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1.1.EvolutionofIBasafieldofstudyintheageofglobalisation
Competitiveness
Competitivenesssoonbecameanimperativeoftheglobalmarket.Plansfor
buildingandmaintainingcompetitiveadvantagewereformulatedatalllevels:
nationaleconomies,sectors,companiesandindividualorganisationalunits.Of
themanytheoreticalconstructsofcompetitiveadvantageformulatedatthat
time,themostwidelyrecognisedistheso-calledPorterdiamondmodel[Porter
1990].3
Professionalliteratureemphasisesthenotionthatthemostpotentattribute
ofinternationalbusinessistheabilitytoskilfullyadopttheoreticalconceptsto
explainthechangesthatoccurintherealeconomy.
Inthe21stcentury,researchersfacedanewdilemma:arethereany
fundamentalempiricalissues(bigquestions)thatneedtobeaddressedon
atheoreticalbasis,orwoulditbemorepracticaltoconcentrateonexplaining
anddocumentingtheexistingtheoreticalknowledgeinthecontextoftherapid
changesgeneratedbytheongoingglobalisationprocesses[Buckley2002,
p.371].
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1.1.4.NewresearchproblemsinthefieldofInternationalBusiness
challengesforthe21stcentury
BasedonaliteraturestudyofarticlespublishedintheJournalof
InternationalBusinessStudies(JIBS)between2000and2015devotedtothe
futureprospectsinthedevelopmentofIB,itmaybeconcludedthattheneedto
definenewresearchperspectivesinthisareaisbeingvoicedbothbyexperienced
researchersandpioneersinthefield.
ChallengesforIBdisciplineinthe21stcentury
Buckley,ShenkarandothersarguethattheplanforIBdevelopmentshould
notconcentratesolelyonTNCs,sinceitwouldresultinthedrasticlimitation
ofresearchscopeandinterest.ShenkarsuggestsmakinggooduseofIB’s
inherentabilitytoincorporateandinterpretvariousphenomenaofpolitical,
socialorhistoricalcharacter(inthiscontext,explainingthepotentialofeconomic
orstrategicapproachesisfairlylimited).Theaboveproposalisanappealto
supplementIBwithstudiesofphenomenahithertoneglected,suchasthe
nationaldeterminantsofmanagerialstyleortheuseofmodernanthropological
observations[Shenkar2004].
Nowakowskinotestheprevalenceofstudiesontransnationalcorporations
intheUSapproachtoIB[Nowakowski(ed.)2005,p.34]andcomparesitwith
theEuropeanperspectivecharacterisedbyanamplerepresentationofsmall
3Aconceptwidelycriticizedandsubjecttonumerousmodifications(e.g.[Rugman,D’Cruz
1993;Dunning1997]).