Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

International Business Policy: A Primer

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The New Frontiers of International Business

Part of the book series: Contributions to Management Science ((MANAGEMENT SC.))

Abstract

Despite a large academic interest in the topic of international business policy in recent years, there remains substantial ambiguity about its meaning. In this chapter, we define international business policy as the mix of actions that a public authority takes to shape international business with the goal of addressing societal challenges. We use this definition to delineate the field of international business policy and to demonstrate its distinctive characteristics. We discuss the central role that traditional international business research can play in the development of new studies on international business policy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ambos, B., Brandl, K., Perri, A., Scalera, V. G., & Van Assche, A. (2021). The nature of innovation in global value chains. Journal of World Business, 56(4), 101221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Autor, D. H., Dorn, D., & Hanson, G. H. (2013). The China syndrome: Local labor market effects of import competition in the United States. American Economic Review, 103(6), 2121–2168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Autor, D. H., Dorn, D., Hanson, G. H., & Song, J. (2014). Trade adjustment: Worker-level evidence. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 129(4), 1799–1860.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Autor, D. H., Dorn, D., & Hanson, G. H. (2016). The China shock: Learning from labor-market adjustment to large changes in trade. Annual Review of Economics, 8, 205–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bown, C. P. (2020). How the United States marched the semiconductor industry into its trade war with China. East Asian Economic Review, 24(4), 349–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bown, C. P., & Irwin, D. A. (2019). Trump’s assault on the global trading system: And why decoupling from China will change everything. Foreign Affairs, 98, 125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bu, M., & Wagner, M. (2016). Racing to the bottom and racing to the top: The crucial role of firm characteristics in foreign direct investment choices. Journal of International Business Studies, 47(9), 1032–1057.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchholz, M., Bathelt, H., & Cantwell, J. A. (2020). Income divergence and global connectivity of US urban regions. Journal of International Business Policy, 3(3), 229–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckley, P. J., Doh, J. P., & Benischke, M. H. (2017). Towards a renaissance in international business research? Big questions, grand challenges, and the future of IB scholarship. Journal of International Business Studies, 48(9), 1045–1064.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cano-Kollmann, M., Cantwell, J., Hannigan, T. J., Mudambi, R., & Song, J. (2016). Knowledge connectivity: An agenda for innovation research in international business. Journal of International Business Studies, 47(3), 255–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casadei, P., & Iammarino, S. (2021). Trade policy shocks in the UK textile and apparel value chain: Firm perceptions of Brexit uncertainty. Journal of International Business Policy, 4(2), 262–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clegg, J. (2019). From the editor: International business policy: What it is, and what it is not. Journal of International Business Policy, 2(2), 111–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuervo-Cazurra, A. (2018). Thanks but no thanks: State-owned multinationals from emerging markets and host-country policies. Journal of International Business Policy, 1(3), 128–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuervo-Cazurra, A., Inkpen, A., Musacchio, A., & Ramaswamy, K. (2014). Governments as owners: State-owned multinational companies. Journal of International Business Studies, 45(8), 919–942.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dallas, M. P., Horner, R., & Li, L. (2021). The mutual constraints of states and global value chains during COVID-19: The case of personal protective equipment. World Development, 139, 105324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeLeon, P. (2006). The historical roots of the field. In The Oxford handbook of public policy.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeTombe, D. J. (2002). Complex societal problems in operational research. European Journal of Operational Research, 140(2), 232–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Didier, T., & Pinat, M. (2017). The nature of trade and growth linkages. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, (8168).

