Article Abstract
We analyse the behaviour of multinational enterprises (MNEs) within a host nation – Australia – during deglobalization (1914–79). Deglobalization is often portrayed as a drastic event to which MNEs respond swiftly, probably through withdrawal from host countries. However, we generate new FDI and firm population data to reveal incumbent MNEs remained. We then deploy historical primary evidence from three companies to analyse their responses. Firms adapted by deepening their local engagement, drawing on local information sources and entrepreneurship, and by shifting some strategic control to the subsidiary. These adaptations extended across decades, as each MNE wrestled with knowledge gaps and organizational rigidities that reflected its particular administrative heritage. Our historical methodology also reveals how firms were affected differently, responded at different speeds, and varied in their subsequent embeddedness. We conclude that deglobalization's impact on firms may be a subtle, reiterative, and prolonged process, rather than a sudden and dramatic event.
Journal of Management Studies, July 2025
‘Keep on Keepin On’: How Multinational Enterprises Respond to Deglobalisation
About the researcher
André Sammartino is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management & Marketing at the University of Melbourne. André's main research interests are at the intersection of international business and strategic management. His recent projects have looked at the cognitive processes of individual executives making international decisions, and the historical patterns of multinational engagement with Australia. He is also examining the expansion of the independent, craft beer segment in Australia and internationally, and the role of entrepreneurs in shaping this market. André's work has appeared in Strategic Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, California Management Review, Multinational Business Review and Australian Economic History Review. He is an Associate Editor at Multinational Business Review. André serves on the editorial board of Global Strategy Journal. He is the Vice-President of AIB-Oceania.
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