IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/worbus/v58y2023i6s1090951623000639.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Reconsidering, refashioning, and reconceptualizing research methodology in international business

Author

Listed:
  • Delios, Andrew
  • Welch, Catherine
  • Nielsen, Bo
  • Aguinis, Herman
  • Brewster, Chris

Abstract

We introduce this Journal of World Business special issue on methodological advances in international business (IB) research. Due to technological advances and the availability of bigger, deeper, and multi-level data, there is a need to reconsider, refashion, and reconceptualize IB research methodology. To do so, we discuss ethnography, multilevel modeling, textual analysis and multimodal data, visual methods, machine learning, accommodating multiplicity in qualitative research, and crowdsourcing. The future is bright for the field of IB because there are almost unlimited contributions that it can make to organizations and societies. But, to continue to do so, we must adapt and rethink our “research business model:” The way we think, conduct research, and report results to make meaningful contributions and impact both IB theory and practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Delios, Andrew & Welch, Catherine & Nielsen, Bo & Aguinis, Herman & Brewster, Chris, 2023. "Reconsidering, refashioning, and reconceptualizing research methodology in international business," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(6).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:worbus:v:58:y:2023:i:6:s1090951623000639
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jwb.2023.101488
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090951623000639
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jwb.2023.101488?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark F Peterson & Jean-Luc Arregle & Xavier Martin, 2012. "Multilevel models in international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(5), pages 451-457, June.
    2. Sanchez, Juan I. & Bonache, Jaime & Paz-Aparicio, Carmen & Oberty, Celia Zárraga, 2023. "Combining interpretivism and positivism in international business research: The example of the expatriate role," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(2).
    3. Nguyen, Duc Cuong & Tull, John, 2022. "Context and contextualization: The extended case method in qualitative international business research," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(5).
    4. Lindner, Thomas & Puck, Jonas & Doh, Jonathan, 2021. "Hierarchical modelling in international business research: Patterns, problems, and practical guidelines," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(4).
    5. Gary Knight & Agnieszka Chidlow & Dana Minbaeva, 2022. "Methodological fit for empirical research in international business: A contingency framework," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(1), pages 39-52, February.
    6. Mary Yoko Brannen & Mark F Peterson, 2009. "Merging without alienating: interventions promoting cross-cultural organizational integration and their limitations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 40(3), pages 468-489, April.
    7. Herman Aguinis & Donald Bergh & José F. Molina-Azorin, 2023. "Methodological challenges and insights for future international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 54(2), pages 219-232, March.
    8. Ramani, Ravi S. & Aguinis, Herman, 2023. "Using field and quasi experiments and text-based analysis to advance international business theory," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(5).
    9. Hoorani, Bareerah Hafeez & Plakoyiannaki, Emmanuella & Gibbert, Michael, 2023. "Understanding time in qualitative international business research: Towards four styles of temporal theorizing," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(1).
    10. Lorraine Eden & Bo Bernhard Nielsen, 2020. "Research methods in international business: The challenge of complexity," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(9), pages 1609-1620, December.
    11. Welch, Catherine & Piekkari, Rebecca, 2017. "How should we (not) judge the ‘quality’ of qualitative research? A re-assessment of current evaluative criteria in International Business," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(5), pages 714-725.
    12. Herman Aguinis & Kelly P. Gabriel, 2022. "International business studies: Are we really so uniquely complex?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(9), pages 2023-2036, December.
    13. Herman Aguinis & Wayne F. Cascio & Ravi S. Ramani, 2017. "Science’s reproducibility and replicability crisis: International business is not immune," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(6), pages 653-663, August.
    14. Wu, Tao & Delios, Andrew & Chen, Zhaowei & Wang, Xin, 2023. "Rethinking corruption in international business: An empirical review," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(2).
    15. Mahadevan, Jasmin & Moore, Fiona, 2023. "A framework for a more reflexive engagement with ethnography in International Business Studies," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(4).
    16. Lukoianove, Tatiana & Agarwal, James & Osiyevskyy, Oleksiy, 2022. "Modeling a country's political environment using dynamic factor analysis (DFA): A new methodology for IB research," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(5).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Andrews, Daniel S. & Fainshmidt, Stav & Cuervo-Cazurra, Alvaro, 2025. "The home country effect on between- and within-firm performance differences," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 60(1).
