Emerging economy multinationals and the politics of internationalization

The resurgence of politics is manifest at multiple institutional levels, including firms, states, and supranational organizations. National governments have become less intent on integrating with other economies and international regimes and devise policies to better promote their own interests, e.g. through protectionist measures and subsidies. Abroad, governments mobilize representations, diplomacy and debt, to provide support of commercial goals. More heavy-handed national regulation and incentives in home and host countries affects flows of goods, capital, people and information through both push and pull effects. Hence, the global economy has become more adversarial and shifted from a more rule-based and transparent environment towards one that is more transactional and opaque. 

The international competitiveness of national firms is more and more becoming a government rather than just a private concern, in particular of course where state-owned companies are involved. MNEs adjust their strategies to better deal with the new and more volatile political and regulatory environment and attendant risks and uncertainties. Firms are also increasingly engaging in and formalizing political activities through lobbyism, political advocacy, CSR and other nonmarket strategies. Such activities typically assume alternating significance over the lifecycle of an international investment and recent evidence suggests that MNEs holistically assess the entire lifecycle when making FDI decisions as well as different levels of the political environment. 

Track Program

This theme is interlinked with the Call for Papers in a special issue of the International Business Review.

The best papers submitted to the track «Emerging economy multinationals and the politics of internationalization» will be recommended for the fast-track review in the International Journal of Emerging Markets.

The track invites competitive papers addressing the following questions: 

• How and with which outcomes do home governments support the internationalization of EMNEs, both domestically and abroad? 
• What are the roles of diplomacy and soft power in EMNE internationalization? 
• How do dynamics between different levels of government in home countries, e.g. central vs regional, affect EMNE internationalization? 
• How and with which effects do host governments seek to capture the opportunities and mitigate the risks from the increasing presence and strengths of EMNEs? 
• Which non-market strategies do EMNEs deploy to mobilize the support of or to mitigate the adverse effects of governments in home and host countries? 
• How and to which extent do EMNEs respond to political changes in host countries’ institutional and governmental system in their corporate political activity? 
• How do protectionist measures and increasing regulatory scrutiny in host economies influence international strategies and supply chain organization of EMNEs? 
• How do EMNEs manage increasing political risk and regulatory uncertainty