Abstract
This paper reviews the progress of the research agenda initiated by The Future of the Multinational Enterprise (1976). Focusing initially on the problem of explaining the existence of the multinational enterprise, the agenda soon broadened to encompass the analysis of alternative modes of foreign market entry, the role of international joint ventures, the impact of innovation on corporate growth, and the role of culture in international business. The core philosophy – based on the Coasian nature of the firm and on rational action modelling – has remained constant, while the widening range of applications has encouraged synthesis with theories developed in other fields of research. Success in answering any one question invariably generates new questions, which must in turn be answered through a further extension of the theory, and this dynamic continues to drive the development of the theory today. Internalisation theory has retained its validity and its vitality over the past 30 years, and is currently being extended into new fields of international business research.
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We would like to thank Alain Verbeke and three anonymous referees for their insightful comments on earlier versions.
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This article was single-blind reviewed. Accepted by Alain Verbeke, Area Editor, 8 April 2009. This paper has been with the authors for two revisions.
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Buckley, P., Casson, M. The internalisation theory of the multinational enterprise: A review of the progress of a research agenda after 30 years. J Int Bus Stud 40, 1563–1580 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2009.49
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2009.49