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International retailers are increasingly using franchising as a means of entering foreign markets. However, international retail franchising lacks a conceptual basis from which an explanation of the major elements of this activity can be generated. Agency theory and its major premises of information asymmetry, monitoring costs, moral hazard and opportunism, are introduced in an attempt to provide an initial effort at bridging this conceptual gap. The paper reviews international retailing and franchise research before explaining agency theory. A discussion follows on how agency theory can explain major elements of international franchise activity of retail firms such as the international retail franchise process and the operationalisation of the international retail franchise system.

Looks at aspects of government intervention in the provision of social welfare services with regard to marketing. Investigates legislation by the Norwegian government which has affected the retail sector, and examines its programme of aid to retailers in sparsely‐populated areas. Concludes that the programme is an attempt to recognize the social and economic importance of small shops to the communities they serve and not an attempt to favour the small shop.

This chapter explains the interrelationships between trade markets of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia, which have experienced the same political, economical, and social changes due to their postwar market orientation. Particularly, the research is focused on the relationships between retailers and their suppliers, the effects of 2008 financial crisis, and changes in customer behavior on those markets.

The chapter builds upon the investigation of the existing literature on trade in selected Southeast European (SEE) countries targeting three time-periods: planned economy era; period after the launch of the economic transition; and the European Union (EU) accession preparation era. The supporting fieldwork is based on qualitative interviews with senior managers in trade companies operating on all investigated markets. Results are compared with other secondary data sources.

The research has contributed to the understanding of similarities and differences on three markets of former Yugoslavia: Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. Four areas are used as a framework for explaining the level of cooperation and interdependence between trade companies on investigated markets: changes in retail forms, growth in retail operations, increasing importance of the relationships with suppliers, and penetration of private labels.

Results of the study provides some directions for suppliers on the selected markets and for retailers as well. As retailers rely on their key suppliers, local suppliers should offer them elements of differentiation. On the other hand, results give an insight into actual situation on the markets of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia regarding retail structure, number of retail forms, private labels, etc.

Considering an extensive literature review, the analysis of data given in official statistical databases, as well as qualitative study among trade managers, these findings have important managerial implications for retailers and suppliers.

The purpose of this study is to consolidate the existing literature on small retail and develop a conceptual framework using thematic analysis.

The relevant set of 224 articles has been obtained from the Scopus database by applying the PRISMA framework. Bibliometric analysis has been performed using Biblioshiny in Bibliometrix and VOSviewer.

Four major themes have been identified within the conceptual structure of the small retail domain, and a conceptual framework has been developed using the interlinkages within the themes. The intellectual structure of the domain has been explored using citation analysis, co-citation analysis and bibliographic coupling. Future research directions are also identified and documented based on the thematic analysis and overall consolidation of the literature.

This is perhaps one of the first attempts to consolidate the published literature on small retail using bibliometric analysis.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the patterns and dynamics of the diffusion of modern food retail in India.

The paper is based on detailed sales data from retail chains in India, short case studies of retail chains, and review of literature.

The article presents three surprises concerning modern food retail diffusion in India. First, modern retail has developed in three “waves”, with the first wave, government retail chains, starting in the 1960s/1970s, cooperative retail chains starting in the 1970s/1980s, and private retail chains in the 1990s/2000s. All three were substantial, and internationally uniquely, all three coexist in the 2000s as segments of modern retail. Second, the rise of modern private retail in India in the past six years has been among the fastest in the world, growing at 49 percent a year on average over that period, and bouncing back to growth after a dip from the recent recession. The great majority of modern private retail has arisen in 2007‐2010. Third, beside the uniqueness of the coexistence of three types of retail noted above, Indian private retail chain development has unique or rare characteristics: driven by domestic capital investment, “early” (in terms of usual international patterns) diversification into small formats, “early” penetration of small cities and even rural towns, of the food markets of the poor and lower‐middle class, and of fresh produce retail. These unique factors have helped to propel it quickly.

For the first time in the literature, the paper presents an analysis of: the three waves in Indian retail; detailed sales data for all leading chains; and its uniqueness.

