Internationalization Process of Retailing and Distribution in Asia

本研究的目的在于了解亚洲零售业和分销业国际化进程的事实，并构想零售商和分销商的本地化模式。20世纪90年代，从沃尔玛到宜家，全球零售商掀起了一波国际活动。这一波比以往任何一波都要大得多。一个回应是学术界对零售和分销国际化的兴趣激增。我们的目的是概述亚洲主要零售商国际化的现状，并探讨这些趋势告诉我们零售业在当地市场扩张的过程和限制。通过对本地化过程进行分类，可以对不同企业的国际化方式进行评估，并对未来的发展趋势进行预测。首先，我们发现，零售企业国际化的结果在不同的进入市场中存在差异。零售商在一个市场上成功而在另一个市场上失败的原因，除了一般的组织能力之外，还可以被认为是由进入方法和进入时机决定的。第二，本土市场与进入市场形成的国际网络影响零售业国际化绩效。管理知识的有效和快速转移有助于在新进入的市场中顺利实现本地化。然而，关于市场之间复杂的相互作用，还有更多的事情仍然是未知的，而不是被发现的。第三，零售业的国际化是一把双刃剑。一方面，它显然是一个重要的销售扩张工具，有可能提高市场地位和财务回报。另一方面，文化不匹配、经营风险增加等国际化扩张的问题，也说明有必要从更明智的角度来看待国际化增长。

The purpose of this research is to find out the facts on the internationalization process of retailing and distribution in Asia and conceptualize the localization pattern of retailers and distributors. The decade of the 1990s saw a wave of international activity by global retailers from Wal-Mart to IKEA. This wave was much larger than anything which had gone before. One response has been a surge of academic interest in retail and distribution internationalization. We intended both to provide an overview of the current situation of leading retailers' internationalization in Asia and to explore what the trends tell us about the processes of, and constraints upon retail expansion in the local markets. A typology of localization process helps us assess different companies' approaches, and find some indications of what may happen in future.First, we found that the outcomes of internationalization by a retailer differ among the entry markets. The reasons why a retailer succeeds in one market and fails in another market can be thought of as being much determined by entry method and entry timing in addition to the organizational capability in general. Second, the international network formed by the home market and various entered markets influences the performance of retail internationalization. The effective and quick transfer of management know-how contributes to the smooth localization in the newly entered markets. However, in regard to the complex interaction between markets, there are more things still unknown than came to light. Third, internationalization in retailing is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is clearly a vital sales expansion vehicle, potentially capable of enhancing market position and financial returns. On the other hand, problems of international expansion such as culture mismatch and increased operation risks point to the necessity of approaching international growth from a better-informed perspective.