Introduction

Abstract

The field of international business (IB) has recently arrived at a point in its development where its search for knowledge has focused on significant, seminal themes able to drive the advancement of the field forward. This call has been heralded in the literature. For example, the Journal of International Business Studies has recently published a series of articles where leading scholars have pondered the future development of international business as a scholarly discipline (e.g., Buckley, 2002; Buckley and Ghauri, 2004; Peng, 2004; Shenkar, 2004). Buckley (2002) argued that the field of international business may have run out of steam. He noted that to advance the field scholars need to identify the key factors in the global economy to be explained and then search out a tractable means of explication within a coherent theoretical framework. Peng (2004), responding to Buckley, identified notable areas that can be addressed to drive the IB agenda forward.