Rajneesh Narula

• PhD
• Chair at University of Reading

Disruption and uncertainty are distinct but related concepts with fundamental impact on firms' R&D. Management of R&D under disruption and uncertainty has become a critical issue in innovation management. With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, firms are increasingly facing disruptions along multiple dimensions: technological, market,...

The global mobility of people has transformed how multinational enterprises (MNEs) manage and benefit from multiple locations. We examine the changing locational boundedness of human capital with globalization and how this has impacted the competitiveness of MNEs. The growing use of quasi-internalization through the active reliance on global value...

Purpose Organizational innovation (OI) is important for multinational enterprises to adapt to changes in their broader technological and market environments. Despite its power to transform organizations, OI has remained at the periphery of international business (IB) scholarship. The purpose of this paper is that IB is particularly equipped to furt...

We summarize the key empirical evidence on the nexus between MNEs and development, focusing on issues that are relevant for the formulation, implementation and assessment of policies by host developing countries. We also delve into what we do not know, as well as topics for which the evidence is still quite blurred. We discuss the reasons for the a...

I extend the dual economy framework by Lewis (1954) to account for firms and MNEs. Emerging economies exhibit a ‘duality’ in their economic structure that reflects itself in two largely different set of location (L) advantages. They are simultaneously home to both ‘traditional’ sectors, which are resource- and labour-intensive, as well as ‘modern’...

I offer some guidelines on what is expected of a perspectives paper, both more generally, and specifically for this journal. A perspectives paper is normally motivated by an epiphany (data-driven, or conceptual) that a dominant scholarly narrative needs to be reconsidered. It should be the role of the author to convince her sceptical audience that...

The ideal text to help you understand the complexities of the rapidly changing world of international businesses. International Business, 9th Edition, by Collinson, Narula, Qamar and Rugman combines data, evidence, case studies and latest examples to reflect the new realities of managing multinational businesses in a rapidly changing world. It conn...

I offer some guidelines on what is expected of a perspectives paper, both more generally, and specifically for this journal. A perspectives paper is normally motivated by an epiphany (data-driven, or conceptual) that a dominant scholarly narrative needs to be reconsidered. It should be the role of the author to convince her sceptical audience that...

Internalization theory stands as a foundational framework within the realm of international business (IB). Its primary aim is to elucidate the reasons and methods behind a firm’s expansion across national boundaries. Pioneered and developed by eminent scholars, including John Dunning, Peter Buckley, Mark Casson, Jean-François Hennart, and Alan Rugm...

This book concerns itself with the key puzzle of the postwar political economy of Latin America: why has the pursuit of development and catch-up with the advanced economies proved so elusive? Specifically, the volume seeks to explore the key factors comprising Latin America’s middle technology and income trap and what steps which might be taken to...

The international business (IB) literature has emphasised the heterogeneity of firm strategies in shaping MNE–state bargaining, but largely ignored the heterogeneity of states. In contrast, the international political economy (IPE) literature provides a more nuanced consideration of state strategies and their economic and political priorities. We s...

The role of MNEs as a potential engine for economic development and inequality reduction dates back to the industrial revolution where states sought to actively engage foreign capital in industrialization. Over the years, the MNE-state compact has waxed and waned in significance (and priority, depending upon country) due to domestic and internation...

The potential of multinational enterprises (MNEs) to accelerate economic development and reduce inequality has been recognized since the industrial revolution, when states sought to actively engage foreign capital in industrialization. Over time, the MNE–state compact has waxed and waned in significance due to (geo-)political developments, shaped i...

The early work by Kuznets and Chenery originally developed the theme that economic development was not simply a synonym for aggregate GDP growth, but entailed qualitative changes in the structures of production, employment, and consumption. Later work in international business and economics explored the co-evolution between FDI and economic structu...

Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are of critical importance in international business. The implications for firm strategy and for policymakers are rarely aligned because the optimal level of IPR protection can be quite different from the country- and the firm-level perspectives. There is considerable heterogeneity in firm strategies, the spatial...

Strategies that make quasi-internalization feasible such as cascading compliance provide a means for lead firms to control the social and environmental conditions among their suppliers and sub-suppliers in ways other than through equity ownership. We take an internalization theory lens to reflect on the effectiveness of cascading compliance as a go...

