The internationalisation of voluntary groups: An exploratory analysis of selected value chain aspects

Research concerning retail internationalisation has almost always studied integrated companies or franchises. In many countries there are independent groups of retailers that control an important share of the market and are able to balance their market power between large multiples and independents. Some voluntary groups have also acquired relevant international dimensions, especially in the grocery sector. In this article, we concentrate our attention on three French non-food groups that have developed international operations; we study their international value chain activities to verify similarities and differences with other types of organization. Our results show that the international arena is not the preserve of multiples or franchises, but that particularities still exist concerning the internationalisation of independent retailers.