Abstract
Organizational learning, knowledge transfer and knowledge sharing are core components of the retail internationalization process. However, organizational learning is not solely derived from examples of success - we also learn from failure. Divestment is an intrinsic feature of retail internationalization, and has recently become a focus for academic research. This paper considers the growing body of academic work on international retail divestment at both the country and firm level, and assesses how we have examined this activity through the construction of incident based datasets and in-depth case studies of individual company experiences. This review concludes that further research is needed to provide a deeper understanding of this element of the internationalization process and suggests a potential agenda for future research.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alexander, N.; Quinn, B. (2002): International Retail Divestment, in: International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 112–125.
Alexander, N.; Quinn, B.; Cairns, P. (2005): International Retail Divestment Activity, in: International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 5–22.
Benito, G.R.G. (1997): Why Are Foreign Subsidiaries Divested? A Conceptual Framework, in: Björkman, I.; Forsgen, M. (eds.): The Nature of the International Firm, Copenhagen, pp. 309–344.
Benito, G.R.G. (2005): Divestment and International Business Strategy, in: Journal of Economic Geography, Vol. 5, pp. 235–251.
Benito, G.R.G.; Welch, L.S. (1997): De-Internationalisation, in: International Management Review, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 7–25.
Bianchi, C.C.; Ostale, E. (2006): Lessons Learned from Unsuccessful Internationalisation Attempts: Examples of Multi-International Retailers in Chile, in: Journal of Business Research, Vol. 59, pp. 149–147.
Bianchi, C.C.; Arnold, S. (2004): An Institutional Perspective on Retail Internationalisation Success: Home Depot in Chile, in: International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 149–169.
Burt, S. (1986): The Carrefour Group-the first 25 years, in: International Journal of Retailing, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 54–78.
Burt, S. (1991): Trends in the Internationalisation of Grocery Retailing: The European Experience, in: International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 487–515.
Burt, S.; Davies, K.; McAuley, A.; Sparks, L. (2004): Retail Internationalization: From Formats to Implants, in: European Management Journal, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 195–202.
Burt, S.; Dawson, J.; Sparks, L. (2003): Failure in International Retailing: Research Propositions, in: International Review of Retail and Distribution Management, Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 344–373.
Burt, S.; Dawson, J.; Sparks, L. (2004): The International Divestment Activities of European Grocery Retailers, in: European Management Journal, Vol. 22, No. 5, pp. 483–492.
Burt, S.; Mellahi, K.; Jackson, P.; Sparks, L. (2002): Retail Internationalization and Retail Failure: issues from the case of Marks and Spencer, in: International Review of Retail Distribution and Consumer Research, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 191–219.
Clark, G.L.; Wrigley, N. (1997): Exit, the Firm and Sunk Costs: Reconceptualising the Corporate Geography of Divestment and Plant Closure, in: Progress in Human Geography, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 338–358.
Coe, N.M. (2004): The Internationalisation/Globalisation of Retailing: Towards an Economic-Geographical Research Agenda, in: Environment and Planning A, Vol. 36, No. 9, pp. 1571–1594.
Coe, N.M.; Hess, M. (2005): The Internationalisation of Retailing: Implications for Supply Network Restructuring in East Asia and Eastern Europe, in: Journal of Economic Geography, Vol. 5, pp. 449–473.
Dawson, J. (2003): Towards a Model of the Impacts of Retail Internationalisation, in: Dawson, J.; Mukoyama, M.; Sang, C.C.; Larke, R. (eds.): The Internationalisation of Retailing in Asia, London, pp. 189–209.
Dawson, J. (2006): Impacts of Increasing Retail Internationalisation: Some Implications for Government Policy, Presentation at SAARD, Kobe.
Evans, W. (1996): Retail Border Wars II: Canadian Cases in International Retailing, Center for the Study of Commercial Activity, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto.
Godar, S. (1997): Drivers for the Divestment of Foreign Subsidiaries-an Exploratory Study, Temple University, unpublished PhD Thesis.
Godley, A.; Fletcher, S.R. (2001): International Retailing in Britain 1850–1994, in: Service Industries Journal, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 31–46.
