Purpose – To examine the impact of the merger of the two largest US department store companies on the competitive state of the sector and specifically the anti-trust implications of the consolidation. Design/methodology/approach – Based on semi-structured interviews with leading US...

At a time of increasing government concern with the economic health of UK town centres and high streets, and with an independent inquiry (led by Mary Portas) on Revitalising the High Street to report by the end of 2011, this paper seeks to make four contributions. First, to inject into an...

One important element of recent conceptualizations of the distinctive nature and challenges of retail transnational corporations (TNCs) is a focus on the mutual transformation of both the markets entered by the retail TNCs and, reciprocally, of the organizational structures of the firms...

The last decade has witnessed an acceleration of retail foreign direct investment into a range of emerging markets across East Asia, Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America, led by a small cohort of food and general merchandise retailers from Western Europe, and to a lesser extent, North...

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was noted that retailers in Britain had started providing increased variety and fashionability to their customers, had added mid-season purchasing to their previous two-season calendars, and that a high fashion and low price ‘throwaway market’ had...

This article presents a theoretically informed consideration of the role of ethical campaigning in shaping organizational practices of power and authority in global production networks (GPNs). It does so through a focus on responsibility, and the ways in which ethical consumption is challenging...

Written prior to the financial crisis of the world’s third largest retailer following its announcement of accounting irregularities on February 24 2003, this paper uses a case study of Ahold’s struggles to manage significant investment in the unpredictable business environments of Latin...

In the context of a market characterized by the enduring legacy of socialism through governmental ownership of retail businesses, the continued presence of domestic retailers, and increasing levels of competition, this article examines the organizational challenges faced by, and the strategic...

Contents:Volume IAcknowledgementsIntroduction Neil M. Coe and Neil WrigleyPART I RETAIL GLOBALIZATION: EARLY ASSESSMENTS 1. Alan Treadgold (1988), ‘Retailing without Frontiers: The Emergence of Transnational Retailers’2. Walter J. Salmon and André Tordjman (1989), ‘The...

In the context of a wave of retail foreign direct investment and increasing recognition acrossmany disciplines of the profound developmental implications of transnational retail within the globaleconomy, this paper examines the institutional and economic factors determining the performance...