THE CHANGING PROCESS OF INTERNATIONALIZATION IN THE EUROPEAN-UNION

The accelerating nature of internationalisation in the retail sector has attracted increasing academic attention [Treadgold, 1990a; Laulajainen et al., 1993]. Despite this, a precise and comprehensive definition of the process is lacking [Alexander, 1994; Pelligrini, 1994]. The term internationalisation implies the transfer whether it be of a company, concept or management function, across state borders, with nations being perceived as being relatively homogeneous. However Hollander [1970] has suggested that the differences within a country may, in some instances, exceed those between them. The creation of free trade areas (FTA), such as the Single European Market(SEM), has led to the hypothesis that there may in some circumstances be greater barriers to geographical expansion at the intra-state, as opposed to international level. An empirical survey seeking the perceptions of directors of major food retail companies in six European Union (EU) countries was conducted. Overall, national borders were considered to be of diminishing importance in terms of dividing the European consumer market. The results suggest that the established perception of the process of internationalisation may be becoming increasingly irrelevant as the significance of FTAs increases. If this is so, it not only suggests a transition in the regional development of Europe, but also indicates that such issues need to be analysed from an increasingly spatial-structural perspective.