for the first time and found out I was fairly decent at the sport.
 The Daytona Bowl lot was purchased in 2004 and torn down in preparation for a condominium that was never built. Now the empty lot is up for sale. There are a lot of things in Daytona that were torn down in the real estate boom that were never replaced. I can’t help but think as I drive by them that if only they hadn’t been torn down in the first place we could still be bowling or playing skee ball at the boardwalk.
 How long can we as a society continue to expand? Is new always better? Is old always bad? Perhaps this region should be allowed to embrace what the tourists have abandoned.
 Liz Murphy Thomas is an artist, photographer and educator. She holds a BFA in Creative Photography from the University of Florida and an MFA in Photography and Digital Imaging from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Ms. Thomas’ work investigates issues of identity, memory and the associations we give to our possessions. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Digital Media at the University of Illinois Springfield.

Significant Works

Significant Works Marilyn Middendorf The Epic in Film: From Myth to Blockbuster. Constantine Santas. Rowman & Littlefield, 2008. 216 pages; $80.00. In this new, ambitious examination of epic films, Constantine Santas artfully argues for the viability and surprising longevity of this narrative form. Surprisingly popular throughout the 100-year history of motion pictures, this genre has never been treated with much respect. Most critics and viewers dismiss the classical epics of the 1950's and 1960's as big-budget, big-cast, big box office crowd pleasers. But Professor Santas' academic approach reveals them to be not only artistic, but significant works. And he wins the argument. He lays the groundwork in the first two chapters by comparing the modern epic to Aristotle's Poetics and rightly "translates" the elements into the new medium of moving pictures. Film form and visual language lend themselves elegantly to the requirements of "epic spectacle" as "special effects." Further, the story is carried by the hero, as a representative—"savior"—of the people. Of course, the sheer power of the image to project the hero in exactly this pose is second to none. The storyline itself is the "greatest conduit of fantasy ever created" (55) and the powers inherent in the big screen image a natural match. Santas explores its popularity throughout the history of cinema, not just the classical period of the 50's and 60's. Films epics must be lengthy, exciting, and complex; also, they must utilize large cast, consider weighty issues, and employ the latest technologies. Therefore, they are costly and must be box offices successes; for these reasons, critics and academics had [End Page 94] dismissed this popular and evolving form. But Santas whole-heartedly studies the epic in all its components, values, history and modernizations to educate film-buffs and academics, alike. He certainly convinced me to reconsider. The remaining seven chapters examine different types: Religious, Historical, Women-Centered, Comic, Anti-Epic, Information Age and International. Each chapter analyzes the components of that content area and supplies descriptions of individual titles. There are hundreds of finely detailed synopses, analyses, enough in each category to appeal to each reader's experience. I particularly enjoyed reacquainting myself with old favorites. Santas' method in compiling this highly readable volume is "to show that the epic has maintained its mythic qualities, connecting its heroes and their actions with the collective psyche of the community and its common goals" (18). As he applies these parameters—the hero and his community—he builds respect for this pattern, its uses, merits and meanings. While it is popular as well as entertaining—requiring length, action, and spectacle—film narrative will not die out. As Santas argues with penetrating details, film itself is ideally suited to the epic story and scope. Endure it will as long as big screens prevail. Therefore, Constantine Santas has the perfect title for his book. The Epic in Film is not just about film epics. Marilyn Middendorf Embry Riddle Aeronautical University middendm@erau.edu Copyright © 2008 Center for the Study of Film and History

A survey of the optimal handle position for boxes with different sizes and manual handling positions

Handles on objects are very important for enhancing the safety and efficiency of manual handling for people who use them. In this study, four different prototype boxes with auxiliary handles were designed to determine the optimal handle position of a box based on the evaluated user preferences and body part discomfort (BPD). Twenty male students participated in the experiment. Likert-5 point summated rating was applied to evaluate user preferences for the provided boxes with handles in upper, middle, and lower positions, in four different sizes and manual handling positions. Ten additional subjects were asked to indicate their BPD on a body chart after performing a similar experiment. The results show that the subjects preferred the upper part of the handle on a small box regardless of handling position; while the mid to upper parts of the handle on a big box were preferred for handling above the waist height. BPD also indicated that an upper handle was less stressful for a relatively smaller box than a big one; and mid to upper handles were less comfortable for a big box. The optimal handle positions depending on box size and handling position were suggested based on the results of the evaluation. It is thus recommended that a box provides a handle according to its relevant position, depending on size and manual handling condition, to reduce the musculoskeletal stress and in turn to increase user satisfaction.

Safe Urban Form: Revisiting the Relationship Between Community Design and Traffic Safety

