Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/27286
Appears in Collections:Marketing and Retail Journal Articles
Peer Review Status: Refereed
Title: A tactical retreat? Conceptualising the dynamics of European grocery retail divestment from East Asia
Author(s): Burt, Steve
Coe, Neil M
Davies, Keri
Contact Email: s.l.burt@stir.ac.uk
Keywords: Divestment
grocery retailing
East Asia
market adjustment
market resistance
corporate reconfiguration
Issue Date: Feb-2019
Date Deposited: 28-May-2018
Citation: Burt S, Coe NM & Davies K (2019) A tactical retreat? Conceptualising the dynamics of European grocery retail divestment from East Asia. International Business Review, 28 (1), pp. 177-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2018.05.010
Abstract: The internationalisation of the firm is a highly dynamic process, in which periods of investment and expansion intermingle with periods of divestment and retrenchment. Academic research to date has focused on identifying the reasons for and the processes of divestment. Empirical studies either evidence generic pressures or provide case studies of specific incidents. There few longitudinal studies of international divestment, consequently the dynamic interactions between host market, home market and firm level factors, and how the institutional context changes over time is underplayed. This paper seeks to rectify this gap in our understanding. We explore the rationale and evolving dynamics of European grocery retail divestment in East Asia over a thirty year period. Taking an inductive approach and drawing on analysis of contemporary narratives drawn from company documentation, trade journals, newsfeeds and market reports, three phases can be identified characterised by specific factors and combinations of factors which intersect to provide the key pressures and stimuli for divestment. We conclude that at different time periods, different internal and external contextual influences manifest themselves through different priorities within the firm’s strategy - marked by a switch from local (host) market, to regional, to global firm-centric considerations. Longitudinal analyses allow a greater recognition of this dynamic interplay of factors, and the changes in these relationships, and provides a more nuanced understanding of the international divestment process.
DOI Link: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2018.05.010
Rights: This item has been embargoed for a period. During the embargo please use the Request a Copy feature at the foot of the Repository record to request a copy directly from the author. You can only request a copy if you wish to use this work for your own research or private study. Accepted refereed manuscript of: Burt S, Coe NM & Davies K (2019) A tactical retreat? Conceptualising the dynamics of European grocery retail divestment from East Asia. International Business Review, 28 (1), pp. 177-189. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2018.05.010 © 2018, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Licence URL(s): http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
A Tactical Retreat IBR accepted May 2018.pdfFulltext - Accepted Version674.94 kBAdobe PDFView/Open



This item is protected by original copyright



A file in this item is licensed under a Creative Commons License Creative Commons

Items in the Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

The metadata of the records in the Repository are available under the CC0 public domain dedication: No Rights Reserved https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

If you believe that any material held in STORRE infringes copyright, please contact library@stir.ac.uk providing details and we will remove the Work from public display in STORRE and investigate your claim.