Cultural perspectives on the development of the retail trade, East and West

This essay examines how historical and cultural factors have influenced the current position of the retail trade, in the cultures and economies of South Asia and, in particular, Malaysia. The importance of history and cultural context in understanding the globalization of business is well accepted (Warner and Rowley 2006) but historical studies of commerce have generally focused on long distance trade, not on retail trade. Throughout history, elites have typically held trade and traders in low regard, especially retail traders operating in the mainstream market. It was not until the twentieth century that retail trade became generally recognized as a positive social force. While different cultures have conditioned trade entrepreneurs in different ways, hostile cultural attitudes have acted to depress the entrepreneurial spirit of retail traders in the region, restrict the retail services available to consumers and -- given the relatively limited development of local retailing -- reduce the ability to compete with international retailers today.