G. Shaw et al., The evolving culture of retailer regulation and the failure of the 'Balfour Bill' in interwar Britain, ENVIR PL-A, 32(11), 2000, pp. 1977-1989
The authors explore the interactions between retailer conflict, types of co
mpetition, and retail regulation. Their study is set within the wider debat
es surrounding the attempts to retheorise retail geography, and, more speci
fically, in the context of retail competition within interwar Britain. The
specific focus is on the attempts to control large-scale corporate retailin
g, and the failure of such strategies. The authors also draw on comparisons
with the situation in the USA and show that the British case was very diff
erent, as illustrated by the failure of the 'Balfour Bill: Within this cont
ext they debate a number of reasons why the attempts to regulate retailing
failed in Britain. On a broader front they also demonstrate the need for fu
rther research into the complex relationships between retailer conflict and
regulatory control.