Problem: While concerns about traffic safety were central to the development of conventional community design practice, there has been little empirical examination of the relationship between community design and the incidence of traffic-related crashes, injuries, and deaths. Purpose: We examine the relationship between community design and crash incidence. Methods: We present a brief historical review of the safety considerations that helped shape conventional community design practice and then analyze GIS data on crash incidence and urban form using negative binomial models. Results and conclusions: We find that many of the safety assumptions embedded in contemporary community design practice are not substantiated by the empirical evidence. While disconnecting local street networks and relocating nonresidential uses to arterial thoroughfares can reduce neighborhood traffic volumes, this does not appear to improve safety, but rather substitutes one set of safety problems for another. We found urban arterials, arterial-oriented commercial developments, and big box stores to be associated with increased incidences of traffic-related crashes and injuries, while higher-density communities with more traditional, pedestrian-scaled retail configurations were associated with fewer crashes. We found intersections to have mixed effects on crash incidence. We conclude by discussing the likely reasons for these findings (vehicle operating speeds and systematic design error) and outline three community design strategies that may help improve traffic safety. Takeaway for practice: Community design is strongly associated with crash incidence. The speed and operating characteristics of arterial thoroughfares, as well as the design and configuration of commercial and retail uses, appear to be particularly important. Our findings suggest that safety may be enhanced by strictly managing access along arterial thoroughfares and by locating commercial and retail uses away from these roadways, or at least orienting them toward lower-speed access lanes with limited connections to the arterial system. Designing communities to have higher-density, more urban design configurations generally appears to help reduce crash incidence, although four-leg intersections pose potential traffic hazards. Research support: This research was sponsored by the Southwest University Transportation Center (SWUTC).

Machine for shopping

Forging a link between the convenient online world and the hands-on world of real shops is the aim of Microsoft's latest technology showcase, the Retail Experience Centre (REC). Hidden in the company's Redmond, Washington campus, this full-size replica of a typical 'big box' retailer houses technologies that Microsoft hopes will be at the heart of successful 21st century shops.

Discounting Democracy: Wal-Mart, Social Capital, Civic Engagement, and Voter Turnout in the United States

Given its size, reputation, and dominance of the retail sector, Wal-Mart has quickly become one of the most controversial companies of our time. Despite its considerable coverage in the news and popular press, relatively little has been written about Wal-Mart in academic, peer-reviewed books and journals. Using data on Wal-Mart that record the opening date and location of every store in the United States between 1972 and 2001, I will analyze the relationship between Wal-Mart and a number of variables that measure political engagement. I find Wal-Mart stores are correlated with decreasing voter turnout, lower participation in political activities, less philanthropy, and declining social capital. The pattern is observed in four different data sets based on county and individual-level data. The results imply Wal-Mart has a measurable impact on communities in the United States that reaches beyond prices, income, and employment. Big box retail, it seems, comes at a cost. Lower prices and all that comes with them hold important consequences for political participation.

The Great American Staycation and the Risk of Stillness

The Great American Staycation and the Risk of Stillness

Vernacular Culture and Urban Economic Development: Thinking Outside the (Big) Box

Problem: This article addresses the increasing homogeneity of urban commercial areas and the loss of local culture associated with this trend. It seeks to identify strategies that build effectively on vernacular culture as an asset in neighborhood development. Purpose: We aim to identify tools that advance the cultural preservation approach to urban economic development and to describe instances in which planners and neighborhood groups have applied these tools successfully. Methods: We completed a wide-ranging literature review to identify the characteristics of places that have employed cultural preservation approaches and conducted six case studies involving 43 interviews in five cities. Results and conclusions: Our interviews and case studies showed us that there are at least three types of anchors in neighborhoods with strong vernacular culture: 1) markets; 2) ethnic areas and heritage sites; 3) and arts-and-culture venues and districts. Although the balance between preservation and development will be different in each place, we did cull some widely applicable lessons learned while conducting our fieldwork: a) involve residents; b) find assets in local needs; c) transfer lessons rather than replicating others' work; d) create opportunities for ownership; e) if it doesn't exist, invent it; and f) balance culture and commerce. Our analysis also suggests that a neighborhood wishing to pursue a neighborhood development strategy based on vernacular culture should have at least one of the anchors listed above and strong, community-based organizations. Takeaway for practice: We argue that it is both possible and preferable to advance an urban economic development strategy based on the local cultural assets that exist in urban neighborhoods. Our research illustrates different paths that places have taken to advance this kind of strategy and provides several ways for local planners and policymakers to integrate the maintenance of vernacular culture into their larger economic development plans. Research support: Our research was supported by the Fannie Mae Foundation.

Thinking Outside the Big Box: Municipal and Retailer Innovations in Large-scale Retail

This study explores innovations in big-box retail development driven by both public and private sector initiatives. It includes a survey of planners in US cities asking about the presence and extent of big-box developments, how the cities approached regulating them, and innovations that retailers are undertaking. The results revealed that many cities have big-box retail, and they have typically adopted various regulations (such as limiting design standards, design review and size caps) to control it. Some cities reported that they were utilizing innovative techniques, such as dark-box ordinances, to ensure that big boxes will make positive contributions to their communities. Respondents reported that these regulations had only moderate success. Respondents also reported on innovations undertaken by retailers. As big-box retail continues to spread, communities will need to develop more effective mechanisms to ensure that big box retail is appropriately integrated.

Why do alcohol outlets matter anyway? A look into the future

A great deal of community-level alcohol research has examined statistical relationships between alcohol availability and problems related to alcohol use. This literature is very large and defies the brief summary, but here I will express my general opinion about the findings of this work [1]. Research on alcohol outlets has demonstrated that greater numbers of bars and off-premise drinking places are related to greater problems, could be related to drinking levels (if we include restaurants in our counts) and are probably related to dependence and addiction in some way. Put simply, more outlets mean more problems, might mean more use and likely have something to do with the addictions. Beyond these actuarial facts we know little else. A useful question to ask then is, ‘Why?’ [1] Stockwell T., Gruenewald P. J., Toumbourou J. W., Loxley W. Prevention Harmful Substance Use: The Evidence Base for Policy and Practice. New York: John Wiley; 2005.