Internationalization of Emerging-Market Multinationals

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the internationalization of emerging-market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) to clarify past contributions and outline suggestions for future research. We critically review the novelty of the phenomenon associated with the foreign expansion of firms from emerging markets, the new theoretical concepts introduced from analyzing these firms, and the new explanations related to their internationalization. We propose that future research can advance our understanding of these firms by studying how the underdevelopment of the home country’s economy and institutions influences firm internationalization. We specifically discuss four areas that can yield promising insights for internationalization research: frugal innovation, contractual innovation, upgrading escape, and institutional escape.