Serving National Security? MNE Responses in Economic War

Michael Witt; Luciano Ciravegna

doi:10.1016/j.jwb.2025.101628

Serving National Security? MNE Responses in Economic War

Michael Witt
, Luciano Ciravegna

Strategy, Intl Mgt & Entrepreneurship

INCAE Business School Costa Rica

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

47 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We argue that national security concerns can be an important driver of market exit decisions of MNEs. Drawing on institutional theory and using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on a sample of 196 MNEs from 26 home countries, we find that two factors expressing pressure arising from national security concerns combined with three organizational boundary conditions account for 88 % of exit decisions of MNEs from the Russian market following the start of the Ukraine War. We extend theory by establishing national security as a source of legitimacy pressure affecting MNE strategic choices and by elaborating contingencies under which national security pressures are sufficient for market exit, at least in the context of economic war. Our findings may further be relevant to the sanctions literature in international business by indicating that the impact of sanctions is contingent on organizational-level conditions.

Original language	English
Article number	101628
Journal	JOURNAL OF WORLD BUSINESS
Volume	60
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2025.101628
Publication status	Published - 26 Feb 2025

Keywords

National Security
Economic War
Geopolitics
Market Exit

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10.1016/j.jwb.2025.101628Licence: CC BY

Witt & Ciravegna, JWB, 2025Final published version, 909 KBLicence: CC BY

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title = "Serving National Security? MNE Responses in Economic War",

abstract = "We argue that national security concerns can be an important driver of market exit decisions of MNEs. Drawing on institutional theory and using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on a sample of 196 MNEs from 26 home countries, we find that two factors expressing pressure arising from national security concerns combined with three organizational boundary conditions account for 88 \% of exit decisions of MNEs from the Russian market following the start of the Ukraine War. We extend theory by establishing national security as a source of legitimacy pressure affecting MNE strategic choices and by elaborating contingencies under which national security pressures are sufficient for market exit, at least in the context of economic war. Our findings may further be relevant to the sanctions literature in international business by indicating that the impact of sanctions is contingent on organizational-level conditions.",

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T1 - Serving National Security? MNE Responses in Economic War

AU - Witt, Michael

AU - Ciravegna, Luciano

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N2 - We argue that national security concerns can be an important driver of market exit decisions of MNEs. Drawing on institutional theory and using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on a sample of 196 MNEs from 26 home countries, we find that two factors expressing pressure arising from national security concerns combined with three organizational boundary conditions account for 88 % of exit decisions of MNEs from the Russian market following the start of the Ukraine War. We extend theory by establishing national security as a source of legitimacy pressure affecting MNE strategic choices and by elaborating contingencies under which national security pressures are sufficient for market exit, at least in the context of economic war. Our findings may further be relevant to the sanctions literature in international business by indicating that the impact of sanctions is contingent on organizational-level conditions.

AB - We argue that national security concerns can be an important driver of market exit decisions of MNEs. Drawing on institutional theory and using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on a sample of 196 MNEs from 26 home countries, we find that two factors expressing pressure arising from national security concerns combined with three organizational boundary conditions account for 88 % of exit decisions of MNEs from the Russian market following the start of the Ukraine War. We extend theory by establishing national security as a source of legitimacy pressure affecting MNE strategic choices and by elaborating contingencies under which national security pressures are sufficient for market exit, at least in the context of economic war. Our findings may further be relevant to the sanctions literature in international business by indicating that the impact of sanctions is contingent on organizational-level conditions.

KW - National Security

KW - Economic War

KW - Geopolitics

KW - Market Exit

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85218887156

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DO - 10.1016/j.jwb.2025.101628

M3 - Article

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VL - 60

JO - JOURNAL OF WORLD BUSINESS

JF - JOURNAL OF WORLD BUSINESS

IS - 3

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ER -

Serving National Security? MNE Responses in Economic War

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