Journal of Management 2002 28(3) 277–305
Recent Developments in International Management Research: A Review of 20 Top Management Journals Steve Werner∗ Department of Management, University of Houston, C.T. Bauer College of Business, 334 Melcher Hall, Room 315, Houston, TX 77204-6021, USA Received 26 April 2001; received in revised form 20 October 2001; accepted 29 October 2001
This review analyzes recent trends in the international management (IM) literature from 1996 to 2000. The 271 articles located in 20 top management (and management related) journals are categorized into 12 distinct topics: (1) the global business environment; (2) internationalization; (3) entry mode decisions; (4) international joint ventures; (5) foreign direct investment (FDI); (6) international exchange; (7) transfer of knowledge; (8) strategic alliances and networks; (9) multinational enterprises; (10) subsidiary-headquarters relations; (11) subsidiary and multinational team management; and (12) expatriate management. Research in each of these areas is presented and linkages between the areas are reviewed. Concluding thoughts are offered relating to the pervasiveness, methodologies, and levels of analysis of IM research, as well as potential areas for future research. © 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
As business becomes more global and international management (IM) issues play a more central role in business practice, the importance and relevance of IM research increases. IM research may be divided into three categories. The first category is comprised of studies that look at the management of firms in a multinational context. Stated differently, this research emphasizes the international aspects of management that do not exist in domestic firms (Ricks, 1991). This includes studies looking at the internationalization process, entry mode decisions, foreign subsidiary management, expatriate management, etc. For a lack of a better term, I call these studies pure IM research. The second category consists of studies that compare the management practices of different cultures (cross-cultural studies) and nations (cross-national studies) (Ricks, Toyne & Martinez, 1990). These studies are known as comparative management studies (Ricks, 1985). The third and final category consists of
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Tel.: +1-713-743-4672; fax: +1-713-743-4652. E-mail address: swerner@uh.edu (S. Werner). 0149-2063/02/$ – see front matter © 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 1 4 9 - 2 0 6 3 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 1 2 9 - 0