The future of the theory of the multinational enterprise

Casson, M. (2026) The future of the theory of the multinational enterprise. International Business Review, 35 (4). 102603. ISSN 1873-6149 doi: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2026.102603

Abstract/Summary

In the 1970s International business (IB) studies was heavily influenced by economic concepts and ideas, notably internalization and monopolistic advantage. The impact of economic ideas is less evident today. This paper sets out a strategy for re-integrating economics into IB. It proposes a novel synthesis of (1) economic theories of entrepreneurship and (2) linear programming – a mathematical technique, used in economics, that optimises the use of scarce resources. The global economy is segmented by nationality, language, culture, climate and other factors. Entrepreneurs link producer segments to consumption segments. They buy cheap from producers and sell dear to consumers, profiting from the price differential between them. Competition between rival linkages controlled by different entrepreneurs determines retail prices, wholesale prices, exports, imports, domestic production, domestic consumption and the profitability of rival firms. Entrepreneurs integrate forward into marketing and backwards into production and thereby establishes a global network of multinational firms.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/130790
Identification Number/DOI	10.1016/j.ibusrev.2026.102603
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Politics, Economics and International Relations > Economics
Publisher	Elsevier
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