The economic and social role of small stores: a review of UK evidence

Abstract

There is considerable concern in the United Kingdom regarding the growing power of supermarkets, a concern that culminated recently in a UK Competition Commission enquiry into the grocery sector. Against this backdrop, some suppliers, independent retailers and societal groups have been critical of the investigation, implying that it did not do justice to the role of small stores in society, and that this issue is insufficiently understood by policy-makers. To address this need, this article reviews and assesses the available UK evidence on the social and economic role of small independent stores and the values that are attached to them by the communities they serve. This is achieved using the Systematic Literature Review methodology. The purpose of the article is to gauge the evidence as a platform for wider debate on how the role of small stores can be maintained and enhanced. The article identifies key themes and gaps in the literature as a basis for identifying research priorities and highlights implications for public policy and planning.

Keywords:

• small stores
• social and economic role
• independent outlets
• evidence
• systematic literature review
• retail regulation
• planning policy
• UK

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Editor and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments, which were helpful in the finalisation of the article.

Notes

1. PQR statements are definitional statements, a ‘root definition’ that expresses purposeful activity as a transformational process. In short, a PQR statement when cast in the form ‘do P by Q to achieve R’ answers the three basic questions that help break down and simplify complex situations or problems: What to do (P), How to do it (Q) and Why do it (R)? The aim of this exercise is to ensure that there is clarity of thought about the activity that was to be undertaken.

2. The acronym CIMO stands for context, intervention, mechanism and outcome. This logic has been explained by Denyer, Tranfield, and Van Aken (2008) who argue that the fragmented and limited relevance of research in the field of organisation and management studies can be overcome by a ‘design science’ approach. Although the aim of research in this project was not to develop a design proposition for the issues/problems sought to be solved in the project, the CIMO logic was useful for a more structured and careful consideration of the nature and characteristics of small stores while analysing the literature.