Purpose – This commentary aims to discuss methodological issues and practical concerns of international business scholars who apply the gravity equation in their research. Design/methodology/approach – The paper summarizes and compares theories and several advanced empirical specifications...

Purpose The aim of this paper first is to go beyond the static effects of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and empirically estimate the marginal effects of the stock of BITs on foreign direct investment flows. Design/methodology/approach These statistical models use a gravity equation....

We examine the roles of major trade languages in international trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. Empirical results confirm that speaking a common language increases trade and FDI flows, yet the effect of major languages is more substantial in FDI than in international trade. In...

There is an increasing awareness in international business that institutional factors need to be better incorporated into the understanding of international investments decisions of multinational companies. This applies equally to outward foreign direct investment by emerging economy firms. The...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine two prominent perspectives on business group functioning, institutional void (IV) and entrenchment/exploitation (EE), that make different predictions about the effect of business group (BG) on the economy. The authors examine the effects of BG...