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Purpose: Shopping centres have become an integral part of the built environment in South Africa, in many cases causing marked socio-economic effects, both positive and negative. The present study attempts to provide a better understanding of the multi-faceted effects that shopping centres manifest in the community through providing an overview of the socio-economic impact of shopping centres in Gauteng, South Africa. Methodology: Due to the complex nature of socio-economic systems, the method selected to conduct the data analysis is the thematic analysis approach. Thematic analysis is a process used to identify the underlying themes of the data that has been collected by utilising a software program (Nvivo 12 Pro) to assist with the thematic analysis process. Upon identifying the underlying themes present within the data, initial codes and keywords identified were then organised into broader themes. To identify prominent themes the keywords are grouped into categories, and a ranking is given based on the frequency which the categories appear in the sample literature. Results: The top three socio-economic impacts of shopping centres on their communities were found to be employment (jobs created), the improvement of local infrastructure. and the additional income generated in the local community. Originality: Although a number of studies have investigated various socio-economic impacts of shopping centres, the use of thematic analysis offers a systematic perspective in this topic. Practical implications: Developers of shopping centres should justify the merits of proposed developments by emphasising the effect on the creation of jobs, improvement of local infrastructure and its environmental sustainability and the additional income generated in the relevant communities. Acknowledgement The second author (Chris Cloete) acknowledges the financial support of the South African Council of Shopping Centres through endowment of the SACSC Chair in Shopping Centre Studies at the University of Pretoria Introduction There is a direct relationship between the economic impact and the social impact of shopping centre developments in that the majority of shopping centres contribute towards the social and economic wellbeing of the community. Shopping centres are utilised for both socio-cultural and economic purposes and “...commonly include a wide range of retailing and entertainment facilities. They are places for recreation, exercising and socialising, as well as for purchasing goods and services. Many retail complexes have an integrated role, often in association with an existing business area, as the focus for the suburb or suburbs they serve ...” (Taylor, McClintock & Buckenham, 2003, p. 148). With the integration of social aspects and shopping, the shopping centre environment is becoming a larger part of the culture within a community. The local community benefits from the presence of shopping centres as they play a role in the creation of jobs and act as economic stimulators (Williams, 1992; McGreevy, 2016). The shopping centre industry is one of the primary facilitators of retail sales that drive private consumption which, in turn, drives Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (SACSC, 2017). They are one of the largest employers in South Africa, accounting for approximately 21% of formal sector jobs (Malgas et. al, 2017, p. 2). Now more than ever, the sales, income and employment generated by shopping centres have increasingly evolved to have an impact greater than just retail convenience. Shopping centres also act as a catalyst that stimulates their local economy by providing employment opportunities which, in turn, The Business and Management Review, Volume 11 Number 1 August 2020 Conference proceedings of the Centre for Business & Economic Research, ICBED-2020, 20-22 August 52 contributes to income per capita for the community and generates revenue for the local and national government. Some of the major benefits of the development of shopping centres are direct employment, indirect employment and capital investment (Robertson & Fennell, 2007). Direct employment. The larger the centre the more jobs will be created in the area. These include staff that work in the shops, security guards, cleaning personnel, maintenance personnel as well as the jobs during construction of the centre. Without the centre these job opportunities would not be available. Regional or super regional centres can create thousands of new job opportunities. The Mall of Africa in Gauteng, for example, opened in 2016 with a GLA of 131 000 square metres. It estimated that the Mall of Africa created 4 500 permanent job opportunities (Mall of Africa, 2016). In addition to permanent employment, shopping centres also create significant seasonal employment for example, over Christmas and new year periods when trading increases substantially. In South Africa the chopping centre industry has more than 600 000 permanent jobs (BusinessTech, 2016). Indirect employment. Shopping centres also create indirect employment by the spend of individual business located in the centre on goods, supplies and services. Further employment is also created when the employees of shopping centres or supplying firms spend their wages. This is known as a multiplier effect. This multiplier effect is however lower than other forms of development such as manufacturing. Further employment is also created by expenditure of visitors to these large centres but takes place outside the centre itself, namely, jobs by way of transportation i.e. in busses and taxis as well as filling stations and other nearby shops. These are visited because of a trip to the shopping centre. According to BusinessTech (2016) more than 500 000 indirect jobs are created by the shopping centre industry in South Africa. Capital investment. Shopping centres bring substantial private capital investment to areas that previously has little, namely, new buildings as well as significant improvements to the surrounding infrastructure. These investments are ongoing because centres are constantly extended and refurbished, shops refitted, and infrastructure upgrades. In addition to these benefits, it is fairly common that shopping centres implement corporate social initiatives (utilisation of business resource to benefit the local underprivileged communities in which the company operates to develop/implement a behavior change intended to improve community wellbeing), contribute to skills transfer (training a new employee to perform a task or skill for growth, sustainability and prosperity) and investing in education and training, amongst others. A recent example of these positive impacts is the expansion in 2017 of the Ballito Junction Regional Mall in Kwazulu-Natal from 10 000 sqm to 80 000 sqm. The mall worked closely with the KwaDukuza Municipality to ensure that local jobseekers could benefit from the jobs created during its construction as well as the sustainable jobs which it has created for its ongoing operation. Staff for the mall were sourced from the nearby areas of Ndwedwe, Shakaskraal, Stanger and Maphumulo, which traditionally would focus on farming/agricultural activities. More than 2000 jobs were created during the construction of the mall from January 2015 to March 2017, 1500 jobs were created during the fit out of individual stores and 1200 jobs were created post construction. Based on the appointment of service providers to attend to cleaning, security, landscaping and refuse management, centre management was instrumental in the appointment of 117 staff in these areas. As a contribution to social upliftment, an early learning child educational centre that was built in Ndwedwe in the Build the Future Project paved the way for long term future engagements with a variety of projects. In addition, a Community Platform was developed for local disadvantaged communities to be able to generate an income via a Community initiative retail outlet at the Ballito Junction Regional Mall. The development of shopping centres may also have negative effects, however. There is generally a negative impact on the surrounding small informal and formal township retailers when a new shopping mall is developed. Research by Ligthelm shows a 47% decline in the number of small businesses in the immediate area during the first six months after the opening of a new mall (Ligthelm, 2012). Almost three out of five small businesses retailers experience a decline in their profitability, turnover and product range. Only a small portion (1% 4%) reported better business conditions. Similar effects were found in a The Business and Management Review, Volume 11 Number 1 August 2020 Conference proceedings of the Centre for Business & Economic Research, ICBED-2020, 20-22 August 53 study of the impact of shopping centre development on informal and small businesses in Lagos, Nigeria (Ikadeh 2017). Semi-structured interviews with 30 informal and small business owners as well as 100 shoppers were conducted in five different shopping areas, including the areas around the two major shopping centres in Lagos. Most of the informal and small businesses were struggling to survive. Different strategies have, however, been developed for competing against the giant retailers in the shopping malls, including the provision of different types of food and quantities of goods not provided in the formal shopping centres. The presence of shopping centres in especially economically deprived areas can lead, on the one hand, to ‘aspirational’ shopping, motivating shoppers to improve their financial well-being to be able to afford products and services that previously had been unknown or out of their financial reach. On the other hand, shoppers may become envious and take out unsecured loans, creating artificial buying power and financial distress. Research Methodology To provide an overview of the socio-economic impact of shopping centres, a critical survey of existing literat

Socio-economic impact of shopping centres in Gauteng, South Africa