Environmental Issues and the MNE

Abstract

In evaluating Alan Rugman's work on MNE environmental strategies, the subject of this chapter, it is too tempting not to start with a 2×2 matrix. Fig. 1 is meant to roughly indicate four different types of work that might characterise an academic's research portfolio. Obviously, all the well-known caveats of such a scheme apply, and perhaps more than usual. However, the main purpose is, by way of introduction, to situate Alan's output on environmental issues and the MNE, compared and related to other topics. While the horizontal axis of Fig. 1 refers to a regular division into theoretical and empirical work, the vertical axis differentiates main foci of research from other, more sideline, areas. Applied to Alan Rugman's research portfolio, the latter category characterises his work on environmental strategies of MNEs best, particularly quadrant 2, although some of it (generally more exploratory work) can be placed in quadrant 4 as well.

Citation

Kolk, A. (2005), "Environmental Issues and the MNE", Verbeke, A. (Ed.) Internalization, International Diversification and the Multinational Enterprise: Essays in Honor of Alan M. Rugman (Research in Global Strategic Management, Vol. 11), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 147-162. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1064-4857(05)11009-2