Introduction: Impact of International Business: Challenges and Solutions for Policy and Practice

Abstract

Over the last several decades the international operations and activities of firms have evolved immeasurably in scale, scope, reach and form. In addition to, inter alia, the heightening of complex international interconnectivity between firms, institutions and economies at national and sub-national levels, new or nontraditional sources of international investment and trade, such as state-owned multinational enterprises (MNEs) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are becoming increasingly important. At the same time, the international community is confronted with a new set of challenges, the scale and complexity of which are virtually unprecedented, such as ongoing economic crisis with prolonged and lacklustre return to growth and profitability in the aftermath of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression; unsustainable economic and social developments; and heightened security threats. The impact of these challenges on firms, governments, international organisations and civil society, invites the research community to intensify its efforts to supply useful insights, answers and innovative ideas.