This study explores the resources that two distinctly different types of downtown
business districts use to gain competitive advantage. Specifically, 267 respondents
in four tourist dependent and seven non-dependent small downtowns were surveyed
regarding the use of brand image and positioning, as well as business diversity and
magnet stores within each respective downtown. T-tests were utilized to determine
differences between downtown types, while multiple regression was used to determine
which of the four constructs contributed to downtown performance. Analyses indicated
that tourist dependent downtowns rated use of brand image, positioning, and business
mix significantly higher than non-tourist dependent downtowns, while non-tourist
downtowns rated magnet stores as more important to their downtown’s
success. Regression analyses found that for both types of downtowns, image was a
strong indicator of performance, while business diversity was an indicator for
tourist dependent downtowns only. Managerial and research implications are provided
to ground these findings in practice.
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