The internationalization of emerging market business groups: an integrated literature review Attila Yaprak International Business School of Business Administration, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA, and Bahattin Karademir Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the extant literature on the institutional, market-centered, and the resource-based perspectives on the internationalization of BGs in emerging markets; to suggest that business group affiliation is an important ingredient in the internationalization of emerging market MNCs; and to offer examples of internationalization from one emerging market, Turkey. Design/methodology/approach – This is a critical literature review integrating two strands of literature, the institutional, market-centered and resource-based theories of internationalization and the OLI and the LLL models of emerging market multinationals’ international expansion. Findings – The theorizing indicates that an integrated theoretical approach should lead to a better understanding of emerging market business group affiliates’ internationalization. Research limitations/implications – As a literature integration paper, the paper is limited in its practical implications. Originality/value – The paper is a critical literature review and is likely to lead to testable hypotheses about the internationalization of business group affiliates from emerging markets. Keywords Emerging markets, International business, Turkey, Globalization, Strategic groups Paper type Literature review Introduction As emerging markets have become significant economic entities in the new world economy, large, diversified business groups (BGs) and networks of closely affiliated businesses in them have inspired a large body of literature. This literature has explored the formation, evolution and composition of BGs, their group ownership, diversification and control patterns, BGs’ interactions with their societal environments, and their roles in fostering or hindering the performance of their national economies (Khanna and Yafeh, 2007). In a parallel stream of research, studies have explored the internationalization patterns of firms from emerging markets (EMs) (see Journal of International Management, 2007 (special issue), for example). Each of these research streams has evolved in relative isolation, however. While rich and well-accepted, the literature on BGs has not delved sufficiently into the The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0265-1335.htm Emerging market business groups 245 Received June 2008 Revised March 2009 Accepted April 2009 International Marketing Review Vol. 27 No. 2, 2010 pp. 245-262 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0265-1335 DOI 10.1108/02651331011037548