THE ROLE OF GLOBALIZATION DRIVERS AND CULTURAL DISTANCE IN THE SELECTION OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETS BY U.S. APPAREL SPECIALTY RETAILERS

This exploratory study examines the relative importance of the evaluative criteria used by U.S. apparel specialty retailers in the selection of international markets. Specific competitive, cost, government and market factors that influence international expansion by U.S. apparel specialty retailers are identified. A purposive sample of U.S. apparel specialty retailers identified multiple cost and market criteria as important to international expansion decisionmaking, thus suggesting that real estate, construction, infrastructure, labor, and operation costs as well as age of population, household expenditures on clothing, total population, official language, and percentage of population living in urban areas all contribute to market selection. Patterns of international expansion among U.S. apparel specialty retailers and the role of cultural distance in retailers’ selection of countries for first international market entry were also explored. Findings provide insight into the importance of cultural similarity among retailers’ home country and countries of selection for entry, as well as into U.S. retailers' sense of social responsibility as it relates to their international expansion activities.