THE NEO-INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK OF LARGE-SCALE RETAIL SPATIAL POLICY FORMULATION PROCESS IN SERBIA

In this paper, in the theoretical framework of neo-institutional theory, the process of spatial policy formulation related to large-scale retail in Serbia was researched. The basic objective of the research is to explore possible ways of improvement of institutional framework of spatial and urban policy formulation in Serbia in order to make the decision-making process on largescale retail building more effective and to adequately address the complex problems of this type of building. Since neo-institutional theory considers institutions as series of formal and informal organizations, rules and procedures that build patterns of behavior within organizations, the paper includes the analysis of the efficiency in the existing institutional framework of large-scale retail policy formulation and problems occurring in that process; the actual roles of public, private and civil actors, the content of policies by which large-scale retail building is directed at different levels of spatial organization; the methodological and procedural framework of these policies’ formulation. Possible directions for institutional framework redefinition are suggested in order to achieve more effective decision-making on the large-scale retail building in Serbia.