Pennsylvania State University Internationalization Research Paper

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Target research proposal
Karen Ocasio
HRER 803
April 10, 2023
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Organization
One of the most recognizable retail brands in the United States is Target. According to
Target (2022), the corporation, which has its headquarters in Minneapolis, traces its origin back
to 1902. It was founded by George Dayton, who named it Dayton Dry Goods. It would go
through a cycle of names within its first decade and continue operating in the United States.
Additionally, the company went through a merger in 1969 when it joined with the L.J Hudson
company to become Dayton-Hudson. The company adopted the name “Target” in 2000 and has
maintained it as a brand name ever since.
As of 2023, the company has more than 1900 stores across the United States. In addition
to that, it is ranked number 32 on the 2022 Fortune 500 list of most prominent organizations in
the U.S, ranked by total revenue. The company has employed 368,000 employees in its stores
which categorizes in beauty and health products, clothing, and food. Electronics, furniture, and
jewellery, among others. Its competitors in the retail market include Walmart and Amazon.
Internationalization strategy
Currently, the organization operates only in the United States. This has enabled it to
deeply understand the American market, giving it a significant competitive advantage in this
region. However, as stated earlier, the company has close to 2000 stores spread over 50 states,
translating to about 40 stores per state. Target’s mission to help all families discover the joy of
everyday life has been successful in the American region. To maintain its relevance, the company
needs to expand internationally. Among the reasons why the company has had such tremendous
success in the United States is because of what consumers refer to as the “target effect.” Target
aims to give its consumers a shopping experience unlike no other by strategically arranging
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products in a way that motivates people to feel more comfortable when shopping. As such, the
global strategy would be the most effective approach for Target. The global strategy is a concept
that looks to offer the same product or service to consumers in foreign markets (Dabić et al.,
2020). As such, the corporation would be looking into giving consumers in other counties a
similar “target market.” Another reason why this is the best approach for Target because the
organization has perfected the method for over a century. This gives the approach a more
significant margin of success than adopting a new strategy.
Countries to be included
In South America, the country chosen for the expansion in Brazil. This is because the
country has the largest economy in South American content, which means it has the
infrastructure required to support such an organization (Herrera-Franco et al., 2021). The
country’s large population also translates to an adequately sized consumer group to attract.
The best location for Target in Asia is the United Arab Emirates. According to Ullah et al
(2020), the UAE is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, making it a lucrative business
destination. It is also a significant tourist destination, most of which are Americans. This means
that the corporation already has potential consumers in the region.
The third choice is Australia. According Gao et al. (2022), the country’s international
trade drive increased significantly in 2022. Additionally, the economy grew by 0.5% in the last
quarter of 2022. This makes it a lucrative market for Target.
Focus
This research will focus on the human resource management approach as opposed to the
employee relations management. This is because the human resource approach is more
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comprehensive. Also, according to Stahl et al. (2020), employee relation is a function of human
resource management. Other tasks under the human resource approach include controlling the
recruitment and hiring of employees and deploying resources required to improve employee
performance.
Employees plays a massive role in the business’s success, which is why departments such
as human resource are vital. Additionally, because many corporations have human resource
departments instead of employee relations departments, information required for the research
will be adequately available. The research done by existing human resource departments in the
identified potential markets would act as a roadmap for Target. This would also make it easier to
understand the strengths and weaknesses of employment sectors in the chosen countries which
would make the implementation of the internationalization strategy more successful.
Objectives
I.
To explore the concepts of global internationalization strategy
II.
Evaluate how Target can leverage its “Target effect” to establish a sustainable global
HRM approach
III.
Elaborate how Target can successfully adapt its HRM standards using the global
approach to fit in the Brazilian, UAE, and Australian segments.
Framework
This research will utilize the social learning theory as a way to investigate human
resource management and internationalization techniques. According to this theory, social
behavior is learned through observation and imitation. In other words, for the HR departments to
be effective in Australia, Brazil and the UAE, they have to learn by observing techniques
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implemented by successful organizations in those countries. Target will then imitate those
techniques to attract an adequately skilled workforce that aligns with the organizational culture.
To increase the reliability of the results obtained by this research, peer-reviewed journals will be
used when necessary. Additionally, sources older than four will not be considered as they may no
longer contain factual information. The research will also consult articles published on various
Target.
The expected findings for this research include investigating the reason behind the
success of Target in the United States and use the same to make the corporation a hit in Australia,
Brazil, and the UAE. Additionally, this research aims to understand why Target, with all its
success, has not been keen on an internationalization strategy. The study also seeks to explore the
elements of the global internationalization strategy and how to incorporate them into the human
resource department. Finally, this research aims to make recommendations based on lessons
learnt by the corporation during its existence. This will be aimed at making it easier for stores in
foreign countries to avoid the failures experienced by the existing stores. The recommendation
will also entail a long-term internationalization plan for Target.
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References
Dabić, M., Maley, J., Dana, L. P., Novak, I., Pellegrini, M. M., & Caputo, A. (2020). Pathways
of SME internationalization: A bibliometric and systematic review. Small Business
Economics, 55, 705-725.
Gao, Q., Liu, B., Li, J., Liu, C., & Xu, Y. (2022). Environ-economic balance analysis in bilateral
industrial trade: a comparison between Australia and China. Technological and Economic
Development of Economy, 28(3), 676-693.
Herrera-Franco, G., Montalván-Burbano, N., Mora-Frank, C., & Moreno-Alcívar, L. (2021).
Research in petroleum and environment: A bibliometric analysis in South America. Int. J.
Sustain. Dev. Plan, 16, 1109-1116.
Stahl, G. K., Brewster, C. J., Collings, D. G., & Hajro, A. (2020). Enhancing the role of human
resource management in corporate sustainability and social responsibility: A multistakeholder, multidimensional approach to HRM. Human Resource Management
Review, 30(3), 100708.
Target. (2022). Target History Timeline. Target Corporate.
https://corporate.target.com/about/purpose-history/History-Timeline?era=2
Ullah, S., Majeed, M. T., & Chishti, M. Z. (2020). Examining the asymmetric effects of fiscal
policy instruments on environmental quality in Asian economies. Environmental Science
and Pollution Research, 27, 38287-38299.
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