    2. Hu, Helen Haixia & Bryson, John & Beaverstock, Jonathanv, 2025. "Triple-loop springboarding and simulacrum enterprises: financialization and new forms of emerging economy educational international businesses," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 127307, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Kazuhiro Asakawa & Jeremy Clegg, 2024. "The changing faces of global cities and firms: a new perspective on firms’ location strategy," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 55(1), pages 37-49, February.
    4. Cong Cheng & Jian Dai, 2025. "Predicting Cross-border Merger and Acquisition Completion through CEO Characteristics: A Machine Learning Approach," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 65(1), pages 43-84, February.
    5. Miller, Stewart R. & Moore, Fiona & Eden, Lorraine, 2024. "Ethics and international business research: Considerations and best practices," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(1).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Miller, Stewart R. & Moore, Fiona & Eden, Lorraine, 2024. "Ethics and international business research: Considerations and best practices," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(1).
    2. Herman Aguinis & Donald Bergh & José F. Molina-Azorin, 2023. "Methodological challenges and insights for future international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 54(2), pages 219-232, March.
    3. Tsang, Eric W.K. & Colpan, Asli M., 2025. "Reconciling the tension between contextualization and generalization in qualitative international business research," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(2).
    4. Bas Bosma & Arjen Witteloostuijn, 2024. "Machine learning in international business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 55(6), pages 676-702, August.
    5. Bo Bernhard Nielsen & Catherine Welch & Agnieszka Chidlow & Stewart Robert Miller & Roberta Aguzzoli & Emma Gardner & Maria Karafyllia & Diletta Pegoraro, 2020. "Fifty years of methodological trends in JIBS: Why future IB research needs more triangulation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(9), pages 1478-1499, December.
    6. Nicole F. Richter & Sven Hauff & Christian M. Ringle & Siegfried P. Gudergan, 2022. "The Use of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling and Complementary Methods in International Management Research," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 449-470, August.
    7. Herman Aguinis & Ravi S Ramani & Wayne F Cascio, 2020. "Methodological practices in international business research: An after-action review of challenges and solutions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(9), pages 1593-1608, December.
    8. Nielsen, Bo Bernhard & Raswant, Arpit, 2018. "The selection, use, and reporting of control variables in international business research: A review and recommendations," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 958-968.
    9. Thomas Lindner & Jonas Puck & Alain Verbeke, 2022. "Beyond addressing multicollinearity: Robust quantitative analysis and machine learning in international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(7), pages 1307-1314, September.
    10. Preuss, Lutz & Vazquez-Brust, Diego & Yakovleva, Natalia & Foroughi, Hamid & Mutti, Diana, 2022. "When social movements close institutional voids: Triggers, processes, and consequences for multinational enterprises," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(1).
    11. Zhang, Jianhong & van Witteloostuijn, Arjen & Zhou, Chaohong & Zhou, Shengyang, 2024. "Cross-border acquisition completion by emerging market MNEs revisited: Inductive evidence from a machine learning analysis," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 59(2).
    12. Gyeongcheol Cho & Christopher Schlaegel & Heungsun Hwang & Younyoung Choi & Marko Sarstedt & Christian M. Ringle, 2022. "Integrated Generalized Structured Component Analysis: On the Use of Model Fit Criteria in International Management Research," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 62(4), pages 569-609, August.
    13. Herman Aguinis & Kelly P. Gabriel, 2022. "International business studies: Are we really so uniquely complex?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(9), pages 2023-2036, December.
    14. Magnani, Giovanna & Gioia, Denny, 2023. "Using the Gioia Methodology in international business and entrepreneurship research," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(2).
    15. Messner, Wolfgang, 2024. "Exploring multilevel data with deep learning and XAI: The effect of personal-care advertising spending on subjective happiness," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(1).
    16. Lutz Preuss & Diego Vazquez-Brust & Natalia Yakovleva & Hamid Foroughi & Diana Mutti, 2022. "When social movements close institutional voids: Triggers, processes, and consequences for multinational enterprises," Post-Print hal-04702917, HAL.
    17. Donald Bergh, 2021. "Research methods in international business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(6), pages 1225-1228, August.
    18. Lukoianove, Tatiana & Agarwal, James & Osiyevskyy, Oleksiy, 2022. "Modeling a country's political environment using dynamic factor analysis (DFA): A new methodology for IB research," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(5).
    19. Mary Yoko Brannen, 2022. "From a distance to up close and contextual: Moving beyond the inductive/deductive binary," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(1), pages 64-71, February.
    20. Jelena Cerar & Phillip C. Nell & B. Sebastian Reiche, 2021. "The declining share of primary data and the neglect of the individual level in international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(7), pages 1365-1374, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:worbus:v:58:y:2023:i:6:s1090951623000639. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620401/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.