Letter from the Editor-in-Chief: Time in international business

Abstract

Issue 40.4 consists of eight articles, seven of which were acceptedfor publication by former JIBS Editor-in-Chief Arie Y. Lewin andone under my watch. While each of the articles makes importantcontributions to our knowledge of international business (IB)studies, I would like to highlight those that are related to time.TIME IN IBEconomists think of time in terms of statics, comparative staticsand dynamics. Static analyses focus on equilibrium situations (e.g.,the price where quantity demanded equals quantity supplied).Comparative statics focuses on pre- vs post-situations when anexogenous change affects behavior and outcomes (e.g., changes inincome or tastes affect market price). Dynamic analyses trace thepath or processes for beginnings, transitions and endings, whetheralone or in a coevolutionary framework.Much, and perhaps most, IB research either ignores time orfocuses solely on the comparative statics of predicting how achange in the business environment (or government policies) attime ‘‘t’’ affects MNE strategies and performance at time ‘‘t