Historical Evolution of International Business

This book represents the first and most comprehensive account of the history of International Business (IB) as a field of study. The chronicling of the evolution of IB thought, teaching, and institutions in a unified framework serves to observe the interdependencies among these components and demonstrates the ways by which they have jointly shaped IB as a field of study. The book is based on vast volumes of original material whose discussion and interpretation by leading IB scholars creates a dialogue between historical perspectives and contemporary developments and shows the critical role of history in understanding the current state and discourse of IB as a field of study. The book situates the history of IB within the broader context of business, political, and societal developments, and examines the interaction between external and internal forces as they have shaped the field’s growth trajectory, both on its own and in comparison with those of other fields of study.