Peter J. Buckley

The most effective method of control (of multinational enterprises (MNEs)) is for governments to agree upon a new industrial policy which can be policed on a supranational basis.(Buckley & Casson, 1976, p. 1)

For the publication of my 1993 book of readings with Pervez Ghauri (The Internationalization of the Firm), I asked Yair Aharoni if I could abridge his classic 1966 book, The Foreign Investment Decision Process, as the opening chapter of the book. Naturally, I gave him the right to veto over any possibility that I mangled his classic work. When I sent the abridgment, Yair told me that it was “better than the original”. That was kind because the qualities of the abridged chapter entirely derive from the original text.

The papers in this volume, collectively and severally, suggest a vibrant research agenda inspired by Edith Penrose's work. As the papers show, Edith Penrose's work addresses the fundamental issues of strategy. How do firms behave? Why are firms different? What are the functions of headquarters? What determines success or failure in international competition? And in many cases, as our authors argue, her answers have not been bettered in the next half century. Questioning standard theory, working out how to ask fundamental questions and deriving the appropriate answers are hallmarks of Penrosean methodology. She hoped some would see The Theory of the Growth of the Firm as a work of art, for she was an artist of the human condition rather than a seeker of a rigorous theory.

Internalization theory of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) provides a paradigm in the international business field. Contemporary discussions consider MNEs as differentiated network with self-initiated subsidiaries. However, while moving away from pure hierarchy, internalization theory has not fully particularized the coordinating mechanism across MNEs’ networked subsidiaries. Accordingly, we propose a novel role of subsidiaries’ reputation within their MNEs. Based on primary data from subsidiaries’ perspective, our findings are threefold. First, we demonstrate that a subsidiary’s reputation within the MNE is a critical driver for subsidiary-specific advantages. Second, we examine how subsidiaries’ strategic actions can send signals to their headquarters and sister subsidiaries to build its reputation. Finally, along with the reputation-building process, we reveal the contingencies of subsidiaries’ autonomy and …

Internalization is defined as a general principle that explains the nature and boundaries of organizations; its application to the multinational enterprise (MNE) is just one of its many applications. It is a highly specialized principle, targeted specifically at explaining where boundaries lie and how they shift in response to changing circumstances. By itself, it does not explain other aspects of organizations. Progress in internalization theory is achieved by combining this core approach with other principles to generate a wide range of predictions about different aspects of organizational behaviour.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) can be defined as corporate transactions that combine companies or parts of their business assets through ownership transfer. Then, international M&A can be defined as M&A where the involved firms are located in different countries, such that the transactions involve foreign direct investment. As global M&A volumes continued to increase over recent decades, the amount of M&A research grew in parallel, developing a number of distinct sub-streams in the literature. In this entry we summarize the M&A literature, with particular emphasis on the international dimension. We structure our entry along six main topics: We start with (1) target selection, reviewing how acquirers assess potential targets for quality and fit. We then examine (2) acquisitions as a mode of foreign market entry, a line of inquiry which received particular attention in the international business literature. We move on to summarize research on (3) stock market reactions and public perception following the announcement of mergers and acquisitions. Our next section is devoted to (4) post-merger integration, which is a particularly important determinant of acquisition performance. We then cover the dynamics related to (5) culture and acculturation in acquisitions and finally review the literature on (6) learning in M&As. Our overall objective is to define the relevant concepts and provide a brief overview of the state of the art of global M&A research.

This paper seeks to derive rational policies towards multinational enterprises (MNEs) from extant international business theory. It examines the impact of national institutions and policies on both inward and outward direct foreign investment. It adopts a theory-based perspective utilising internalisation, transaction cost and institutional approaches to the operations of MNEs. It contrasts the received policy process by which MNEs react to policy initiatives with a potential “direct” policy model whereby strategic decisions of MNEs embody policy goals. The paper suggests that transparent national policies with robust supranational monitoring are the best solution for world economic welfare.

A primary research area within the field of international business (IB) is to establish the extent to which concepts, theories, and findings identified in one country are applicable to other contexts and which are unique and cannot be found in other contexts. Researchers in IB acknowledge the importance of the context in their studies, but the practice of assessing equivalence (or invariance) is not widely diffused within the community. We first discuss the components of equivalence (construct, method, and item equivalence), and we offer a three-step approach to address equivalence in the writing and revision of a paper. We aim to help editors, reviewers, and researchers produce more reliable research and navigate the tension between generalizable relationships and context-specific ones, both theoretically and empirically, before performing analysis and hypothesis testing. We then apply equivalence to the construct …

The experience of COVID-19 prompted us to rethink the imperatives of distance for the organization of value-creating activities globally. We advance a conceptualization of distance as representing separation in both space and time and posit that these distance dimensions represent different kinds of separation and require varied theoretical attention. We delineate the intrinsic qualities of spatial and temporal distances and theorize the impact of this extended conceptualization of distance on major tenets of international business theory and their predictions regarding the patterns of international business activity. We illustrate the ways by which varying configurations of spatial and temporal distances serve different value-creating activities and draw their implications for countries’ global integration. We advance a call for more attention to time and temporal distance and their impact on the ways firms organize their …

“W(h)ither U.S. Hegemony in International Business Research?” by Grigorios Livanis and Michael Geringer, is an excellent effort to encompass the growth of international business (IB) scholarly research worldwide. This commentary examines the implicit assumptions and models of their analysis, showing that IB models are useful in explaining the scholarly growth of IB.

