Modeling Discontinuous Change in Retailing Systems: Extensions of the Harris‐Wilson Framework With Results From a Simulated Urban Retailing System

Abstract

This paper provides a test of an extension to the Harris‐Wilson (1978) model for examining discontinuous change in retailing systems. While the Harris‐Wilson model has been used almost exclusively to examine discontinuous change in the size of retail outlets, Fotheringham (1985) and Fotheringham and Knudsen (1986b) have recently shown it can be extended to model discontinuous change in the size and the relative location of retail outlets. Here, we present a test of this extension in a simulated urban retailing system. We also consider in more depth the supply side of the Harris‐Wilson framework and show how discontinuous changes between non‐zero equilibria can be modeled. Until now this has been impossible due to the previously restricted nature of the model. The generalization presented and examined here also allows an investigation of the trade‐off between the size and the location of retail outlets and of the effects of different types of consumer shopping behavior. 1986 The Ohio State University