Core competences, strategy and performance: the case of international retailers in China

Abstract

This research aims to analyse the central role of core competences in retail internationalisation. The authors analyse field data generated from in-depth interviews of top Chinese subsidiary managers, using the principles of the grounded theory methodology. The inductive process identified two types of core competences in the subsidiaries of international retailers: basic competences and architectural competences. This classification leads to research propositions on the impact of the core competences on strategy choice, and on the performance of the subsidiaries of international retailers.

Keywords:

• core competences
• strategy
• performance
• international retailing

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by a grant from the China Retail Research Center, Tsinghua University (Grant ID: 100004003).