Competitive Advantage and the Existence of the Multinational Corporation: Earlier Research and the Role of Frictions

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

    Abstract

    This article provides a counterpoint to Hashai and Buckley's article ‘Is competitive advantage a necessary condition for the emergence of the multinational enterprise?’ We agree with their conclusion that it is, in fact, not a necessary condition, but argue that the theoretical reasons behind this are different and more diverse than the ones they propose. We suggest that much extant economic theory is, in fact, consistent with their view that firms may internationalize without owning or achieving competitive advantages, and we model various other ways in which imperfections can drive their overall result. We strongly applaud Hashai and Buckley's attempt to add more rigor to international business theory and call for future work to extend this debate.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalGlobal Strategy Journal
    Volume4
    Issue number1
    Pages (from-to)49-54
    ISSN2042-5791
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Feb 2014

    Cite this