Violent conflict and multinational enterprises: identifying key frontiers in international business policy research

Abstract

AbstractViolent conflicts are events that involve the purposeful use of violence by state and/or non-state actor(s) to achieve political objectives, which result in disruptions to the institutional environment where actors such as civil society and multinational enterprises (MNEs) are situated. Examples of violent conflicts include civil and interstate wars and terrorist attacks. Violent conflicts typically have multiple, often devastating consequences that pose difficult policy challenges for governments and MNEs. This perspective offers an international business (IB) research and policy agenda to advance our understanding of the linkages between violent conflict and MNEs, focusing on three IB research and policy frontiers: the mechanisms through which MNEs are exposed to violent conflicts globally, MNE strategies and violent conflicts, and the interplay between MNEs and violent conflict environments. We also discuss appropriate datasets and research methods for studying MNEs and violent conflict.