International pressure on states that divert from the established world order has increasingly been used to reshape state, firm, and individual behavior. The reaction of MNEs to government and stakeholder pressure to divest or de-internationalize is a phenomenon that has received limited attention in the IB literature (Meyer & Thein, 2014, Soule, et. al. 2014). Multinational firms have responded to the pressure from sanctions and stakeholder pressure by reorganizing their supply chains and restructuring their international holdings and ownership structures. MNEs and their CEOs have recognized the pressure that stakeholders have played in applying pressure to exit Russia (Katsos et al., 2022), and there is evidence that the decision to exit Russia is connected to the political affiliations of the CEO (Thams & Dau, 2023). This paper uses the SelfSanctions / LeaveRussia database and case study analysis to examine how Western MNEs have responded to these external pressures.

The operational practices of multinational enterprises (MNEs) regarding respect for labour rights and environmental protection standards have been recently the subject of discussion. Emerging MNEs are considered to see an opportunity in the less stringent labour and environmental legislation in developing or least developed countries, taking advantage of the lower labour costs or even intensifying extractive activities, respectively. The aim of this study is to examine whether emerging economies’ vertical FDI motives are further enhanced by even lower institutional quality by the side of the investment recipient countries, compared to the source economies, focusing mainly on labour and environmental standards. Our methodological choice is based on the principle of the Knowledge – Capital model, as recommended by the literature when it comes to determine horizontal or vertical FDI motives. We employ a non-linear estimator, such as the Poisson-Pseudo Maximum Likelihood estimator, which is considered appropriate when dealing with investment flows, as well as with a large number of zero-value observations. The empirical analysis aspires to draw conclusions about the strategies and practices of the emerging MNEs in the context of vertical FDI, with the aim to highlight the extent to which institutional distortions dominate vertical foreign investment.

This study investigates the Investment Development Paths (IDPs) of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, members of the European Union (EU), focusing on the impact of selected factors, such as notably the COVID-19 pandemic. The IDP model, which analyzes the dynamic relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic development, has not sufficiently accounted for the effects of external shocks such as economic crises. The COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to address this gap, given its profound disruption of global economic activities and the necessity for resilience.

Our findings reveal two distinct groups of CEE countries with differing IDP trajectories in response to the pandemic. Countries like Poland, Czechia, and Hungary exhibited resilience, benefiting from robust domestic markets, diversified economies, and strong institutional frameworks. In contrast, Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia experienced significant setbacks, primarily due to their dependence on vulnerable sectors such as tourism and manufacturing.

The study underscores the need for tailored policy responses to sustain competitive advantages in resilient economies and diversify the economic base in more affected nations. The analysis extends the understanding of the IDP model by incorporating the effects of external shocks, providing valuable insights for policymakers and future research.

Drawing on imprinting theory, this paper theorizes the internal and external imprinting effects of informality duration of informal enterprise on its subsequent operation, proposing that the firm’s informality duration is positively associated with its perceived tax obstacle, and the intensity of tax regulation by tax administrators. Using World Bank Enterprise Survey data from 20,071 SMEs across 76 developing countries, we show that past informality persistently and pervasively imprints on firms’ taxation.

Building on calls for more research toward addressing inequality in business ownership between men and women, and the observation that impact investors are more willing to accept trade-offs between financial and social outcomes, we investigate how the impact investment affects female ownership of firms in developing countries. Our analysis of 62,944 impact investments in 110 developing countries from 2006 to 2023 shows that impact investment encourages female participation in firms’ ownership in the communities they invest. Our study contributes to knowledge by showing that impact investors act as a catalytic role in addressing inequality in business ownership.