Hollander, S.C. (1970): Multinational Retailing, East Lansing.
Hoskisson, R.E.; Johnson, R.A.; Moesel, D.D. (1994): Corporate Divestiture Intensity in Restructuring Firms: Effects of Governance, Strategy and Performance, in: Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 37, No. 5, pp. 1207–1251.
Jackson, P.; Mellahi, K.; Sparks, L. (2004): Shutting Up Shop: Understanding the International Exit Process in Retailing, in: The Service Industries Journal, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 355–371.
Jackson, P.; Sparks, L. (2005): Retail Internationalisation: Marks and Spencer in Hong Kong, in: International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, Vol. 33, No. 10, pp. 766–783.
Knee, D. (1993): Survey of International Moves by Retailers 1991–93, OXIRM, Oxford, Templeton College, Research Paper E18.
Lord, D.; Moran, W.; Parker, A.J.; Sparks, L. (1988): Retailing on Three Continents: The Discount Food Store Operations of Albert Gubay, in: International Journal of Retailing, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 3–54.
Mellahi, K.; Wilkinson, A. (2004): Organizational Failure: A Critique of Recent Research and a Proposed Integrative Framework, in: International Journal of Management Reviews, Vol. 5/6, No. 1, pp. 21–41.
Meyer, K.E. (2004): Perspectives on Multinational Enterprises in Emerging Economies, in: Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 259–276.
Pal, J.; Medway, D.; Byrom, J. (2006): Analysing Retail Failure from an Historical Perspective: A Case Study of A. Goldberg & Sons Plc, in: Service Industries Journal, Vol. 26, No. 5, pp. 513–535.
Palmer, M. (2004): International Retail Restructuring and Divestment: The Experience of Tesco, in: Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 20, No. 9/10, pp. 1075–1105.
Parker, A.J. (1986): Tesco Leaves Ireland, in: Retail and Distribution Management, Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 16–21.
Sheppard, J.P.; Chowdhury, S.D. (2005): Riding the Wrong Wave: Organizational Failure as a Failed Turnaround, in: Long Range Planning, Vol. 38, No. 3, pp. 239–260.
Swoboda, B.; Schwarz, S. (2006): Dynamics of the Internationalisation of European Retailing: from a National to a European Perspective, in: Scholz, C.; Zentes, J. (eds.): Strategic Management: New Rules for Old Europe, Wiesbaden, pp. 159–200.
Tordjman, A. (1988): The French Hypermarket: Could it be Developed in the States?, in: Retail and Distribution Management, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 14–16.
Treadgold, A. (1990): The Developing Internationalisation of Retailing in: International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 4–10.
Van de Ven, A.; Poole, M.S. (1995): Explaining Development and Change in Organisations, in: Academy of Management Review, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 510–540.
Whysall, P. (1997): Interwar Retail Internationalization, in: International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 157–169.
Wood, S. (2001): Regulatory Constrained Portfolio Restructuring: The US Department Store Industry in the 1990s, in: Environment & Planning A, Vol. 33, No. 7, pp. 1279–1304.
Wood, S. (2002): The Limits of Portfolio Restructuring: Lessons Learned from Regional Consolidation in the US Department Store Industry, in: Regional Studies, Vol. 36, No. 5, pp. 515–529.
Wrigley, N. (1999): Market Rules and Spatial Outcomes: Insights from the Corporate Restructuring of US Food Retailing, in: Geographical Analysis, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 1–25.
Wrigley, N.; Currah, A. (2003): The Stress of Retail Internationalization: Lessons from Royal Ahold’s Experience in Latin America, in: International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 221–243.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Gabler | GWV Fachverlage GmbH, Wiesbaden
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Burt, S., Dawson, J., Sparks, L. (2008). International Retail Divestment: Reviews, Case Studies and (E)merging Agenda. In: Swoboda, B., Morschett, D., Rudolph, T., Schnedlitz, P., Schramm-Klein, H. (eds) European Retail Research. European Retail Research. Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-8349-8099-1_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-8349-8099-1_2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Publisher Name: Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden
Print ISBN: 978-3-8349-1084-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-8349-8099-1
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)