    Google Scholar 

  • Doh, J. P. (2005). Offshore outsourcing: Implications for international business and strategic management theory and practice. Journal of Management Studies, 42(3), 695–704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eden, L., & Wagstaff, M. F. (2021). Evidence-based policymaking and the wicked problem of SDG 5 gender equality. Journal of International Business Policy, 4(1), 28–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evenett, S., Hoekman, B, Rocha, N., & Ruta, M. (2021). The Covid-19 vaccine production Club: Will value chains temper nationalism? World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 9565.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evenett, S. J. (2019). Protectionism, state discrimination, and international business since the onset of the global financial crisis. Journal of International Business Policy, 2(1), 9–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evenett, S. J. (2020). Chinese whispers: COVID-19, global supply chains in essential goods, and public policy. Journal of International Business Policy, 3(4), 408–429.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • George, G., Howard-Grenville, J., Joshi, A., & Tihanyi, L. (2016). Understanding and tackling societal grand challenges through management research. Academy of Management Journal, 59(6), 1880–1895.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gereffi, G. (2019). Global value chains and international development policy: Bringing firms, networks and policy-engaged scholarship back in. Journal of International Business Policy, 2(3), 195–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gereffi, G. (2020). What does the COVID-19 pandemic teach us about global value chains? The case of medical supplies. Journal of International Business Policy, 3(3), 287–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gereffi, G., Humphrey, J., & Sturgeon, T. (2005). The governance of global value chains. Review of International Political Economy, 12(1), 78–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gereffi, G., Lim, H. C., & Lee, J. (2021). Trade policies, firm strategies, and adaptive reconfigurations of global value chains. Journal of International Business Policy, 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goerzen, A., Iskander, S. P., & Hofstetter, J. (2021). The effect of institutional pressures on business-led interventions to improve social compliance among emerging market suppliers in global value chains. Journal of International Business Policy, 4(3), 347–367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, G. M., & Helpman, E. (2018). Growth, trade, and inequality. Econometrica, 86(1), 37–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horner, R. (2017). Beyond facilitator? State roles in global value chains and global production networks. Geography Compass, 11(2), e12307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaax, A., & Miroudot, S. (2021). Capturing value in GVCs through intangible assets: The role of the trade–investment–intellectual property nexus. Journal of International Business Policy, 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knill, C., & Tosun, J. (2020). Public policy: A new introduction. Red Globe Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kobrin, S. J. (1987). Testing the bargaining hypothesis in the manufacturing sector in developing countries. International Organization, 41(4), 609–638.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kobrin, S. J. (2020). How globalization became a thing that goes bump in the night. Journal of International Business Policy, 3(3), 280–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolk, A., Rivera-Santos, M., & Rufín, C. (2018). Multinationals, international business, and poverty: A cross-disciplinary research overview and conceptual framework. Journal of International Business Policy, 1(1), 92–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, J., Van Assche, A., Li, L., & Qian, G. (2021). Foreign direct investment along the belt and road: A political economy perspective. Journal of International Business Studies, 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Locke, R., Amengual, M., & Mangla, A. (2009). Virtue out of necessity? Compliance, commitment, and the improvement of labor conditions in global supply chains. Politics and Society, 37(3), 319–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenzen, M., Mudambi, R., & Schotter, A. (2020). International connectedness and local disconnectedness: MNE strategy, city-regions and disruption. Journal of International Business Studies, 51(8), 1199–1222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lundan, S., & Assche, A. (2021). From the editors: Reflections on the nexus of complementarity between international business research and the policy practitioner community. Journal of International Business Policy, 4(2), 201–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lundan, S. M. (2018). From the editor: Engaging international business scholars with public policy issues.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miroudot, S. (2020). Reshaping the policy debate on the implications of COVID-19 for global supply chains. Journal of International Business Policy, 3(4), 430–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moons, S. J., & van Bergeijk, P. A. (2017). Does economic diplomacy work? A meta-analysis of its impact on trade and investment. The World Economy, 40(2), 336–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patala, S., Juntunen, J. K., Lundan, S., & Ritvala, T. (2021). Multinational energy utilities in the energy transition: A configurational study of the drivers of FDI in renewables. Journal of International Business Studies, 52(5), 930–950.