Reflections on the Hymer thesis and the multinational enterprise

Understanding the economic function of the multinational enterprise remains a seminal issue. Almost half a century ago, Stephen Hymer initiated serious scholarly inquiry into the theory of multinational enterprise by positing that domestic firms needed special advantages to go global and succeed. However, he failed to fully unlock the foundations of the posited special advantages. Moreover, he sensed that multinational firms could not exist in a (theoretical) world of perfect competition, and wrongfully concluded that pernicious market power must be associated with the overseas activities of the multinational enterprise. This article examines Hymer's contributions and hints at the need for an (intangible) assets/capabilities based analysis of the multinational enterprise.