Spatial Economic Behavior of the Owners of Commercial Stores and their Impact on the Commercial Areas in Irbid City

Abstract

The study aims to identify the spatial economic behavior of the owners of commercial establishments in Irbid city and how it contributes to the development of the commerical stores in Irbid in the light of their response of various socio-economic changes the city witnessed. The study is based on a behavioral and analytical descriptive approach, and it designed questionnaire distributed to (142) owners (salespeople) to study the spatial effects of choosing the locations of economic activities and knowing the socio-economic characteristics. Moreover, the study uses the evolutionary approach to identify the stages and locations of emergence and development of commercial areas. The study has found that there is disagreement and difference in the traders’ opinions towards the effects of site selection and importance. It was found that the choice of the commerical project site is one of the most important decisions that the owner might take as the failure or success of the project depends on the site location. That is why site location should be carefully selected and based on commercial, scientific, and economic considerations. Hence, the commercial site has its own advantages and disadvantages. It has been found that the less significant advantage of the site selection decision was the availability of the the comparative advantage of employment. Accordingly, the study recommends further studies that explain the behavior of traders and salespeople of which one can make use of when taking decisions concerning commercial planning. Also, the study recommends establishing attractive economic zones that contribute to the development of Irbid, espcially in the areas that lack economic activities, so the whole region becomes more equally developed. Keywords: Location Economic behavior, triad firms, Commercial areas, Economic Geography, irbid city.