AUTOMATED RETAIL AS A MECHANISM OF INFRASTRUCTURAL SUBSTITUTION: INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS OF VENDING SYSTEMS IN A TRANSFORMING ECONOMY
Abstract
The article examines the institutional analysis of vending systems functioning in various socio-economic environments. The transformation of automated retail models from the classical paradigm of transaction cost arbitrage in highly developed economies to the infrastructural substitution model in transforming economies is investigated. Based on Pierre Bourdieu's and Robert Putnam's concepts of social capital, Douglas North's institutional theory, and Ronald Coase's transaction cost theory, the determinants of vending systems' success are analyzed. The empirical analysis covers the Japanese vending model as an institutional benchmark, European adaptation strategies, and the Ukrainian case of drinking water vending as a form of private compensation for infrastructure gaps. The article demonstrates that in conditions of low labor costs and limited social capital, vending systems can be economically efficient only when satisfying basic population needs and acquiring characteristics of quasi-public goods. The study identifies two discrete modes of vending operation: the transaction cost arbitrage model, dominant in highly developed economies such as Japan and Western Europe, and the infrastructural substitution model, emerging in transforming economies. In Japan, the convergence of high labor costs and exceptionally high social capital creates optimal conditions for mass deployment of automated retail. European economies demonstrate an adaptive version of this model, where spatial inequality of social capital generates strategic localization of vending equipment in protected zones. The Ukrainian case of drinking water vending represents a successful adaptation to an institutional environment with low labor costs and limited social capital through mechanisms of infrastructure gap compensation, logistics cost optimization, and acquisition of quasi-public good characteristics. The findings contribute to the theoretical frameworks of transaction cost economics and social capital theory by demonstrating that vending viability depends not solely on labor cost arbitrage, but on the alignment between product characteristics and unmet community infrastructure needs.
References
Bourdieu P. The Forms of Capital. In: Richardson J. (ed.) Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. New York: Greenwood, 1986. P. 241–258.
Coase R.H. The Nature of the Firm. Economica. 1937. Vol. 4, No. 16. P. 386–405.
Glaeser E.L. Cities, Agglomeration, and Spatial Equilibrium. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. 304 p.
International Labour Organization. Global Wage Report 2022–23. Geneva: ILO, 2023.
Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association. Annual Report 2023. Tokyo, 2023.
Legatum Institute. The Legatum Prosperity Index 2024. London, 2024.
North D.C. Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. 152 p.
OECD. Income Inequality Data. Paris: OECD Publishing, 2024.
Ostrom E. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. 280 p.
Piketty T. Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2014. 696 p.
Putnam R.D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. 544 p.
Rodrik D. Institutions for High-Quality Growth: What They Are and How to Acquire Them. Studies in Comparative International Development. 2000. Vol. 35, No. 3. P. 3–31.
Sampson R.J., Raudenbush S.W., Earls F. Neighborhoods and Violent Crime: A Multilevel Study of Collective Efficacy. Science. 1997. Vol. 277, No. 5328. P. 918–924.
Samuelson P.A. The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure. Review of Economics and Statistics. 1954. Vol. 36, No. 4. P. 387–389.
Transparency International. Corruption Perceptions Index 2023. Berlin, 2023.
Williamson O.E. The Economic Institutions of Capitalism. New York: Free Press, 1985. 450 p.
World Health Organization. Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality: Fourth Edition Incorporating the First Addendum. Geneva: WHO, 2017.
World Values Survey: All Rounds – Country-Pooled Datafile. Madrid & Vienna: JD Systems Institute & WVSA Secretariat, 2022.
Балабаниць А.В., Солодковський А.М. Цифрова трансформація як чинник підвищення конкурентоспроможності підприємств FMCG-ритейлу. Вісник Маріупольського державного університету. Серія: Економіка. 2025. Вип. 29. С. 72–84.
Геєць В.М. Суспільство, держава, економіка: феноменологія взаємодії та розвитку. Київ: Інститут економіки та прогнозування НАН України, 2019. 928 с.
Кащена Н.Б., Нестеренко І.В. Цифрова трансформація підприємств роздрібної торгівлі в Україні: аналіз тенденцій та перспектив розвитку в контексті сучасних викликів. Журнал з менеджменту, економіки та технологій. 2025. № 1. С. 285–293. DOI: https://doi.org/10.69803/3083-6034-2025-1-285
Клепанчук О.Ю. Трансформація роздрібної торгівлі в умовах цифрової економіки. Інтелект ХХІ. 2025. № 2. С. 29–36.
Коваль О., Лишак О. Цифрова трансформація підприємництва як стратегічний напрям розвитку сучасної економіки. Сталий розвиток економіки. 2025. № 3(54). С. 272–280.
