The Use of the Multinational Corporation as a Research Context

Abstract

The multinational corporation (MNC) has been increasingly used as a context for conceptual and empirical work. Based on a review of several leading management journals, we identify three main purposes for which the MNC has been employed: (1) study of MNC-specific phenomena; (2) validation and expansion of existing theories; and (3) development of new theories. We suggest that the latter purpose represents the highest potential contribution of MNC research, yet it is the least utilized so far. We then offer ideas of how to increase the contribution of MNC research through capturing the conceptual distinctiveness of the context, examining the theoretical paradoxes inherent in these organizations, and theorizing about novel combinative phenomena emerging in this context.