Home > Research > Publications & Outputs > Path dependence, MNCs and the internationalisat...
View graph of relations

Path dependence, MNCs and the internationalisation process: a relational approach

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>2003
<mark>Journal</mark>International Business Review
Issue number6
Volume12
Number of pages19
Pages (from-to)719-737
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

In the internationalisation literature the notion of path dependence has often been associated with gradualism in the evolution of a subsidiary in its host country. In this paper, we argue that path dependence cannot be exclusively associated with gradualism nor can the evolution of a particular subsidiary be explained solely by its embeddedness in its host environment. Instead, we propose that the internationalisation trajectory of units within a multinational corporation’s network comprises a trajectory in time and space involving multiple, overlapping networks. Gradualism and discontinuities in the evolution of the units of a multinational enterprise are the outcomes of relational mechanisms interacting across different temporal and geographical contexts.