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A new conceptualization of the process of country of origin (COO) branding based on fresh theoretical foundations is developed. This paper aims to provide a strategic perspective that integrates extant views of COO branding, based on identity and image, with a relational perspective based on a process approach to developing collective brand meaning.

A systematic review of the literature on COO branding and geographical indicators is undertaken, together with a review of contemporary research on branding. Our framework conceptualizes COO branding as an integrating process that aligns a network of relationships to co-create collective meaning for the brand’s value propositions.

An illustrative case study provides empirical evidence to support the new theoretical framework.

Issues for further research include exploring and refining the theoretical framework in other research contexts and investigating broader issues about how COO branding influences self and collective interests in business relationships and industry networks.

Adopting a broadened perspective of COO branding enables managers to understand how identity and image are integrated with their business relationships in the context of developing collective brand meaning. Providing a sustained strategic advantage for all network actors, an integrated COO branding process extends beyond developing a distinctive identity and image.

Accepted consumer, product, firm and place level perspectives of COO branding are challenged by developing and verifying a new integrated conceptualization of branding.

This paper aims to examine the relationship between economic upgrading (implementing higher value-added activities) and social upgrading (improvements in workers’ rights and employment) of supplier firms in global value chains (GVCs) governed by multinational enterprises (MNEs). This paper answers Buckley and Ghauri’s (2004) and Buckley and Strange (2015) calls to incorporate other theoretical approaches within the international business (IB) literature. Furthermore, the paper also responds to Lee and Gereffi (2015) argument, published in Critical perspectives on international business, of the need to incorporate the social impact of upgrading in the IB literature.

Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with representatives from five supplier firms each in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, as well as with industry representatives.

Governance patterns within GVCs can create the conditions for economic upgrading leading to social upgrading achievements. Institutional factors also affect the conditions for social upgrading. Although moving to higher value-added activities is critical for supplier firms, this does not necessarily lead to social upgrading. This paper’s research findings suggest that the combination of economic and social upgrading is positively associated with suppliers manufacturing high value-added products and operating in relational networks. In contrast, economic upgrading, by itself, was limited to those firms manufacturing low value-added products, typically those in captive networks.

This research is among an emerging body of literature seeking to integrate the GVC literature with the IB field. Importantly, it also contributes to the GVC literature by providing insight into an under-theorized aspect – the relationship between social and economic upgrading.

This article aims to investigate how country location, as a source of country‐specific advantage (CSA), and product innovation, as a source of firm‐specific advantage (FSA), influence the international expansion of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) and their growth to become multinational enterprises (MNEs). It also aims to confirm internalization theory by testing the applicability of an extant concept, the FSA/CSA framework for the international expansion of SMEs. Developed and empirically validated largely in the context of the MNE, this paper seeks to show how the framework can be applied in the context of SMEs that develop into MNEs.

A qualitative approach is employed within a single industry setting using multiple cases. Propositions are formulated to explain the theorized relationships between innovation and the growth of SMEs in a sector which depends heavily on specific CSAs. Data were collected through semi‐structured interviews and archival data, and are analyzed in data displays, tables and matrices.

The article finds that location of the industry cases as a source of CSAs, and product innovation as a source of FSAs, are highly relevant for growing New Zealand SMEs into MNEs. The study applies internalization theory to the growth strategies of SMEs.

This research combines extant theory and a specific context in order to analyze phenomena through a distinct conceptual lens. It confirms the CSA/FSA framework by applying it in a new empirical context. It can inform decision‐makers in growing SMEs on the strategic and international implications of firm and location advantages.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue of case studies in the enterprise diversity of wine business and to situate the wine business cases selected for this special issue, which feature a diversity of formats and approaches.

Rigour and relevance underpinned the choice of case studies for this special issue. All of the cases are informed by theory, and all share a common concern with the understanding of wine business phenomena and origins in or links to practice.

There is no consensus view on what a case is and what it is for in business research and teaching generally, and that this is appropriate given pluralistic approaches to teaching and research in the various business disciplines. Supporting this argument, the various types of cases encountered in the business literature are considered and an overview offered based on purpose, motivation, similarities and differences and common themes.

Each of the wine business cases presented in this special issue is situated within a typology, in which each offers a different approach to providing insight into the business of wine. The paper concludes with a discussion of current and future directions for business case studies and methods.