ABSTRACT

The internationalization of retailing is a process, not a series of events. It is a complex process that has changed in recent years. It has become more widespread. This internationalization process has an increasing influence on corporate strategies and has extended its effects on the development of the retail sector. The magnitude, the form and the function of the process have all changed. A body of research on internationalization in retailing has grown (for example, Akehurst and Alexander 1995; Alexander 1997; Alexander and Myers 2000; Burt 1991, 1995; Dawson 1994; and Rugman and Girod 2003), yet much of this research has focused on events. The links and relationships between the events often have not been explored, although there has been a move towards this approach in more recent work, notably the study of Royal Ahold by Wrigley and Currah (2003). A limited amount of research, often in case studies, has explored the sequences of events. Often the work is descriptive and considers the unique situation of the case study company, for example the detailed work of Laulajainen (1987, 1991, 1992). Such descriptions are useful and insightful but provide a partial perspective on the overall process. There is little research that considers the processes associated with the sequence of events before placing these processes in a model. Such a model is essential to a theoretical and conceptual understanding of retail internationalization if it is to be of use to academics concerned with how firms function and to managers who are charged with directing the firm. The model of retail internationalization must encapsulate a process that permeates through the whole of the retail firm, influences competitor actions and changes the environment in which the firm and its competitors operate. Internationalization, when viewed as a process, enables a retail firm to exploit innovation and so to grow and evolve.