Background

Retail plays important and diverse roles in societies, including fulfilling the needs of citizens. Thus, the way in which public policy is structured cuts across many different areas of retail activity, from regional planners, via regional and national governments, to international organisations. Policies defined at various levels control, stimulate, or restrict different types of retail development. Decisions related to the openness of the market, investment in public transport, telecommunications infrastructure, labour, health and safety regulations, education, public support for innovation, parking and delivery restrictions, taxation policy, environmental regulations, and many other issues, all shape retail at the rural, town, city, regional, national and international levels.

Topic Selection

In this call for papers, we would like to capture the ways in which public policies support retail development in various countries and regions. The aim of the conference is to discuss best practices and different ways for cooperation between retailers, policymakers and other groups of stakeholders.

This call is covering some of the following topics applied in the retail context, both at the store-end or in the extended retail supply chain, as the city, regional, national and international levels:

Retail, regional and national development
Role of public bodies (city, regional, national, international) in retail development
Retail and local planning policies
Labour-related regulations
Impact of retail on employment and training
Protectionism
Sustainability-related policies and regulations
Foreign Direct Investment and retail
Retail and free trade agreements
Education and skills in retail and logistics
Public and private partnerships
Cooperation between retailers, logistics providers and research institutions
Innovation policies
Transport and distribution – infrastructure and regulations
Standards and standardisation
Technology and IT - related regulations and policies
Retail and heritage planning and protection
Retail and tourism development
Funding for retail and logistics-related research
Taxation and fiscal regulations
Public policy and role of SME’s and “traditional” retailing
Papers submitted will be peer-reviewed. The conference will be run in a panel discussion format. Selected papers will be invited for publication in a journal special issue. Accepted papers will be available to conference participants before the event.