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pietrobelli, C., Rabellotti, R., & Van Assche, A. (2021). Making sense of global value chain-oriented policies: The trifecta of tasks, linkages, and firms. Journal of International Business Policy., 4(3).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramamurti, R. (2001). The obsolescing ‘bargaining model’? MNC-host developing country relations revisited. Journal of International Business Studies, 32(1), 23–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodrik, D. (2018). Populism and the economics of globalization. Journal of international business policy, 1(1), 12–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodrik, D. (2020). Putting global governance in its place. The World Bank Research Observer, 35(1), 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossi, A. (2019). Applying the GVC framework to policy: The ILO experience. Journal of International Business Policy, 2(3), 211–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruger, J. P., & Yach, D. (2009). The global role of the World Health Organization. Global Health Governance, 2(2), 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sauvant, K. P. (2021). Improving the distribution of FDI benefits: The need for policy-oriented research, advice, and advocacy. Journal of International Business Policy, 4(2), 244–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scherer, A. G., & Palazzo, G. (2011). The new political role of business in a globalized world: A review of a new perspective on CSR and its implications for the firm, governance, and democracy. Journal of Management Studies, 48(4), 899–931.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singhania, M., & Saini, N. (2021). Demystifying pollution haven hypothesis: Role of FDI. Journal of Business Research, 123, 516–528.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, K. B., & Larimer, C. W. (2018). The public policy theory primer. Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tavares-Lehmann, A. T., Toledano, P., Johnson, L., & Sachs, L. (Eds.). (2016). Rethinking investment incentives: Trends and policy options. Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Timmer, M. P., Miroudot, S., & de Vries, G. J. (2019). Functional specialisation in trade. Journal of Economic Geography, 19(1), 1–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ting, A., & Gray, S. J. (2019). The rise of the digital economy: Rethinking the taxation of multinational enterprises. Journal of International Business Studies, 50(9), 1656–1667.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turkina, E., & Van Assche, A. (2018). Global connectedness and local innovation in industrial clusters. Journal of International Business Studies, 49(6), 706–728.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Assche, A. (2018). From the editor: Steering a policy turn in international business–opportunities and challenges.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Assche, A. (2020). Trade, investment and intangibles: The ABCs of global value chain-oriented policies (No. 242). OECD Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Assche, A., & Gangnes, B. (2019a). Global value chains and the fragmentation of trade policy coalitions. Transnational Corporations Journal, 26(1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Assche, A., & Gangnes, B. (2019b). Production switching and vulnerability to protectionism. In International business in a VUCA world: The changing role of states and firms. Emerald Publishing Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Assche, A., & Lundan, S. (2020). From the editor: COVID-19 and international business policy. Journal of International Business Policy, 3(3), 273–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Tulder, R., Rodrigues, S. B., Mirza, H., & Sexsmith, K. (2021). The UN’s sustainable development goals: Can multinational enterprises lead the decade of action?

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Zanten, J. A., & Van Tulder, R. (2018). Multinational enterprises and the sustainable development goals: An institutional approach to corporate engagement. Journal of International Business Policy, 1(3), 208–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vernon, R. (1971). Sovereignty at bay (pp. 44–59). Pelican.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wettstein, F., Giuliani, E., Santangelo, G. D., & Stahl, G. K. (2019). International business and human rights: A research agenda. Journal of World Business, 54(1), 54–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhan, J. X. (2021). GVC transformation and a new investment landscape in the 2020s: Driving forces, directions, and a forward-looking research and policy agenda. Journal of International Business Policy, 4(2), 206–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, S., Gooderham, P., Papanastassiou, M., & Harzing, A. W. (2021). Guest editorial [Special Issue: Do multinational enterprise contribute to, or reduce global inequality?]. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 17(1), 1–7.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. HEC Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Ari Van Assche

Authors
  1. Ari Van Assche
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ari Van Assche .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. St. Petersburg campus, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL, USA

    Hemant Merchant

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Van Assche, A. (2022). International Business Policy: A Primer. In: Merchant, H. (eds) The New Frontiers of International Business. Contributions to Management Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06003-8_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation