Maximum or Minimum Differentiation? Location Patterns of Retail Outlets
利用洛杉矶地区加油站的物理位置和产品属性数据，实证检验了区位理论，发现随着市场竞争加剧，企业倾向于通过空间差异化来避免直接竞争。
We empirically test implications from location theory using the location of Los Angeles-area gasoline stations in physical space and in the space of product attributes. We consider the effect of demand patterns, entry costs, and several proxies for competition on the tendency for a gasoline station to be physically located more or less closely to its competitors. Using an estimation procedure that controls for spatial autocorrelation and spatial autoregression, and controlling for market characteristics and nonspatial product attributes, we find considerable evidence that firms locate their stations in an attempt to spatially differentiate their product as market competition increases. © 2002 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology