This article describes the origins, and traces the subsequent evolution of the eclectic paradigm from the mid-1950s to the present day. It does so in the light of the changing characteristics of MNE activity and of the global economic scenario. The article concludes by asserting that the eclectic paradigm still remains a powerful and robust framework for examining contextual specific theories of foreign direct investment and international production.

The Eclectic (OLI) Paradigm of International Production: Past, Present and Future

List of Figures. List of Tables. Contributors and Editors. Acknowledgments. Introduction. Part I: Origin and Process. 1. Emerging Issue in Strategy Process Research (Gregory G. Dess and G.T. Lumpkin). 2. Strategic Decision-Making (Paul C. Nutt). 3. Strategy Formulation: The Roles of Conversation and Design (Jeanne M. Liedtka). Part II: Theoretical Foundations. 4. Strategic Flexibility in the Old and New Economies (Kathryn Rudie Harrigan). 5. The Resource-based View: Origins and Implications (jay B. Barney and Asli M. Arikan). 6. A Stakeholder Approach to Strategic Management (R. Edward Freeman and John McVea). 7. Towards a Positive Interpretation of Transaction Cost Theory: The Central Roles of Entrepreneurship and Trust (Gareth R. Jones). 8. A Strategic Management Model of Agency Relationships in Firm Governance (Michael H. Lubatkin, Peter J. Lane and William S. Schulze). 9. Risk in Strategic Management Research (Philip Bromiley, Kent D. Miller and Devaki Rau). 10. Corporate Reputations as Economic Assets (Charles J. Fombrun). Part III: Strategy Types. 11. Competitive Dynamics Research: Critique and Future Directions (Ken G. Smith, Walter J. Ferrier and Hermann Ndofor). 12. Diversification Strategy Research at a Crossroads: Established, Emerging and Anticipated Paths (Donald D. Bergh). 13. Mergers and Acquisitions: A Value Creating or Value Destroying Strategy (Michael A. Hitt, R. Duane Irland and Jeffrey S. Harrison). 14. Strategic Alliances (Andrew C. Inkpen). 15. Restructuring Strategies of Diversified Business Groups: Differences Associated with Country Institutional Environments (Robert E. Hoskisson, Richard A. Johnson, Daphne Yiu and William P. Wan). 16. Global Strategic Management (Stephen Tallman). Part IV: Human Factors. 17. On Strategic Judgment (Richard L. Priem and Cynthia S. Cycyota). 18. Organizational Strucutr5e: Looking Through a Strategy Lens (Barbara Keats and Hugh M. O'Neill). 19. Corporate Governance (Sayan Chatterjee and Jeffrey S. Harrison). 20. Corporate Strategy and Ethics, as Corporate Strategy Comes of Age (Daniel R. Gilert , Jr.). 21. Business and Public Policy: Competing in the Political Marketplace (Gerald Keim). 22. Implementing Strategy: An Appraisal and Agenda for Future Research (Lawrence G. Hrebiniak and William F. Joyce). 23. Human Resources Strategy: The Era of our Ways (Scott A. Snell, Mark A. Shadur and Patrick M. Wright). 24. Strategy and Entrepreneurship Outlines of an Untold Story (S. Venkataraman and Saras D. Sarasvathy). Part V: Teaching Methods. 25. The Strategic Management Course: Tools and Techniques for Successful Teaching (Idalene F. Kesner). Index.

The Blackwell handbook of strategic management

This paper reviews the progress of the research agenda initiated by The Future of the Multinational Enterprise (1976). Focusing initially on the problem of explaining the existence of the multinational enterprise, the agenda soon broadened to encompass the analysis of alternative modes of foreign market entry, the role of international joint ventures, the impact of innovation on corporate growth, and the role of culture in international business. The core philosophy – based on the Coasian nature of the firm and on rational action modelling – has remained constant, while the widening range of applications has encouraged synthesis with theories developed in other fields of research. Success in answering any one question invariably generates new questions, which must in turn be answered through a further extension of the theory, and this dynamic continues to drive the development of the theory today. Internalisation theory has retained its validity and its vitality over the past 30 years, and is currently being extended into new fields of international business research.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2Fjibs.2009.49.pdf

The internalisation theory of the multinational enterprise: A review of the progress of a research agenda after 30 years

This paper presents a review of nine theoretical models of foreign direct investment (FDI). Discussed are early studies of determinants of FDI (1) as well as determinants of FDI based on the neoclassical trade theory (2), ownership advantages (3), aggregate variables (4), the ownership, location and internalization advantage framework (5), horizontal and vertical FDI models (6), the knowledge-capital model (7), diversified FDI and risk diversification models (8) and policy variables (9). From each of the nine theories, the relevant determinants of FDI are derived. Empirical studies indicate the importance of these determinants in the real world. The paper shows that there is not one single theory of FDI, but a variety of theoretical models attempting to explain FDI and the location decision of multinational firms. Therefore, any analysis of determinants of FDI should not be based on a single theoretical model. Instead, FDI should be explained more broadly by a combination of factors from a variety of theoretical models such as ownership advantages or agglomeration economics, market size and characteristics, cost factors, transport costs, protection, risk factors and policy variables.

H.C. Eastman

Papers

The Multinational firm and the nation state