In responding to the Forsgren and Holm (2021) critique of internalization theory, we develop a capability-based model of internalization and quasi-internalization, highlighting the key role of the international recombination of assets. With external control mechanisms becoming more sophisticated, full internalization has become increasingly unneces...

Research in international business is increasingly concerned with the implications of crises and disruptions for the MNE. Environmental crises and disruptions come in various forms: economic recessions, disease outbreaks, as well as terrorist attacks – yet a common theme amongst them is that they are often difficult to predict, cannot be fully avoi...

This commentary considers Chapters 11 and 12 by Papageorgiadis and McDonald (2022), and Giuliani et al. (2022), respectively, and how their insights on cross-border, collaborative innovation, and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) shed light on the challenges of economic development. Effective collaboration for both innovation and development is c...

While COVID-19 has caused significant short-term disruptions in global value chains (GVCs), in the longer run, the pandemic will not be the primary catalyst in GVC evolution. As GVCs recover from the initial shock, managers will make GVC restructuring decisions guided by long-term strategic considerations. This article describes barriers that lead...

We conduct a systematic review of the relationship between international diversification (ID) and firm-level innovation (I), considering articles published between 1989 and 2020. The relationship between international diversification and innovation strategies is dynamic and complex, and recent evidence challenges the traditional notion that upgradi...

The disruption of the trade and investment activities of multinational enterprises as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic has reinvigorated the debate on the configuration of global value chains (GVCs) as well as the risks and challenges associated with offshoring. This article depicts how the pandemic might affect GVC configuration by driving a...

This article argues that innovation in and from emerging economies is largely shaped by the challenges of sustained catching-up with the advanced economies. Just as firms and industries are constantly seeking to upgrade their technological and organizational capabilities, so too are their societies reconfiguring their institutions and networks to i...

The dynamic capabilities perspective highlights that continuous asset augmentation enables firms to address changing environments and sustain competitiveness. However, the literature is still unclear about the nature, interaction, and configuration of dynamic capabilities, and why not all firms are able to successfully upgrade. We propose that the...

International business strategy is a field where theory continuously seeks to meet business practice. Increasingly, scholars of international business strategy are concerned with the uncertainties and complexities of international operations, especially when firms commit significant resources to foreign markets. Over time, multinational enterprises...

The present volume discusses the progress made in progress made in the theory and practice of international business (IB) strategy in the last few decades. The book captures the differences in motivations and decision-making processes between smaller and larger firms, private, family and state-owned, emerging or developed market multinational enter...

Traditional international management theories tend to overlook that the cognitive limitations and biases of decision-makers may bound their ability to make rational, objective strategic choices. Most theories have not truly accounted for firm heterogeneity either, i.e. explaining why in similar contexts, two multinational enterprises (MNEs) may mak...

Global scientific collaboration to find a vaccine is not enough to end the pandemic. International cooperation is also necessary to produce a successful vaccine affordably and distribute it equitably worldwide. Commercial and national interests threaten to thwart the universal immunization needed to curtail the pandemic. International institutions...

We consider how the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged European small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector, and draw suggests policy implications. The sudden onslaught of the pandemic has acted as an economic shock, and we consider how it is likely to affect different types of manufacturing SMEs. We distinguish between imm...

Not all firms are successful in internationalizing their operations; many withdraw, and some make a second attempt (after an appropriate 'time-out'). We compare the re-internationalization of emerging market multinationals (EMNEs) with developed market multinationals (DMNEs) to investigate key differences. Although DMNEs may have greater experience...

In the developing world, the informal economy can account for as much as 80% of the population. I focus on the urban component of informality, where both informal employment and informal enterprises are especially vulnerable to the pandemic-induced economic shock. I explain the complex nature of informality, some of the reasons for its persistence,...

Purpose Whether by direct or indirect action (or by inaction), multinational enterprises (MNEs) can have both a positive and a negative effect on within-country social and economic inequality. This paper aims to comment on this multifaceted relationship between MNEs and within-country inequality. Design/methodology/approach Given the absence of ei...

