The Role of Merchant Wholesalers in Industrial Agglomeration Formation

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8376870
AutoresAmy Glasmeier (The University of Texas at Austin, autor de correspondencia)
Año1990
Volumen80
Número3
Páginas394-417
Fecha de publicación1990-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAnnals of the Association of American Geographers (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0004-5608 • E-ISSN: 1467-8306
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-8306.1990.tb00304.x
OpenAlexW2152766969
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas19
Referencias citadas24

This paper explores the importance of merchant wholesalers in the early formation of industrial agglomerations. Merchant wholesalers reduce the size constraint of local markets by extending an entrepreneur's market reach. The merchant wholesale function also facilitates the formation of the division of labor by allowing greater local specialization. Merchant wholesalers are hypothesized to be part of the complex formation process. In the early stage of a complex's development, these intermediaries trade-in from outside as local demand warrants. Over time, local wholesale functions unfold. As a complex grows, these wholesalers specialize, creating a range of wholesale operations. The process of merchant wholesaler formation is thought to be dialectical; prior generations of technology lay the basis of subsequent merchant wholesale specializations. A model of wholesale evolution is presented and tested, based on a case study of firms in Austin, Texas

Business · Commerce · Constraint (computer-aided design) · Division of labour · Economic geography · Economics · Economies of agglomeration · Industrial organization · Intermediary · Market economy · Microeconomics · Process (computing) · Urban agglomeration · Business Strategy and Innovation · Computer Science · Consumer Retail Behavior Studies · Engineering · Marketing · Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis