Title: Institutional theory and outward foreign direct investment: a review and future directions

Authors: Bernardo Silva-Rêgo; Ariane Figueira

Addresses: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, COPPEAD School of Business, Rua Pascoal Lemme, 355 - Cidade Universitária, 21941-918, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ' Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, COPPEAD School of Business, Rua Pascoal Lemme, 355 - Cidade Universitária, 21941-918, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract: This study aims to map what we know and what we do not know concerning both the institutional theory and OFDI. We intend to elucidate how this subject has been treated in the International Business (IB) arena and how it could help us understand not only the emerging markets phenomena but also how institutions and OFDI can open new research venues to the understanding of IB. To do so, we reviewed 75 papers concerning the relationship between institutions and OFDI. By applying both keywords co-occurrence and content analysis, our review showed that the distribution of researches into five sub-fields: government support, location choice, market strategy, political institutions, and specific advantages. This article not only maps studies but also shows underexplored research streams and how each of them impacts the IB studies. Additionally, our study can help develop future studies by pointing out research gaps.

Keywords: institutional theory; OFDI; bibliometric; review; political institutions; entry mode; location choice; ownership; government support; qualitative content analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2023.132794

European Journal of International Management, 2023 Vol.21 No.1, pp.55 - 95

Accepted: 26 Jul 2019
Published online: 10 Aug 2023 *

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