The internationalisation/globalisation of retailing: towards an economic-geographical research agenda

Within economic geography, the internationalisation of retailing is a much understudied element of contemporary globalisation processes. In this paper the author seeks to develop the research agenda in this area from an economic-geographical perspective that is sensitive to spatial and temporal fluctuations in corporate strategies and investment patterns, the importance of political economic context(s), and the variety of potential developmental outcomes. The paper is structured into two main parts. First, the author offers a review of current levels of retail internationalisation in static and dynamic terms, illustrating that this is a phenomenon that demands more academic attention. The second reveals several limitations in the prevailing management/business approach to the topic, and maps out an explicitly geographical research agenda on the internationalisation of retailing. Six key areas in which research can usefully proceed are identified.