In a recent “Point” in this journal, Forsgren and Holm (J Int Bus Stud, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-021-00416-3) suggest that internalization theory cannot explain the external business relationships of multinational enterprises (MNEs). In contrast, in this Commentary we suggest that classic internalization theory is actually well equipped to do so, once scholars move beyond the simple market versus firm dichotomy (used mainly for pedagogical reasons in extant research). We build upon Coasean thinking, a foundation of the classic internalization perspective, to show that decisions on internalization are embedded in the institutional theory of the allocation of property rights. Property rights theory can explain ownership and control decisions, but also more broadly the allocation of decision rights in institutional arrangements. This broader focus on decision rights, beyond the simple ownership and control …

This paper explores traditional knowledge and its possible utilization by multinational enterprises (MNEs) in achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, with a particular focus on Goal 13, Climate Action. We argue that traditional knowledge has been overlooked by business leaders and policymakers who have failed to explore its potential in tackling some of the “grand challenges” facing the global economy. We suggest that achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals could be accelerated with the active involvement of MNEs. The key issues are what sort of involvement should they seek and what challenges must be overcome. We also outline policies to support the wider dissemination of traditional knowledge through MNE involvement.

In this review article we take stock of international business (IB) research on emerging economy multinational enterprises (EMNEs) over the past three decades. Our review covers 690 articles published in 64 high-impact peer-reviewed journals between 1990 and 2021 (inclusive). We first present bibliometric findings on some key patterns of this vast body of scholarly work. We then conduct content analysis to critically assess this literature and provide a multilevel synthesis of the existing knowledge base. To do so we propose a theoretical framework that highlights three dimensions – micro-foundations, organizational characteristics, and institutional environment – by which the distinction between EMNEs and their predecessors, namely multinational enterprises (MNEs) from advanced economies, is investigated. At each level, we seek to understand EMNEs’ convergence with and divergence from their …

International business (IB), whether cross-border activities by multinational enterprises (MNEs) or non-equity forms of investment, and the international environment it operates in are heavily influenced by the historical legacies of countries and their international relations.

This massive Handbook sets itself a wide remit. The editors set out the intent on page 5:‘‘This handbook assesses, develops and extends the debates on how firms are influenced by and respond to state capitalism, which we understand as the government’s direct influence on economic relationships’’. This is a very broad definition but, even so, the volume goes beyond this, as we shall see, into (self-declared) non-capitalist economies and institutions beyond the firm. The book is not about a particular economic system (State Capitalism), but rather about how the role of the state affects the firm. This volume is a timely reminder of the need to refocus on the pervasiveness of state action.The editors (who themselves work in four different countries), have assembled an impressive, diverse and multinational team of authors (working in no less than 15 countries). In general, the Handbook adopts a comparative national …

The phenomenon of emerging economy multinational (EMNE) internationalization has stimulated a lively debate among international business scholars. After more than two decades of high-quality scholarly work, this debate continues. The evolution of emerging market economies as well as the geopolitical events of the recent past have provided further boost to the research agenda on EMNEs’ internationalization, keeping the topic at the forefront of international business (IB) research. A call for scholarly articles was issued to expand academic understanding of what’s still emerging about EMNEs. Several high-quality papers were received and reviewed, resulting in 15 papers accepted for publication in the special issue. The present paper introduces the special issue and an overview of the papers published, highlighting how these papers extend our understanding of EMNE internationalization, especially with …

Buckley PJ. 2023. The Oxford handbook of state capitalism and the firm. Journal of International Business Studies. — Research Explorer The University of Manchester Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content Research Explorer The University of Manchester Home Research Explorer The University of Manchester Logo Home Research Profiles Research units Research output Projects Impacts Activities Press/Media Prizes Equipment and Facilities Datasets Student theses Search by expertise, name or affiliation Buckley PJ. 2023. The Oxford handbook of state capitalism and the firm. Journal of International Business Studies. Peter Buckley PMO Comparative & International Business Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review Overview Original language English Journal Journal of International Business Studies DOIs https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-023-00616-z Publication status …

This paper postulates a deep and long-term fracture in the global economy has occurred. It concentrates on policy induced changes including tariffs, trade wars, "antiglobalization rhetoric and the disintegration in trade blocs. The paper examines the impact of the fracture on corporate strategies. The corporate reaction to the fracture has been muted, uncertain and piecemeal. the paper argues that significant corporate responses are overdue and that the eventual responses will herald new modes of international management.

Research summary Negative externalities in global value chains (GVCs) create challenges for regulation. We establish conditions under which firms are more likely to adapt their GVCs to rectify negative externalities that occur at global scale. Firms in GVCs vary in relation to their active involvement in attending to negative externalities in a predictable way, according to their awareness (A) of these externalities, motivation (M) to address them, and the capability (C) to do so. Firms in GVCs can self‐correct imperfections by strategy changes, or new firms can be recruited into the GVC with the awareness, motivation, and the capability to attend to negative externalities. National governments may find these externalities to be a significant policy challenge, particularly when they extend across national jurisdictions. Managerial summary Private mechanisms, through firm strategy or new entrants into an industry, can …

Psychic distance (PD) is a perceived obstacle to information flows in knowledge transfer between individuals in different national markets. However, the impact of individuals’ subjective perceptions of macro-level distance factors disrupting these flows has been undertheorized. Prior research has conceptualized PD as a geospatial concept – symmetric, continuous and stable over time. Using appraisal theory and a qualitative study of a Chinese multinational, we analyse individual-level psychic distance stimuli. We examine how perceived psychic distance is impacted in the appraisal of personal concerns, triggering salient emotions in the process of individual’s cross-border interactions. Our key contribution is to trace and explain how individual-level psychic distance is created in intercultural knowledge transfer. We theorize that it is created by a psychological mechanism involving emotionally charged processes of …