Search results

Mainland Chinese firms have become important international investors. Many have gained their capabilities to internationalize in a domestic institutional environment characterised by significant market imperfections. In this study, we argue that the imperfections affect firm behavior depending on firm size, ownership form, and location. We find preliminary support for the notion that large, well connected Chinese firms benefit most from institutional advantages, but that smaller firms internationalize because of institutional constraints. This represents a more nuanced view of the determinants of Chinese firm internationalization than is evident in prior research, with consequences for future theorising and empirical research on Chinese MNEs.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

This paper aims to conduct a theoretical enquiry into the questions as to whether emerging country multinationals’ competitiveness derives from country-specific advantage (CSA) or firm-specific advantages (FSA). The case of China is also examined.

CSAs and FSAs are examined both in theory and in the specific case of China as explicators of outward foreign direct investment from emerging countries.

FSAs and CSAs are found to be imprecise explanatory mechanisms to explain the competitiveness of emerging country multinationals. The examination of imperfections in emerging markets and in global markets and the internalisation responses of firms in different contexts is found to be a superior explanation of the financial flows classified as “outward direct investment”.

Internalisation theory requires a focus on mechanisms to convert home country attributes into competitive advantages and suggests that FSAs are context dependent, ephemeral and subject to negation by the competitive actions of rival firms.

The purpose of this paper is to extend the purview of internalisation theory in understanding the global allocation of resources in different institutional contexts.

Theoretical extensions of internalisation theory are proposed in response to a comment.

The traditional focus of internalisation theory can be extended beyond the normal market exchange context, first, by expanding the range of transactions; second, by including non-market actors; and third, by expanding the relevant welfare criteria.

Comparative institutional analysis is enhanced by expanding the consideration of the range of intermediate goods that are traded, the potential providers examined and extending the criteria of assessment beyond efficiency to include equity, sustainability and legitimacy. These extensions add value to the internalisation theory.

In conventional international business literature, the marketing and transport functions are either ignored or assumed to be governed by the same factors that determine production. An attempt is made to introduce the integration that is long overdue. The factors which determine the decisions of location and internalisation are examined, and analysis is made of the important role played by information flows in the planning of an integrated channel system. The conclusion is that simplistic categorisations are too crude, and that an integrated treatment, recognising the interdependencies and cost implications of each function, is essential for a complete conceptualisation of the foreign market servicing decision.

This chapter complements the one that appeared as “History of the AIB Fellows: 1975–2008” in Volume 14 of this series (International Business Scholarship: AIB Fellows on the First 50 Years and Beyond, Jean J. Boddewyn, Editor). It traces what happened under the deanship of Alan Rugman (2011–2014) who took many initiatives reported here while his death in July 2014 generated trenchant, funny, and loving comments from more than half of the AIB Fellows. The lives and contributions of many other major international business scholars who passed away from 2008 to 2014 are also evoked here: Endel Kolde, Lee Nehrt, Howard Perlmutter, Stefan Robock, John Ryans, Vern Terpstra, and Daniel Van Den Bulcke.

The purpose of this paper is to review the key analytical principles of internalisation theory as a general theory of the multinational enterprise (MNE). It illustrates the vitality, relevance and flexibility of the approach in explaining the continued evolution of the MNE. As a grounded social science theory, it provides, in combination with history and economic geography, satisfying and novel explanations of the key phenomena of the modern globalising economy.

This paper examines the origins and principles of internalisation theory as the foundation theory of the MNE. It considers internalisation theory in the context of current and mainstream theories and concepts in the field of international business.

Internalisation theory is equally valid for the MNEs of yesteryear as it is for those today. The theory continues to have strong explanatory power for MNE activity. Current research areas, such as multiple embeddedness, fine-slicing of the value chain, etc., and other theories, such as dynamic capabilities and the resource-based view, either are subsets of internalisation and thus explained by the theory, or contain weakness and/or inconsistencies not found in internalisation theory.

This paper coherently synthesises internalisation theory, its origins and evolution. It shows how commonly held and current concepts and theories are related to internalisation theory or have weaknesses, thus making internalisation theory a superior theory to explain the MNE, and identifies potential applications of the theory to novel research areas in the field of international business.

This chapter analyses the rise of the ‘global factory’ – the globally integrated network centred on a focal multinational enterprise. This is a response to the increased volatility of the global economy and involves the creation of systems that allow flexibility in both the location and the control of increasingly ‘fine-sliced’ activities, the avoidance of monopoly and the evolution of new management skills. Foreign direct investment is only one strategy amongst several utilised by globally integrated multinationals.