INTERNATIONAL RETAILING - 2021/2

Module Overview

Internationalisation is now a very substantive feature of the retail industry, with implications for retail competition, retailer strategy, retail development, digitalisation and supply chain management among other issues. A considerable and growing body of academic and practitioner literature surrounds this issue. It highlights some of the potential complexities and enduring challenges of retailing in an international environment and provides a valuable body of knowledge to inform future retail marketing managers.

Module provider

Surrey Business School

Module Leader

ALEXANDER Andrew (SBS)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• An Overview of International Retailing


• Retail Internationalisation Theory


• International Retailer Expansion Formats, Approaches and Patterns


• Society and Culture in International Retailing


• Regulation and Market Structure


• Market Selection and Sourcing & Supply Chain Management


• International Retail Divestment

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Individual essay (2,000 words) Note: this alternative assessment is not automatically available to students.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy:

The group project consists of a group report. Candidates will be required to engage with both the academic literature and practical industry insight. 

The examination will be essay-based where students have the opportunity to choose from a list of questions.  These questions will assess both the students’ theoretical and practical knowledge as well as their ability to critically analyse. 

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Group project (3,000 words).

Module aims

• Develop students' appreciation of the extent and characteristics of international retailing.
• Provide students with insight into the management issues faced in the retail internationalisation process.
• Develop students' knowledge of the key theoretical frameworks of retail internationalisation, and assist them in developing a critical evaluation of these in the context of current research and commercial developments.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy:

The lecture programme provides a framework of knowledge upon which students can base their learning and develop their understanding through a structured seminar programme, small group work, guided learning and independent study.

The learning and teaching methods include:

lectures, seminar work, practical case studies, guided learning, independent learning and guest speakers. Students will receive formative feedback, including through group presentations and discussions in seminars.

The module is supported by additional reading material and other media, and utilises SurreyLearn.

The module timetable is organised around one two hour lecture class each week and a one hour seminar class fortnightly.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MANM139

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2021/2 academic year.