Taking two to tango: A comparative nationalism view of cross-border acquisitions

Nationalism is an important yet underexplored issue in the international business strategy literature. As a new reality, the resurgence and augmentation of nationalism in recent decades has brought disruption effects that challenge traditional arguments on the international expansion of multinational enterprises (MNEs). We suggest that nationalism is not merely about one’s own national interest but should be extended to consider the mutual forces from home and host countries in international business (IB) research. This study proposes a comparative nationalism view to investigate the impacts of various types of intercountry nationalism on MNEs’ expansion through cross-border acquisitions. Through scenario analysis, the MNEs’ expansion trajectories are characterized by different degrees of comparative nationalism, including incremental expansion, deceleration, leapfrogging, and divestment strategies. Our findings and propositions create a new vision for cross-border research considering the interacting effect of national sentiments. We also discuss promising future research agendas enabling further exploration of this topic.