Scoping and conceptualising retailer internationalisation

Abstract

The impacts and activities of international retailers have been largely ignored in the globalisation discourse. A possible reason for this is the absence, in international retailing, of concept and theory that does not hang on the coat-tails of international production. The paper attempts to consider international retailing in its own right. Three linked questions are explored. Has the internationalisation process of the large retailers resulted in an increase in the global concentration of sales? In what ways does the process of retailer internationalisation differ from the internationalisation of production? What does the committed international retailer transfer to the host country during the internationalisation process?