Alexandra Buckland-Wright
Email: alexandra.buckland-wright@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk
BA Geography (First), University of Liverpool, 1996-1999.
MA Geographies of Globalisation and Development (Distinction), University of Liverpool, 1999-2000.
PGCE Secondary Geography, University of Exeter, 2003-2004.
Transnational retail in developing economies: Regulating the transformation of retail markets.
Supervisors: Neil Coe and Martin Hess.
Research interests
Retail Globalisation, Transnational Corporations, Global Production Networks, Varieties of Capitalism, Variegated Capitalism, Thailand & Malaysia, Emerging Markets, Nation-states, Regulation.
The modernisation of retail in developing countries as a result of the entry and expansion of transnational retailers such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Tesco and Seven & I is significant, not just for the domestic retailers and suppliers involved, but for the millions of people that experienced the transformation of their national retail markets.
The aim of my research is to examine the role of regulation in Asian retail markets transformed by the entry and expansion of transnational retailers. The process of retail internationalisation has altered the activities of, and relationships between, firms and non-firm actors in the retail systems of emerging economies. The type of regulation examined in this study refers to the legislative and policy based controls which structure and shape the way emerging retail markets are produced and reproduced by the firm and non-firm actors involved.
A comparative and qualitative methodological approach will be followed in order to examine the contrasting experiences of retail change and modernisation in Thailand and Malaysia. Consequently the principal research questions for this study are:
- How did the institutional and regulatory environments in Thailand and Malaysia contribute to the formulation of different legislative and policy based regulations for transnational retailer market entry and operation?
- How have the different legislative and policy based regulations in Thailand and Malaysia impacted upon the activities of, and relationships between, transnational retailers, domestic firms and non-firm actors?
- How have the activities and competing interests of transnational retailers, domestic firms and non-firm actors influenced the different legislative and policy based regulations for market entry and operation in Thailand and Malaysia?
- What is the consequent impact of these processes upon the nature of retail market operations in Thailand and Malaysia?
The Global Production Network (GPN) approach provides a conceptual framework through which to understand and examine the ongoing change and processes occurring in these retail markets. The Varieties of Capitalism approach facilitates a better understanding of the political economy and institutional structure of the nation-states that are experiencing retail modernisation and transformation. This research sits between these two theoretical fields and aims to contribute not only empirical knowledge, but also cogent theoretical statements about the nature of national retail systems and their regulation in emerging markets. In so doing, new empirical and theoretical territory is hoped to be established.