International Business: Geographic Aspects

This article provides an overview of the evolution of understanding multinational enterprise (MNE) activities. Between World War II and the late 1990s, there was a major focus on understanding foreign direct investment (FDI) by MNEs. In the past 20 years, recognition of commodity chains, value chains, and production networks at the global scale has prompted researchers to develop new frameworks to incorporate the complexity of MNE operations spanning many countries and industries. This article explicitly recognizes geography as a key factor (e.g., location determinants, local impact, role of policy).