Using data generated by a global Delphi study involving international business (IB) scholars and
practitioners, this article reflects on the core and domain of a discipline that, on one side, has to
deal with increasing competition from related disciplines, which internationalize their research focus,
and, on the other side, is trying to develop conceptual knowledge to explain ever more complex
international phenomena. Generating a multilevel framework of important issues for IB leads to
propositions, which may widen the focus of the discipline to go beyond the firm, which, comparing
IB to related disciplines, can provide pathways that maintain IB highly relevant for most diverse com-
munities affected by international business. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com)
© 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. • DOI: 10.1002/tie.20411
FEATURE ARTICLE
Introduction
F
ifty years after the establishment of the Academy
of International Business (AIB), this relatively
young discipline of business sciences continues
to debate what has been achieved and what is the core
question of international business. Can we still rely on
Hymer’s question, “what determines international suc-
cess and failure of the firm?” (Peng, 2004, p. 102), for
constructing the knowledge foundation of international
By
Peter Zettinig
Zsuzsanna Vincze
337
The Domain of
International Business:
Futures and Future
Relevance of
International Business
Correspondence to: Peter Zettinig, Turku School of Economics, University of Turku, Rehtorinpellonkatu 3, FIN-20500 Turku, Finland, +358 2 333 9239
(phone), +358 2 481 4299 (fax), peter.zettinig@tse.fi.