Journal of Case Research in Business and Economics Dynamism of a night market, Page 1 Dynamism of a night market

The purpose of the study was to gain a better understanding of the factors leading to the dynamism and performance of night markets, the characteristics of the night market, the traders, the customers and the visitors; and to determine the density and diversity of the night market. The Malaysian night market was based on the concept of open-air shopping, where street hawkers or petty traders occupied a designated part of a street to set up their stalls. The night markets offered wide range of foods and non-food items and they would usually operate once or twice a week depending on the popularity of the night markets in the area. They could be considered as business incubators for aspiring entrepreneurs since they would need to put in a very small investment to start the business, the risk of failure was minimal, and there was the opportunity to earn a hefty income. The six variables studied were: Market characteristics, Traders profile and characteristics, Customers profile and characteristics, Visitors profile and characteristics, Local authority level of support and services provided, and Surrounding communities and characteristics. Additionally, three other aspects that were also examined were the economic effects on surrounding communities, the aspects of competition among traders, and the product type, range and prices. The findings indicated that the night market studied was very vibrant with high density of traders and customers especially during peak period; high diversity of customers with the different ethnic and age groups; and high degree of social interactions with encounters that represented ‘heads up ’ interactions among and between customers and traders