State of research and specification of objectives

Abstract

This study covers international format replication in the retail industry. Thus, definitions of the central components are provided below.

Retail internationalization

Various definitions of retail internationalization frequently consist of opaque terminology and the unfortunate use of manufacturing expressions to service firms (Zavrsnik 2007). Aiming on specific features of retail internationalization, international retailing is defined as having “visible” and “invisible” dimensions (Wigley 2009; Zavrsnik 2007, p. 13). The visible dimension are retail offers (Manrodt and Vitasek 2004). “The ‘invisible’ aspects of retail internationalization are defined as being the international sourcing of products and services and the cross-border transfer of management expertise in the form of managerial policies or technical skills” (Zavrsnik 2007, p. 13).