Emerging multinationals, emerging theory : macro- and micro-level perspectives

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed an unprecedented rise in FDI from emerging economies. From a relatively minuscule amount in 1990, outward FDI flows from emerging economies reached more than $350 billion in 2008 (UNCTAD, 2009). Though multinational corporations (MNCs) from the largest or most affluent emerging economies have led the pack (e.g. China, Russia, Brazil and India), the phenomenon is fairly widespread, with firms from countries such as Mexico, Chile, Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey and many others also being ever more active overseas. Generally speaking, it is increasingly recognized, both by practitioners ([Sirkin et al., 2008a], [Sirkin et al., 2008b] and [Van Agtmael, 2007]) as well as academics (Ramamurti and Singh, 2008 In: Ravi Ramamurti and Jitendra V. Singh, Editors, Emerging Multinationals from Emerging Markets, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2008).[Ramamurti and Singh, 2008], [Gammeltoft, 2008] and [Luo and Tung, 2007]) that a surge of MNC activity from what is traditionally considered the periphery of global commerce is reshaping the structure of international business. Indeed, the positive connotations of the term ‘emerging multinational’ mirror the increasingly positive assessment of their contribution to the global economy.