IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/regstd/v50y2016i3p475-495.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Multi-Scalar Localization and Capability Transference: Exploring Embeddedness in the Asian Retail Expansion of Tesco

Author

Listed:
  • Steve Wood
  • Neil M. Coe
  • Neil Wrigley

Abstract

W ood S., C oe N. M. and W rigley N. Multi-scalar localization and capability transference: exploring embeddedness in the Asian retail expansion of Tesco, Regional Studies . This paper revisits the 'firm in the region' and the 'region in the firm' dichotomy through the case of Tesco's retail expansion in Asia. It focuses on the tension between the transference of proven key capabilities to the host economies Tesco has entered, and strategic localization, primarily for customer-facing, corporate culture, regulatory and institutional reasons. It is demonstrated how the retailer has pursued a multi-scalar adaptive approach that goes beyond any standardized/localized dichotomy to respond to differences between and within national markets. In the process, this paper provides evidence of genuine two-way knowledge flow between the home market and subsidiaries, between subsidiaries themselves, and of subsidiaries granted autonomy and the ability to flex their strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Steve Wood & Neil M. Coe & Neil Wrigley, 2016. "Multi-Scalar Localization and Capability Transference: Exploring Embeddedness in the Asian Retail Expansion of Tesco," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(3), pages 475-495, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:regstd:v:50:y:2016:i:3:p:475-495
    DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2014.926317
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/00343404.2014.926317
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00343404.2014.926317?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hendriks, Guus, 2020. "How the spatial dispersion and size of country networks shape the geographic distance that firms add during international expansion," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(6).
    2. Burt, Steve & Coe, Neil M. & Davies, Keri, 2019. "A tactical retreat? Conceptualising the dynamics of European grocery retail divestment from East Asia," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 177-189.
    3. Lisa Qixun Siebers, 2017. "Hybridization practices as organizational responses to institutional demands: The development of Western retail TNCs in China," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(1), pages 1-29.
    4. Angelo Leogrande & Alessandro Massaro & Maurizio Galiano, 2020. "The Location of Superstores in Italy: A Metric Approach," International Journal of Business and Management, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences, vol. 8(1), pages 35-64, May.
    5. Mohr, Alex & Batsakis, Georgios, 2018. "Firm resources, cultural distance and simultaneous international expansion in the retail sector," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 113-124.
    6. Neil M Coe & Yong-Sook Lee & Steve Wood, 2017. "Conceptualising contemporary retail divestment: Tesco's departure from South Korea," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(12), pages 2739-2761, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:regstd:v:50:y:2016:i:3:p:475-495. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/CRES20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.