“Testing the water” – prior-online market entry in China
“Testing the water” – prior-online market entry in China
复制标题
“试水”——抢先进入中国线上市场
DOI：
10.1108/ijrdm-10-2020-0406
复制
发表时间：
2021
影响因子：
4.4
通讯作者：
Ling Zhang
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Sina Hardaker;Ling Zhang
研究目的：研究国际食品零售商Aldi Süd和Costco在中国的市场进入策略;分析他们之前的在线市场进入是否以及如何反映了对中国市场组织挑战的战略反应，它是使用数字技术和提供数字服务的先驱。设计/方法/方法本文指出了国际杂货零售商在中国面临的主要挑战，并借助嵌入性的概念方法进行了讨论。该文件是基于对两家国际零售商的高级管理人员和其他零售专家和顾问的专家访谈。FindingsThe Prior Online Market Entry by Aldi Süd and Costco代表了对在日益具有挑战性和高度数字化的中国市场中必须面对的组织挑战的战略应对。优先在线市场进入使两家零售商能够尝试独特而多样化的中国市场，并建立网络和地域嵌入性，以促进实体店网络的建立。两家零售商都利用网上商店与供应商和客户建立关系和网络，并了解中国消费者的偏好。然而，Aldi Süd和Costco的本地化策略差异很大。创意/价值杂货零售商的优先在线扩张策略尚未成为学术界研究的重点。关于全球杂货零售商，如Aldi Süd和Costco，以前的研究认为，他们准备接受较低的扩张速度，以便以最低的风险和成本进行扩张，主要是在被认为具有较高文化接近性的国家。本文揭示了在线前市场进入策略改变杂货零售商国际化行为的潜力。此外，它有助于了解未来新十年先进数字经济体市场进入策略的演变。
PurposeThe paper aims to investigate the new market entry strategy of the international grocery retailers Aldi Süd and Costco in China; analyzing if and how their prior-online market entry reflects a strategic response to organizational challenges in the Chinese market, which is a pioneer in the use of digital technologies and the provision of digital services.Design/methodology/approachThe article identifies major challenges faced by international grocery retailers in China and discusses these with the help of the conceptual approach of embeddedness. The paper is based on expert interviews with senior executives of the two international retailers and other retail specialists and consultants.FindingsThe prior-online market entry by Aldi Süd and Costco represents a strategic response to organizational challenges that have to be faced in an increasingly challenging and highly digitalized Chinese market. Prior-online market entry allows the two retailers to experiment with the unique and heterogeneous Chinese market and build network and territorial embeddedness to facilitate the establishment of the physical store network. Both retailers utilize online stores to build relation and network with suppliers and customers and to understand Chinese consumer preferences. Yet, the localization strategy of Aldi Süd and Costco vary greatly.Originality/valueGrocery retailers' prior-online expansion strategy has not yet been the focus of academic research. In regard to global grocery retailers, such as Aldi Süd and Costco, previous research argued that they were prepared to accept a lower expansion speed in order to expand at minimum risk and cost and mainly in countries which are regarded as having higher cultural proximity. The paper reveals the potential of the prior-online market entry strategy to change the internationalization behavior of grocery retailers. In addition, it contributes to the understanding of the evolution of market entry strategy into advanced digital economies in the coming new decade.