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Theory and method in international business research

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  • Buckley, Peter J.
  • Chapman, Malcolm

Abstract

International business research represents an excellent testing ground for multidisciplinary research. Indeed, it has been considered as a test case for a unified social science approach. This paper (1) examines previous attempts to achieve interdisciplinarity in international business research, (2) confronts the key difficulties in achieving interdisciplinarity in this context, (3) traces the intellectual heritage of interdisciplinary approaches and (4) suggests ways forward. This paper goes on to examine research design and methods in order to achieve the goals thus delineated. Arguments are presented which advocate an approach which is comparative and longitudinal. The importance and types of comparator are examined (spatial comparators, historical comparators, counterfactual comparators) and the importance of the time dimension in management research is stressed. The third part of the paper examines one particular approach -- an attempt to combine economics and social anthropology in an analysis of the management of cooperative strategies. This focuses attention on research method and on the nature of the evidence in management research.

Suggested Citation

  • Buckley, Peter J. & Chapman, Malcolm, 1996. "Theory and method in international business research," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 233-245, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:5:y:1996:i:3:p:233-245
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Peter J. Buckley & Mark Casson, 2010. "Multinational Enterprises in Less Developed Countries: Cultural and Economic Interactions," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Multinational Enterprise Revisited, chapter 4, pages 68-95, Palgrave Macmillan.
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    Cited by:

    1. Treviño, Len J. & Mixon Jr., Franklin G. & Funk, Charles A. & Inkpen, Andrew C., 2010. "A perspective on the state of the field: International business publications in the elite journals as a measure of institutional and faculty productivity," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 378-387, August.
    2. Coviello, Nicole E. & Jones, Marian V., 2004. "Methodological issues in international entrepreneurship research," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 485-508, July.
    3. Harris, Simon, 2000. "Reconciling positive and interpretative international management research: a native category approach," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 9(6), pages 755-770, December.
    4. Manuel Aníbal Silva Portugal Vasconcelos Ferreira & Nuno Rosa Reis & Fernando A. Ribeiro Serra & Benny Kramer Costa, 2014. "Understanding the Footprint of the RBV in International Business Studies: the Last Twenty Years of Research," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 11(4), pages 53-83, August.
    5. Chabowski, Brian R. & Samiee, Saeed & Hult, G. Tomas M., 2017. "Cross-national research and international business: An interdisciplinary path," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 89-101.
    6. Paolo Fedele & Silvia Iacuzzi & Andrea Garlatti & Rubens Pauluzzo, 2022. "L?evoluzione delle forme della rendicontazione: il bilancio di missione nelle organizzazioni sindacali," ECONOMIA PUBBLICA, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2022(3), pages 349-372.
    7. Dominyka Venciute & Cen April Yue & Patrick D. Thelen, 2024. "Leaders' personal branding and communication on professional social media platforms: motivations, processes, and outcomes," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 31(1), pages 38-57, January.
    8. Fetscherin, Marc & Voss, Hinrich & Gugler, Philippe, 2010. "30 Years of foreign direct investment to China: An interdisciplinary literature review," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 235-246, June.
    9. Manuel Portugal Ferreira & Nuno Rosa Reis & Fernando Ribeiro Serra & Benny Kramer Costa, 2013. "Understanding the footprint of the RBV in International Business studies: The last twenty years of research," Working Papers 96, globADVANTAGE, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria.
    10. Fan, Di & Zhu, Cherrie Jiuhua & Nyland, Chris, 2012. "Factors affecting global integration of Chinese multinationals in Australia: A qualitative analysis," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 13-26.
    11. David S. A. Guttormsen & Fiona Moore, 2023. "‘Thinking About How We Think’: Using Bourdieu’s Epistemic Reflexivity to Reduce Bias in International Business Research," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 63(4), pages 531-559, August.
    12. Kübra Mert, 2020. "Türk Yazınında Uluslararası İşletmecilik: 1990-2019 Yıllarına Dair Bir İçerik Analizi," Istanbul Management Journal, Istanbul University Business School, vol. 0(89), pages 97-132, December.
    13. Dunning, John H., 2004. "The contribution of British scholarship to international business studies," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 257-279, April.
    14. Peter Buckley & Malcolm Chapman, 1998. "The Management of Cooperative Strategies in R&D and Innovation Programmes," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(3), pages 369-381.
    15. Rebecca VanMeter & Lawrence B. Chonko & Douglas B. Grisaffe & Emily A. Goad, 2016. "In search of clarity on servant leadership: domain specification and reconceptualization," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 6(1), pages 59-78, June.
    16. Valeska V. Geldres-Weiss & Nathaniel P. Massa & Joaquín Monreal-Pérez, 2021. "Export Promotion Agencies’ Lived Turmoil, Response and Strategies in COVID-19 Times," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-24, November.
    17. Manuel Portugal Ferreira & Fernando A. Ribeiro Serra & Benny Kramer Costa, 2011. "The RBV in International Business Studies: A bibliometric study of Barney?s (1991) contribution to the field," Working Papers 82, globADVANTAGE, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria.
    18. Zhan, Ge, 2013. "Statistical power in international business research: Study levels and data types," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 678-686.

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