Appraisals of three critical capabilities driving internationalization strategies of emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs)

This dissertation engages with the ongoing dialogue in the international business (IB) literature on the evolution of emerging-market multinational enterprises (EMNEs). It shows how three different EMNE capabilities – at various stages of evolution – distinctly influence the strategies they adopted during their internationalization. It shows that EMNEs’ relational capabilities are well-developed and are leveraged in their international expansion into other emerging markets; their asset orchestration capabilities are fast evolving but not yet adequate to manage high intensities of cross-border acquisitions; finally, their innovation capabilities are still in their infancy, driving research and development (R&D) internationalization strategies for capability upgrading.