We analyze how a firm's home country influences its internationalization. We propose two complementary types of influence. First, we conceptualize a firm's international trade as shaped by four drivers: comparative advantage, comparative disadvantage, country-of-origin advantage, and...

The authors argue that FDI by emerging-market firms in advanced economies is motivated not just by "pull" factors, such as the host country's large market or technical talent, but also by "push" factors, such as the home country's weak institutions and reputation. We explain the latter, which we...

We study how the country of origin of a firm influences its internationalization, analyzing emerging economy multinational companies (EMNCs) as a laboratory for extending theory. EMNCs have been observed to vary from advanced economy MNCs (AMNCs), suggesting that the home context is the critical...

We study how state ownership affects the international expansion of emerging-market firms. Building on agency theory and the resource-based view, we propose an S-curve relationship: Firms with a low level of state ownership have a limited level of international expansion, those with a medium...

We extend agency theory to propose that structural reform positively impacts firm profitability in developing countries because the improvements in external monitoring that accompany structural reform decrease the agency costs faced by firms. However, we also argue that not all firms benefit...

In this theoretical paper, I analyze business groups’ corporate social responsibility (CSR). Building on economic thinking, I propose that the level and diversity of CSR investments of business groups evolve with the development of the country, as a result of the interaction of two drivers:...

Africa is an increasingly important business context, yet we still know very little about it. We review the challenges and opportunities that firms in Africa face and propose that these can serve as the basis for extending current theories and models of the firm. We do so by challenging some of...

I study the impact of the internationalization of state-owned companies from emerging markets on host country government policy. Whereas the literature commonly recommends that host country governments design policies to attract foreign direct investment, governments instead question or block...

We review the literature analyzing the impact of pro-market institutions on firms' global strategy. We propose that the ideological tension between whether the government or the market should drive economic development results in a pendulum of pro-market reforms and reversals that drive changes...