Strategic Complexity in International Business

In retrospect there have been significant theoretical achievements in international business (IB) over the past forty years, but the prospects are not so good. This article provides a prospective view of international business. If IB is to regain its influence within the social sciences as a whole, it is necessary to reintegrate it into mainstream intellectual debate. One way in which this can be done is to introduce more refined analytical techniques into IB theory. This article recommends that the rational action approach to modelling should be expanded in order to address a wider range of IB issues. It provides practical examples of how this can be done, based mainly on recent work. The rational action approach has achieved its greatest successes in addressing economic issues, but it can also elucidate issues in strategic management and organizational behaviour.