Allow return of empty string values through placeholder resolver (4.0)

[TimHess]

Description

Patch to return the expected empty string instead of null when placeholder resolver is used

addresses #1132 in 4.0 (replay of #1133)

Quality checklist

• Your code complies with our Coding Style.
• You've updated unit and/or integration tests for your change, where applicable.
• You've updated documentation for your change, where applicable.
  If your change affects other repositories, such as Documentation, Samples and/or MainSite, add linked PRs here.
• There's an open issue for the PR that you are making. If you'd like to propose a new feature or change, please open an issue to discuss the change or find an existing issue.
• You've added required license files and/or file headers (explaining where the code came from with proper attribution), where code is copied from StackOverflow, a blog, or OSS.

[ccheetham]

lgtm