Towards a renaissance in international business research? Big questions, grand challenges, and the future of IB scholarship

Abstract

In this article, we review critiques of international business (IB) research with a focus on whether IB scholarship tackles "big questions." We identify three major areas where IB scholars have addressed important global phenomena, but find that they have had little influence outside of IB, and only limited effects on business or government policy. We propose a redirection of IB research toward "grand challenges" in global business and the use of interdisciplinary research methods, multi-level approaches, and phenomena-driven perspectives to address those questions. We argue that IB can play a more constructive and vital role by tackling expansive topics at the business-societal interface.

Multinationals and sustainable development: Does internationalization develop corporate sustainability of emerging market multinationals?

“…Focusing on an important emerging economy, this extends previous literature on internationalization and social issues into the emerging market context and CS. Considering the growing importance of EMNEs to the world economy and sustainable development (Buckley, Doh, & Benischke, 2017;Marano et al, 2017;Rathert, 2016), this study provides timely and important theoretical arguments and empirical evidence regarding the main driver of EMNEs' engagement in CS (i.e. internationalization).…”

Corporate name change: Investigating South African multinational corporations' postacquisition performance

“…One of the grand challenges in the international business research resides in the microprocesses by which EMNC managers deploy and leverage the unique resources (Buckley, Doh, & Benischke, ). Our study contributes to work in this area by considering the South African EMNCs' integration strategy after conducting CBAs.…”

Footnotes on JIBS 1970–2016

“…Buckley, Doh, and Benischke (2017) have recently criticized this trend, because of a suggested absence of attention to societal 'grand challenges'. The perceived need for a more dedicated focus on the macro-level has also led the Academy of International Business (AIB) to create a new publication outlet, namely the Journal of International Business Policy.…”