Competitive facility location: Unequally attractive facilities

Existing competitive facility location models assume that the facilities concerned are equally attractive and therefore distance is the only choice variable among them. When the facilities are not equally attractive, additional variables which differentiate facilities come to bear in customer facility preference. The models developed in this dissertation find the best location for a facility which is not equally attractive to existing ones.;Two approaches, which employ different assumptions about customer behavior, are taken in the development of the best location solution. The first approach, based on Hotelling's theory, assumes that customers patronize the most attractive facility. Proximity is one component of attractiveness, and is "traded off" for higher quality facilities. Differences in overall quality are converted to a distance measure and the best location for the facility is found such that the market share it captures is maximized.;The second approach, based on Huff's formulation, is based on a formula for predicting market share captured by shopping centers. This formula is based on the area of a shopping center in which a retail establishment is located and the distance from it. The best location for a new shopping center is found.;The models are further tested on a set of empirical data in a series of simulations. These simulations provide a comparison of the location solutions between existing models and the models developed in this dissertation. The superiority of the location models presented is reflected in market share captured. The sensitivity of the location solution and the market share captured to changes in attractiveness measures, and the impact on market share captured of changes in facility size are demonstrated.;The simulations and procedures developed provide decision makers with important policy instruments for strategic planning. In addition to finding the best location for a new facility, the decision maker can assess the impact on the location and/or the market share of his facility (existing or new) of changes in the quality and/or the location of any other facility.