Кізілова К.О. Соціальний капітал: структура, динаміка та джерела в Україні: дисертація ... кандидата соціологічних наук: 22.00.04. Харків: ХНУ імені В.Н. Каразіна, 2021. 267 с.
Липов В. Гетерогенізація інституційних систем як глобальний тренд реконструктивного розвитку. Проблеми сучасних трансформацій. Серія: економіка та управління. 2025. № 21. DOI: 10.54929/2786-5738-2025-21-01-01
Свистун Т., Шкуро А. Вендінг як сучасний механізм організації торгівлі. Economic and food security of Ukraine. 2019. Vol. 6, No. 3–4. С. 50–57.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood.
Coase, R. H. (1937). The Nature of the Firm. Economica, vol. 4, no. 16, pp. 386–405.
Glaeser, E. L. (2008). Cities, Agglomeration, and Spatial Equilibrium. Oxford University Press.
International Labour Organization. (2023). Global Wage Report 2022–23. ILO.
Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association. (2023). Annual Report 2023.
Legatum Institute. (2024). The Legatum Prosperity Index 2024.
North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. Cambridge University Press.
OECD. (2024). Income Inequality Data. OECD Publishing.
Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge University Press.
Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Harvard University Press.
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Simon & Schuster.
Rodrik, D. (2000). Institutions for High-Quality Growth: What They Are and How to Acquire Them. Studies in Comparative International Development, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 3–31.
Sampson, R. J., Raudenbush, S. W., & Earls, F. (1997). Neighborhoods and Violent Crime: A Multilevel Study of Collective Efficacy. Science, vol. 277, no. 5328, pp. 918–924.
Samuelson, P. A. (1954). The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure. Review of Economics and Statistics, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 387–389.
Transparency International. (2023). Corruption Perceptions Index 2023.
Williamson, O. E. (1985). The Economic Institutions of Capitalism. Free Press.
World Health Organization. (2017). Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality: Fourth Edition Incorporating the First Addendum. WHO.
World Values Survey. (2022). All Rounds – Country-Pooled Datafile. JD Systems Institute & WVSA Secretariat.
Balabanits, A. V. & Solodkovskii A. M. (2025). Tsyfrova transformatsiia yak chynnyk pidvyshchennia konkurentospromozhnosti pidpryiemstv FMCG-ryteilu [Digital transformation as a factor of FMCG retail competitiveness]. Visnyk Mariupolskoho derzhavnoho universytetu. Seriia: Ekonomika, is. 29, pp. 72–84. (in Ukrainian)
Heiets, V. M. (2019). Suspilstvo, derzhava, ekonomika: fenomenolohiia vzaiemodii ta rozvytku [Society, state, economy: phenomenology of interaction and development]. Instytut ekonomiky ta prohnozuvannia NAN Ukrainy. (in Ukrainian)
Kashchena, N. B., & Nesterenko, I. V. (2025). Tsyfrova transformatsiia pidpryiemstv rozdribnoi torhivli v Ukraini [Digital transformation of retail enterprises in Ukraine]. Zhurnal z menedzhmentu, ekonomiky ta tekhnolohii, no. 1, pp. 285–293. DOI: https://doi.org/10.69803/3083-6034-2025-1-285 (in Ukrainian)
Klepanchuk, O. Yu. (2025). Transformatsiia rozdribnoi torhivli v umovakh tsyfrovoi ekonomiky [Retail transformation in the digital economy]. Intelekt XXI, no. 2, pp. 29–36. (in Ukrainian)
Koval, O., & Lyshak, O. (2025). Tsyfrova transformatsiia pidpryiemnytstva yak stratehichnyi napriam rozvytku suchasnoi ekonomiky [Digital transformation of entrepreneurship as a strategic direction]. Stalyi rozvytok ekonomiky, no. 3(54), pp. 272–280. (in Ukrainian)
Kizilova, K. O. (2021). Sotsialnyi kapital: struktura, dynamika ta dzherela v Ukraini [Social capital: structure, dynamics and sources in Ukraine] [Doctoral dissertation]. V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. (in Ukrainian)
Lypov, V. (2025). Heterohhenizatsiia instytutsionalnykh system yak hlobalnyi trend rekonstruktyvnoho rozvytku [Heterogenisation of institutional systems as a global trend]. Problemy suchasnykh transformatsii. Seriia: ekonomika ta upravlinnia, no. 21. DOI: 10.54929/2786-5738-2025-21-01-01 (in Ukrainian)
Svystun, T., & Shkuro, A. (2019). Vendinh yak suchasnyi mekhanizm orhanizatsii torhivli [Vending as a modern mechanism of trade organisation]. Economic and food security of Ukraine, vol. 6, no. 3–4, pp. 50–57. (in Ukrainian)
Copyright (c) 2026 Галина Копець, Мар’яна Гвоздь
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
