The internationalization of retailing: implications for supply network restructuring in East Asia and Eastern Europe

Abstract

This paper explores the implications of the rapid internationalization of a small cadre of retail transnational corporations over the last 15 years for supply network structures in a range of economies in Eastern Europe and East Asia. Five sets of ongoing restructuring dynamics are identified: the centralization of procurement, logistical upgrading, supply network shortening and new intermediaries, the imposition of quasi-formal contracts, and the development of private standards. It is suggested that these processes are leading to an ongoing ‘shakeout’ of the supply base that is favouring relatively large, well-capitalized suppliers.