International science institutions are stepping up to the challenge of COVID-19. Now’s the time to start planning for a global public goods approach to vaccine distribution. https://issues.org/pandemic-global-scientific-collaboration/

The obsession in both the popular and academic press about Japan, Japanese firms and their management practices lasted until the 1990s, after which there has been an inexplicable absence of curiosity. I argue here that there is still much to learn, not only from their contemporary activity, but from their historical actions. Less developed countrie...

Volume 26 number 2 of the Transnational Corporations journal is a special issue dedicated to special economic zones (SEZs) and their potential as vehicles for development. The issue grew out of research and background papers that fed into UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2019, the thematic focus of which was SEZs. In compiling this issue, we sought...

We study the relationship between modularity and entry mode choice in business functions offshoring. We define the degree of modularity of an activity as technical architecture (whether it can be detached from the rest of the value chain without loss of synergies). We refer to the entry mode chosen as organizational architecture (whether a captive...

Internalization theory has provided a resilient analytical framework that explicitly or implicitly underlines much of International Business scholarship. Internalization theory is not a monolithic body of knowledge; instead it has devolved into several 'streams', each of which focuses on the interests of particular epistemic communities, while also...

The 2013 Rana Plaza disaster led external stakeholders to insist on higher labour standards in apparel global value chains (GVCs). Stakeholders now expect MNEs to take 'full-chain' responsibility. However, the increased monitoring and enforcement costs of a large network of suppliers have been non-trivial. MNEs instead implement a 'cascading compli...

Although the core concepts underlying IB and IHRM provide a common lexicon and epistemology, this commonality is often more implicit than explicit. We highlight not only the common ground but also the lack of critical dialogue between the two fields. This paper asks: What can each field learn from the other? What do scholars from IB learn from IHRM...

The manuscript has just been submitted to publishers - expect to see this in bookstores in December 2019! Please do not request a full text for this book. I cannot make this available.

During the past two decades, a growing number of universities, mainly from developed countries, have established branch campuses in developing countries. From the developing country perspective, attracting foreign universities can help mitigate financial constraints and capacity shortages that impair the state’s ability to provide greater access to...

Economic development can be defined as a process in which output growth is accompanied by qualitative changes in the structures of production and employment. Can FDI affect this process? This paper looks for answers in two ways. First, it reviews the extant knowledge about the relationship between MNE activity and economic development in developing...

When MNEs focus on narrow CSR objectives this can attenuate some of the positive development effects from MNE activities. I draw on observations from the Bangladeshi apparel industry, where lead firms pushed for greater compliance within their value chains after the Rana Plaza Disaster. I emphasise two key unintended consequences. First, strict CSR...

R&D cooperation has become a core aspect of the innovation strategy of R&D-performing organisations over the last three decades. Globalization has increased the imperative to organise these cross-border, inter-firm agreements efficiently, and this has led to a cross-fertilisation of ideas from a variety of fields, including international business,...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new theoretical framework called the “extended dual economy model”. Based on the seminal work of Lewis (2014), the author uses it to explain the sectoral specialisation of home countries and their firms and MNEs. Design/methodology/approach The paper is multi-disciplinary and entirely conceptual,...

The distribution of creative economic activity over space has been viewed from three distinct perspectives: International business focuses on the multinational enterprise and the location of activities across national borders; economic geography studies the characteristics of the location site; and innovation scholars are mainly concerned with the...

The papers included in this volume address the role of institutions in international business strategy and their links with the performance of firms and countries. Section 1 delves into the issues of how institutions and business strategies are intertwined, with special emphasis on socially (ir)responsible activities and corporate wrongdoing. Secti...

The early development literature placed great emphasis on natural resources, although mainly of the view that development was best achieved by using extractive sectors for the transition to other sectors. MNEs had a habit of internalising the complete value chain and creating enclaves that had few linkages or spillovers locally, reflecting weak dom...

The ACADEMY OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS (UK and Ireland Chapter) Published in association with the UK and Ireland Chapter of the Academy of International Business. This brand new edited collection addresses the growing uncertainty and socio-economic challenges of globalisation and its profound implications for the strategies and operations of multina...

