Das Einkaufszentrum als Agglomerationsklasse - begriffliche Diskussion und empirische Evaluierung von Agglomerationseffekten [The Shopping Mall as an Agglomeration Format – conceptual discussion and empirical evaluation]

This book chapter is the outcome of an interdisciplinary research project (law and retail research) on the generic nature and economies of shopping malls. The starting point of consideration was that there is legal uncertainty how the tenancy relationship in malls, i.e. rent vs. lease, should be considered in lease/rental contracts. The answer to this question has considerable consequences on the rights and liabilities of the owner/landlord of shopping malls and the shop owners regarding e.g. right to cancel, time limitations of the contract etc.. From the retail research point of view the question arises if shop owners just pay the rent/lease in shopping malls for the provided space or is there an add-on value they benefit from being located in a ‘retail agglomerations’. The article provide in-depth conceptual insights into the different use of the term shopping mall compared to other agglomeration formats, e.g. shopping streets or other kinds of shopping centres. Furthermore, it is shown that a mall is ‘more than the sum of its parts’ based on the evaluation of so called agglomeration effects. The existence and impact of such benefits for both tenants and customers are investigated based on three extensive empirical studies and the analysis of secondary data