Retail Internationalization: Contingency and Context?

Argues that the advent of “Europe 1992” is a contingent factor in retail internationalization. The precise playing‐out of moves to internationalize operations by direct participation in new markets,by collaboration or by merger/acquisition will depend on the national context. Accordingly, the nature of the arbitrage economy of the USA(the dominant financial market) is paramount. Characterizations of the climate for retail internationalization in other economies is a function of their structure. Suggests that approaches via political economy(identifying mercantilist nations) or via Zysman′s (1983) work on governments and markets may be a way forward.