The Internationalization of Firms from Central and Eastern Europe - A Discussion of Theoretical Contributions

Multinational firms originating from emerging markets have attracted the interest of IB research in recent years. While research focused mainly on BRIC and South-East Asian economies, the coverage of firms from Central and Eastern Europe is rather rare. The specific historical-geographic and institutional context should arouse interest in the internationalization patterns of CEE firms, in particular in the search for differences. This paper attempts to conceptualize the internationalization process of CEE firms by referring to its specific context. We start with a brief literature review. Then we discuss characteristics of the internationalization of CEE firms and assess the explanatory power of existing internationalization theories.