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This study aims to investigate how co-evolutionary interactions between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and local actors shaped resource-intensive industry development over several decades, examining the economic, industrial and social implications of these interactions. It details the long-term effects of MNEs’ activities on the host country’s economic and social development and unfolds the path-dependent sequence and mechanisms of occurrence.

In a historical case study of Uruguay’s forest-based pulp sector during the 1970s to 2023, the authors analyze data from interviews with local industry actors and from company archives, academic publications and public environmental organizations.

The findings untangle the path-dependent co-evolution between MNEs’ activities and local actors and the resulting gradual development of the local industry. The increasing commitment of MNEs to the host country and their engagement with business and social communities impact the development of the industry’s technology basis, activity networks, identity and market. Spillovers and linkages occur in these interactions, driving industry development processes forward. The authors also reveal how MNEs attempt to address the social and environmental tensions associated with their operations to support their long-term presence in the host country.

The authors contribute to the MNE-assisted development literature by untangling the specific mechanisms of MNEs’ engagement in local industry development over a long-term period and elaborating on its industrial and social implications. The authors enhance knowledge about spillovers by capturing a wide range of spillover and linkage effects and assessing their long-term impacts on industry development.

The authors offer insights into how policymakers can tailor instruments for attracting MNEs by adopting a long-term perspective regarding the implications for local development and accounting for economic, industrial and social impacts. This approach can maximize beneficial outcomes from MNEs’ presence and limit tensions between MNEs and local actors.

This historical case study illustrates the complexity of MNEs’ engagement with local actors over time, including various tensions and positive developments. It illustrates the importance of social acceptance in achieving quality linkages between local and foreign actors.

This historical analysis untangles the path dependency in the long-term impacts of MNE-assisted development, illustrating the value of a temporal perspective.

The extant research highlights the importance of understanding the micro-level mechanisms for the development of firm-level international business theories. One of them is institution-based view on strategy in emerging markets that highlights the importance of institutional factors for local actors' decision-making. It attracted significant attention of international business scholars, and it is timely to assess existing body of knowledge about how and why managers and entrepreneur respond to institutional forces. I argue that in this context, a better understanding of microfoundations of these responses is extremely useful for unveiling the complexity associated with institutional influence on emerging market firms' strategy. I undertake a problematizing review to critically examine the current state of research in this field. In doing this, I shed light on the role of managers and entrepreneurs from different national, generational and social backgrounds in shaping institution-based strategies and inform the talent management research about the capabilities and strategies that EM managers and entrepreneurs mobilize to address institutional pressures.

Fieldwork in emerging economies can be unpredictable and somewhat dangerous. The purpose of this article is to ascertain problematic issues that may arise when conducting qualitative research in emerging economies.

The author reflects on her fieldwork in Russia in 2014 and 2015. Specifically, the author provides a reflection on her investigation on how the Russian government influences Russian MNEs' ability to deal with domestic institutional complexity and gain external legitimacy.

The author has encountered a number of unforeseen difficulties: the ethical dilemma, sensitivity of the topic, translation challenges and unexpected group interviews. Through this reflection, he develops specific tactics on how to deal with these circumstances when conducting research outside a Western context. He also provides recommendations on how researchers in emerging economies can deal with ethical dichotomy created by the pressure to follow ethical guidelines. Finally, he identifies a list of opportunities that Russia presents as a research site.

The reflections on fieldwork discussed in this paper can prove to be useful for qualitative researchers interested in conducting qualitative research in Russia. In particular, it provides specific recommendations on how to navigate Russia as a research site.

This paper contributes to the literature on issues related to methodological issues related to conducting research in emerging economies, as well as under research contexts, such as Russia.