The Role of History in International Business: Evidence, Research Practices, Methods and Theory

This paper examines four aspects of the increasing role of history in international business – history as an underpinning for international business theory, history as evidence, history as a source of research practices and history as a source of research methods. International business has been successful in utilizing spatial comparisons. Theorists and empirical researchers can build on this by using temporal and counterfactual comparative analyses. A more critical approach to sources and attention to sequence and process is recommended. The conclusion suggests a research agenda making dynamics intrinsic to international business theory and empirics by focusing attention on the timing of key decisions.