Retail Internationalization and Foreign Direct Investments – What Can We Learn from the Business Theories for the Agri-Food Business of Central and Eastern European Countries?

Our article highlights that there is an interrelationship between the competitive strategy of the retailer, the core competencies, the direction of internationalization, and the extent and nature of adjustment. The strategy defines the core competencies and business model that the retailer develops, which in turn determines the country selection of the retailer. The business model also impacts the adjustment to the individual markets. Since the strategy is their main advantage, they try to replicate it without extensive modification. Resource-based retailers, who compete with prices, try to export their business model without major modification while their market-based rivals adjust more to the special conditions, as it is their core competency. Our theoretical elaborations are enriched by interviews which we conducted with managers of international retailers and retail experts in Hungary.