This study aims to follow the gradual transformation of consumer mobility in mid-20th-century Sweden in connection with the introduction of self-service retailing.

The paper is based on an analysis of the magazine ICA-Tidningen, published by the major Swedish retailer ICA, for the period from 1941 to 1970.

The paper describes the transformation of consumer mobility as a set of interrelated changes that involved both retailers and consumers, the interrelationship between modes of transport and container technologies and how self-service not only transformed the interior of retail stores but also had more far-reaching implications.

When attempting to understand the reconfiguration of shopping practices in the 20th century, there is a tendency to focus on large infrastructural changes. These studies tend to overlook gradual, mundane and everyday translations. This paper contributes methodological tools and analyses that account for such mundane transformations.

Private label brands may be in danger as a result of recent changes in the marketing strategies used by private label firms. The primary competitive advantage of private label brands, good quality at low prices, may be lost if private label firms continue to modify and expand how their brands are marketed. Specifically, changes in private label brands′ advertising, packaging, sales promotion, and product improvement strategies indicate that private label brands are moving closer than ever to manufacturer brand status. To the extent that these changes result in higher average retail prices and/or lower gross margins for retailers, the advantages of private brands to both consumers and distributors will diminish, illustrating that the historical “wheel of retailing” hypothesis may be applicable to private label brands. Investigates the aforementioned trends and provides suggestions for manufacturers and retailers for future brand management strategies.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an examination of the current state of local shopping provision (LSP) in the UK, identifying and evaluating approaches to maintaining its vitality and viability.

The paper is based on a review and synthesis of secondary data and published work.

In recent years, LSP has been under much pressure as retail trade has become increasingly concentrated. The recent recession and structural changes in the convenience sector have added to the pressures of change, but government is now recognising its social and economic importance. The analysis shows that the vitality and viability of LSP are very variable within and between regions and conurbations. A wide range of responses to maintaining the vitality and viability of LSP is identified, and a schema is posited which seeks to integrate elements of business and place management as the best way forward, concluding that sensitivity to local conditions is paramount and that local partnerships and champions have a key role to play.

The paper is based on secondary sources of data and extant literature only.

The paper provides an up‐to‐date evaluation of issues in an important area of retail policy and practice, attempting to distil best practice approaches which will be of value to all stakeholders.

Despite retail digitisation and research efforts focussed on online and omnichannel shopping, there is insufficient knowledge regarding retail patronage formation in the grocery category, where in-store sales dominate. This study analyses the retail patronage formation in grocery in-store fill-in shopping.

The authors designed a questionnaire to measure retail patronage behaviour, consumer satisfaction (CS), store attributes evaluation and e-retail usage. Then, the authors analysed the path structure for retail patronage behaviour formation using structural equation modelling. Additionally, they performed a mediation analysis using the bootstrap method and a moderation analysis based on a chi-square difference test.

This study provides three main findings. First, the authors' model has two ways to increase Share-of-Wallet (SOW). One is to increase Share-of-Visits (SOV) and another is to increase CS amongst non-users of e-retailing. Second, the results of the moderation analysis suggest the influence of customers' use or non-use of e-retailing on SOW formation. Third, service evaluation plays an interesting role in the overall model: the lower the assessment of service, the higher the SOV; the higher the evaluation of service, the greater the CS; the greater the CS, the higher the SOV.

The authors proposed the framework for the relative retail patronage formation in grocery fill-in shopping to examine the relationship between two relative patronage indicators (SOW and SOV) in the path structure and the mediating effect of CS and the moderating effect of e-retailing usage on retail patronage formation.

As they account for the largest share of employment and value added, services do not (or cannot) lie outside a Schumpeterian view of innovation phenomena. Of the various attempts at shedding more light on the mechanisms of innovation in service industries and firms, we consider the “reverse product cycle” to warrant special attention because of its highly thought‐provoking nature and its theoretical ambition. This article has two objectives: first, to present this interesting and still neglected theoretical study, and second, to evaluate on a theoretical and empirical level the extent to which Barras’ model meets the objective of a “theory of innovation in services”.