The International Operations of National Firms: A Study of Direct Foreign Investment

Abstract

The story about delayed publication of this seminal work is by now probably familiar to most specialists in international business. As reported in his laudatory introduction, Professor Kindleberger recommended Hymer's doctoral dissertation for publication by M.I.T. Press in 1960. The publication committee of Department of Economics at M.l.T. rejected publication of thesis, one of reasons being that the argument was too simple and straightforward. Hymer apparently did not bother to have thesis chapters submitted for journal publication, and so it was left to Kindleberger to advertise thesis in his textbook on international economics. Professor Kindleberger is also too modest to mention that his own first rate book on American Business Abroad is a brilliant summary and extension of Hymer's theoretical work. In any case 1960 Hymer thesis became a basic reference in all subsequent work on multinational corporation (MNC), but one which many readers found hard to acquire. Its recent publication is to be welcomed, and is a belated recognition by M.I.T. of brillance of Hymer's thesis.