Thesis-2003-Richardson.pdf (29.49 MB)
Internationalisation of the health club industry: theory, practice and context
thesis
posted on 2011-01-20, 09:07 authored by Nicole H. RichardsonThe leisure industry has been one of the fastest growing industries in Britain (Grade,
1998), and in the year 2000 accounted for approximately 10% of Britain's gross
domestic product (LeisureWeek, 2000a). Health clubs have been one of the fastest
developing business sectors within the leisure industry (Mintel, 1999), and there is
predicted to be plenty of scope for future growth (Mintel, 2001).
The health club sector has evolved greatly since its inception, with developments
including consolidation, diversification, bi-polarisation and market segmentation. One
of the most recent trends in the sector has been intenationalisation, with fifteen British companies now having a presence overseas.
This research seeks to analyse the process by which the British health club sector has
developed from being purely domestic based to having significant overseas
investment. A number of stages within that process are identified including the
motives to internationalise, the choice of country, the mode of entry utilised and the
management and co-ordination of overseas activities. One of the key objectives of
this research is to determine if a holistic view of internationalisation is appropriate, or
even plausible for the health club sector.
The research suggests that the influence of environmental and company-factors results
in a company's initial decision to internationalise, with certain 'determinants'
regulating which companies actually invest overseas. A number of ownershipspecific
factors are identified that establish which companies might be able to
compete effectively overseas. The process of internationalisation. is then analysed and
a number of factors established which influence the companies' choice of country to
invest in, the mode of entry and the manner in which the overseas investments are
managed.
History
School
- Business and Economics
Department
- Business
Publisher
© N.H. RichardsonPublication date
2003Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.EThOS Persistent ID
uk.bl.ethos.428923Language
- en