Antecedents of MNE performance: blinded by the obvious in 35 years of literature

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to summarize theoretical insights about key antecedents of multinational enterprise (MNE) performance and to review and synthesize empirically researched antecedents of MNE performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Dominant strategic management approaches to explaining the performance of firms in general are the market‐based view and the resource‐based view. The dominant theory of the MNE from the field of international business is internalization theory. Integrating these three perspectives, this paper elaborates where key antecedents of MNE performance can be expected. Furthermore, this paper reviews empirical research on antecedents of MNE performance published in three top business journals of major importance to the field of international business between 1976 and 2010, thereby synthesizing the most widely accepted knowledge about antecedents of MNE performance.

Findings

The paper reveals that theory suggests that key antecedents of MNE performance can be expected at the industry, country, and firm levels. Empirical research, however, hardly offers insights concerning antecedents at these three levels of analysis. Instead, empirical studies have predominantly focused on the intermediate variable of multinationality.

Originality/value

Previous research on antecedents of MNE performance has, by and large, been blinded by the obvious: multinationality has been researched innumerable times, without considering essential theories regarding performance and the MNE. This paper points out that there is much promise in going back to fundamental theories regarding performance and the MNE in order to advance our understanding of key antecedents of MNE performance.

Citation

Matysiak, L. and Bausch, A. (2012), "Antecedents of MNE performance: blinded by the obvious in 35 years of literature", Multinational Business Review, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 178-211. https://doi.org/10.1108/15253831211238230