Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Atlantic City as intervening opportunity
An
intervening opportunity
is a closer source of supply to a point of demand. Clear as
mud, right? Okay, suppose you occasionally need to purchase widgets, and the closest
store that sells them is 10 miles away. Then one day another store that sells widgets
opens up 2 miles away. From your perspective, the second store is an intervening oppor-
tunity because it's a closer source of supply (widgets) to a point of demand (you). And
because of that, you decide to discontinue traveling to the first store and become a pat-
ron of the second one. Naturally, the proprietors of prospective new stores have a keen
interest in locations that offer competitive advantage. And for that reason, entrepreneurs
often scope out the competition and then choose a location that represents an interven-
ing opportunity for as many potential customers as possible.
A good real-world example of intervening opportunity concerns the advent of gambling in
Atlantic City, New Jersey. Back in the early 1970s, gambling within the United States was
legal only in the state of Nevada. Basically, it was a monopoly from which Las Vegas and
Reno profited handsomely. But then a plan was hatched by New Jersey state legislators
to permit casino gambling in Atlantic City, an old seaside resort that was a bit down in the
dumps. The promoters clearly saw that Atlantic City would be an intervening opportunity
for millions of Easterners for whom a few hours' drive to Atlantic City would be preferable
to a trip of nearly transcontinental proportions. Indeed, when the casinos finally opened,
business boomed. At least for a while.
Gambling was so successful in Atlantic City, that it gave people in other states the idea
of doing the same thing. In particular, people on Indian reservations were attracted to the
idea because it promised income and because Native Americans did not need the ap-
proval of state legislatures and voters to open casinos. (Reservations are technically not
state land.) So casinos started popping up on reservations all over America, including
the Northeast. And as they waxed, Atlantic City waned because it no longer enjoyed its
status as the singular intervening opportunity for eastern gamblers.
Accessibility
Accessibility
concerns the ease with which a business can be reached, or with which goods can be
transferred from one location to another. A downtown shopping area, for example, may be close to a
lot of people, yet not be very accessible because of traffic congestion and lack of parking. Thus, ease