Studying buyer satisfaction within business services is important because if buyer expectations are not addressed, it can endanger the relationship. Dissatisfied buyers can remain silent or switch supplier without notice, damaging the supplier-buyer relationship. Therefore, suppliers often invest substantial effort in collecting feedback with an ex...

During the last two decades a growing number of universities, mainly from developed countries, have established campuses in developing countries. From the developing countries’ perspective, attracting foreign universities helps mitigate financial constraints and capacity shortages that impair the state’s ability to provide greater access to tertiar...

The attraction of multinational enterprises (MNEs) has become a key component of development policies. Generous incentive packages are offered by governments to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), although few countries perform proper cost/benefit analyses. MNEs can have a decisive influence on the development path of countries, although the e...

This Seventh Edition of International Business is dedicated to Professor Alan Rugman. He was the originator of this textbook series and one of the leading scholars in the field. As we remember Alan’s contribution we welcome Professor Rajneesh Narula as the new co-author of the book. He has written three completely new opening Chapters reflecting a...

We make some tentative observations about the role of MNEs in agro-food GVCs, paying special attention to the potential for actors from developing countries to engage as suppliers within these networks. We highlight that the shift away from full-internalized MNE subsidiaries to non-equity modes (NEMs) and more arm’s-length linkages with suppliers i...

We make some tentative observations about the role of MNEs in agro-food GVCs, paying special attention to the potential for actors from developing countries to engage as suppliers within these networks. We highlight that the shift away from fully-internalized MNE subsidiaries to non-equity modes (NEMs) and more arm’s-length linkages with suppliers...

Purpose This paper aims to discuss the opportunities and limitations that the location-specific advantages of the home country represent for infant multinational enterprises (MNEs). The systemic weaknesses of the home country can constrain the long-term competitiveness of its firms and, ultimately, the competitiveness of its MNEs. Many emerging cou...

Purpose Despite the keen interest in radical and incremental innovation, few studies have tested the varying impact of firm-level factors in service sectors. This paper analyses how collaboration with existing and prospective users and investments in knowledge management (KM) practices can be adapted to maximise the outputs of radical and increment...

Emerging market MNEs as meta-integrators: the importance of internal networks - International Journal of Technology Management, 2017, 74(1-4), 214-220.

Os estudos académicos costumam revelar umaoscilação no interesse em determinados tópicosespecíficos.Entre finais dos anos 1970 e início dos 1990 do século XX, as EMN dos países em vias desenvolvimento (PeD) eram frequentemente objeto de estudo (veja-se e.g., Lecraw, 1977, 1993; Lall, (ed.) 1983; Kumarand McLeod, (eds.) 1981; Khan, (ed.) 1986), tend...

Purpose: Despite the keen interest in radical and incremental innovation, few studies have tested the varying impact of firm-level factors in service sectors. This paper analyses how collaboration with existing and prospective users, and investments in knowledge management (KM) practices can be adapted to maximise the outputs of radical and increme...

This perspectives paper and its associated commentaries examine Alan Rugman's conceptual contribution to international business scholarship. Most significantly, we highlight Rugman's version of internalization theory as a approach that integrates transaction cost economics and 'classical' internalization theory with elements from the resource-based...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the debate forum on internationalization motives of this special issue of Multinational Business Review. Design/methodology/approach – The authors reflect on the background and evolution of the internationalization motives over the past few decades, and then provide suggestions for how to use the...

Purpose – The purpose of this the paper is to review the motives for internationalization to clarify previous arguments and provide a theory-driven classification. Design/methodology/approach – The authors build on behavioral economics and propose a classification of internationalization motives as the result of the interaction among two dimension...

This paper considers the longer-term viability of the internationalization and success of Indian multinational enterprises (MNEs). We apply the ‘dual economy’ concept (Lewis, Manch Sch 22(2):139–191, 1954) to reconcile the contradictions of the typical emerging economy, where a ‘modern’ knowledge-intensive economy exists alongside a ‘traditional’ r...

This paper investigates the role of modularity on entry mode choice of companies undertaking offshoring of business services. We distinguish between Functional modularity, reflecting the possibility to separate the business function into smaller modules, and Architectural modularity, reflecting a low interdependence among the modules, and, a hence,...

