International Business and Multi-level Institutional Change: Looking Back and Facing Forward

Abstract

International business (IB) emerged in the 1950s and 1960s when cross-border business was expanding rapidly. This expansion came to an abrupt halt in the 1970s, when global economic growth stagnated and a series of crises and challenges raised for IB scholars the same question confronting us today: whether the contemporary crises marked a temporary interruption to the increasing global economic integration of the post-World War II era or a major turning point toward a more fragmented world. Reflecting back on how the IB field responded to this earlier era of disruption can provide some useful guidance for IB scholars today, especially in terms of the value of detailed sector-specific case studies, closer interaction with researchers in the social sciences, and a renewed focus on MNCs as actors engaged in shaping the multiple environments in which they operate.

Citation

Westney, D.E. (2021), "International Business and Multi-level Institutional Change: Looking Back and Facing Forward", Verbeke, A., van Tulder, R., Rose, E.L. and Wei, Y. (Ed.) The Multiple Dimensions of Institutional Complexity in International Business Research (Progress in International Business Research, Vol. 15), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 23-43. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1745-886220210000015002