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The purpose of this paper is to identify patterns for the intra-market expansion of international branded retailers on a continent-sized emerging market using the network approach.

A multiple-case study design of four foreign branded retailers that have expanded onto regional markets in Brazil is used.

The intra-market expansion process shares similarities with the cross-market expansion process; is influenced by the relationships of foreign branded retailers with local competitors and shopping mall firms; and market selection, mode of operation and store location decisions are interrelated and conjointly taken, instead of forming a three-stage process. Additionally, the importance of relationships with host market shopping malls firms is highlighted.

This paper advances a conceptual model of the intra-market expansion process, which comprises a system of interrelated decisions – (regional) market selection, mode of operation and store location – influenced by several network effects.

Managers of foreign branded retail suffer from liability of foreignness when undertaking intra-market expansion. Although Brazil is a large market, the retail community is highly connected because of managers’ personal relationships. Brazilian shopping malls dominate suitable store locations, and represent a valuable source of knowledge and resources for the foreign branded retailer.

This paper addresses two under-researched aspects of international retail: branded retailers – manufacturers that develop brands and operate stores – and intra-market expansion (i.e. to geographic regions of a given foreign country). It also discusses the challenges of intra-market expansion in continent-sized emerging markets, with considerable regional diversity (culture, infrastructure and institutions).

Investigates the entry of Wal‐Mart in Brazil, and subsequent moves of established retailers and new entrants with data taken from secondary sources and interviews with executives. First, internationalization of Wal‐Mart and its entry are discussed, which caused an impact on Brazilian retailing by accelerating the concentration, automation and modernization of the industry. Competitive reactions were classified in four categories: neutralizing competitors actions, establishing competitive advantage, redefining markets, and changing ownership. It is argued that Wal‐Mart’s experience in Brazil could be an interesting source of learning for foreign retailers desirous of entering the Brazilian market as well as for local companies that need to remain competitive to survive.

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.