Purpose – This paper aims to examine how multinational enterprises (MNEs) and local partners, including suppliers, customers and competitors in China, improve their innovation capabilities through collaboration. This collaboration was analysed as a three-way interaction between the ownership-specific (O) advantages or firm-specific assets (FSAs) of...

PurposeThis chapter examines the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in promoting industrial development, and asks, if FDI is such an important avenue to promote development, why is there little evidence on concomitant industrial development in most developing countries? Methodology/approachI look at the secondary evidence on FDI and developmen...

This paper seeks to synthesise the various contributions to the special issue of Long Range Planning on competence-creating subsidiaries (CCS), and identifies avenues for future research. Effective competence-creation through a network of subsidiaries requires an appropriate balance between internal and external embeddedness. There are multiple typ...

Introduction In this chapter I analyse the role of locations in shaping the mobility (or lack thereof) of multinational companies (MNCs) (and in particular emerging country multinational companies (EMNCs)) in a globalizing world. I am of the opinion that emerging country MNCs are not vastly different from ‘adolescent’ MNCs from other home countries...

Applying extant IB theory, I argue that initial firm internationalisation is shaped by the interdependence and dynamic interaction between its O assets and the L assets of its home location. Regardless of nationality, the initial O assets of an infant MNE tend to be constrained by the L assets available to them, rather than by their strategy. I als...

Purpose – This paper examines the role of location‐specific (L) advantages in the spatial distribution of multinational enterprise (MNE) R&D activity. The meaning of L advantages is revisited. In addition to L advantages that are industry‐specific, the paper emphasises that there is an important category of L advantages, referred to as collocation...

This article summarises recent revisions to the investment development path (IDP) as postulated by Narula and Dunning (2010). The IDP provides a framework to understand the dynamic interaction between foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic development. The revisions take into account some recent changes in the global economic environment. Thi...

The contribution that inward foreign direct investment (FDI) makes to development has been examined in a number of contexts including the relationship between inward FDI and new firm formation; growth; innovation, exports and competitiveness. However, no debate has proved so contentious, or so long lasting as that concerning the extent to which inw...

Some scholars have argued that globalization will reduce the importance of local contexts. We argue instead that despite the increased frequency and intensity of interactions across local contexts, they continue to retain their distinctive differences. MNEs face growing challenges in managing the complexity of these interactions, because they must...

This paper takes a closer look at the role of location advantages in the spatial distribution of MNE R&D activity. In doing so, we have returned to first principles by revisiting our understanding of L and O advantages and their interaction. We revisit the meaning of L advantages, and offer a succinct differentiation of L advantages. We emphasise t...

This paper takes a look at the research on Emerging country multinational enterprises (EMNEs) over the last 25 years, and argues that growth in EMNE activity over the last 10 years continues to be dominated by Asian Newly Industrialised Countries (NICs), and to a lesser extent by Brazil, Russia, India and China (the BRICS). Instead of focusing on t...

This article summarises recent revisions to the investment development path(IDP) as postulated by Narula and Dunning (2010). The IDP provides a framework to understand the dynamic interaction between foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic development. The revisions take into account some recent changes in the global economic environment. This...

This paper considers how economic globalization has affected opportunities and challenges for developing countries in following a multinational enterprise (MNE)-assisted development strategy, revisiting an earlier article by the authors. The growing share of industrial activity owned and/or controlled by MNEs has not—by and large—led to a proportio...

The eclectic paradigm as developed by Dunning evolved in response to the changing IB milieu. I argue that this continual expansion threatens to make the paradigm tautological, without an honest “gatekeeper.” Continual expansion to address new lacunae begins to have decreasing returns, either because the gatekeeper cannot expect to have the speciali...

There is a growing international dispersion of R&D activities by MNEs for the purposes of maintaining and augmenting their knowledge assets. Firms need to tap into alternative knowledge sources , as home countries are rarely able to meet all their technological needs. However, accessing to foreign knowledge implies integration with the host country...

This paper investigates empirically the importance of technological catch-up in explaining productivity growth in a sample of countries since the 1960s. New proxies for a country's absorptive capability--based on data for students studying abroad, telecommunications and publications--are tested in regression models. The results indicate that absorp...