Title: A new Zeitgeist for international business activity and scholarship

Authors: John H. Dunning

Addresses: Department of Economics, University of Reading Business School, P.O. Box 218, Whiteknights, Reading, Berks, RG6 6AA, UK

Abstract: This paper suggests that International Business (IB) scholarship is at a watershed in its evolution. It sets out the reasons for this contention, and then goes on to trace the main changes in the physical and human environment which are fashioning the global activities of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). The paper concludes by suggesting that IB scholars need to reconfigure their research methodologies if they are to successfully understand and explain the increasingly important role of institutions in determining the strategies of MNEs, and their impact on the locational competitiveness of countries.

Keywords: Zeitgeist; international business research; multinational enterprises; MNEs; physical environment; institutional environments; scholarly methodology; multinational corporations; MNCs; globalisation; international management.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2007.015652

European Journal of International Management, 2007 Vol.1 No.4, pp.278 - 301

Published online: 06 Nov 2007 *

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