Table 1. Summary of future pathways... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1.

Summary of future pathways

Future pathway for IB research	Critical IB moves	What this adds to existing IB research	Illustrative focus from the viewpoint	Possible critical IB research questions
1. Extend existing IB theories by bringing in the politicisation processes	Move from studying how MNEs adapt to politicised environments to analysing how such environments are produced, stabilised and transmitted	Builds on political risk, institutional distance, CPA and nonmarket strategy research but places greater emphasis on political framing, public legitimation, symbolic action and diffusion across networks	Tariffs are not only economic instruments, but symbolic acts that reframe globalisation and MNE legitimacy. MNEs may respond through discursive contestation, business diplomacy and geopolitical contagion across home and host countries	How are political risks discursively constructed? How do MNEs contribute to the production and diffusion of politicised environments? How do tariffs, sanctions or investment restrictions become legitimised as sovereignty claims?
2. Refine and contextualise core IB constructs under politicised conditions	Recalibrate established IB concepts in light of economic nationalism, geopolitical rivalry and ideological contestation	Shows that concepts such as institutional theory, OLI, liability of foreignness and CPA remain useful; however, their mechanisms change when politics becomes more explicit and polarised	Trumpism challenges assumptions about institutional convergence, market efficiency and the separability of economic activity from political ideology. CPA also needs more differentiation between lobbying for policy change and shaping interpretive environments	How does politicisation alter the liability of foreignness? How does CPA differ when firms seek not only policy outcomes but also legitimacy outcomes? How should institutional theory account for ideological divergence rather than convergence?
3. Engage political theory and political sociology more systematically	Move beyond instrumental accounts of firm strategy to examine the democratic, normative and societal role of MNEs	Extends IB beyond risk management and strategic adaptation; Asks critical questions, when corporate participation in the public sphere strengthens democratic ideals and when it displaces or undermines them	MNEs may not only manage political risk but also stabilise polarising narratives. Business diplomacy, symbolic politics and foreignness become linked to domination, exclusion and the erosion of rule-based order	What is the role of MNEs in democratic societies? When does corporate political activity support or undermine democratic ideals? How do MNEs benefit from or resist the erosion of the rule-based international order?

Future pathway for IB research	Critical IB moves	What this adds to existing IB research	Illustrative focus from the viewpoint	Possible critical IB research questions
1. Extend existing IB theories by bringing in the politicisation processes	Move from studying how MNEs adapt to politicised environments to analysing how such environments are produced, stabilised and transmitted	Builds on political risk, institutional distance, CPA and nonmarket strategy research but places greater emphasis on political framing, public legitimation, symbolic action and diffusion across networks	Tariffs are not only economic instruments, but symbolic acts that reframe globalisation and MNE legitimacy. MNEs may respond through discursive contestation, business diplomacy and geopolitical contagion across home and host countries	How are political risks discursively constructed? How do MNEs contribute to the production and diffusion of politicised environments? How do tariffs, sanctions or investment restrictions become legitimised as sovereignty claims?
2. Refine and contextualise core IB constructs under politicised conditions	Recalibrate established IB concepts in light of economic nationalism, geopolitical rivalry and ideological contestation	Shows that concepts such as institutional theory, OLI, liability of foreignness and CPA remain useful; however, their mechanisms change when politics becomes more explicit and polarised	Trumpism challenges assumptions about institutional convergence, market efficiency and the separability of economic activity from political ideology. CPA also needs more differentiation between lobbying for policy change and shaping interpretive environments	How does politicisation alter the liability of foreignness? How does CPA differ when firms seek not only policy outcomes but also legitimacy outcomes? How should institutional theory account for ideological divergence rather than convergence?
3. Engage political theory and political sociology more systematically	Move beyond instrumental accounts of firm strategy to examine the democratic, normative and societal role of MNEs	Extends IB beyond risk management and strategic adaptation; Asks critical questions, when corporate participation in the public sphere strengthens democratic ideals and when it displaces or undermines them	MNEs may not only manage political risk but also stabilise polarising narratives. Business diplomacy, symbolic politics and foreignness become linked to domination, exclusion and the erosion of rule-based order	What is the role of MNEs in democratic societies? When does corporate political activity support or undermine democratic ideals? How do MNEs benefit from or resist the erosion of the rule-based international order?