Standing on the Shoulders of International Business Giants: In Memory of Yair Aharoni

This book serves as an introductory volume to Yair Aharoni’s remarkable impact on international business (IB) research. Most IB researchers will be familiar with at least one aspect of his work, but relatively few will be familiar with his broader body of work, as it spans so many of the issues addressed today in IB and strategy. This book aims to introduce readers to the depth and breadth of his impact.Unquestionably a founder of the IB field, over the course of his long career, Aharoni influenced its earliest development and, driven by a deep connection to policy and managerial practice, continually challenged conventional thinking on IB and strategy. He generated seminal insights into many aspects of why and how firms internationalize, including managerial decision-making processes, the strategies employed by state-owned enterprises, the interaction between firms and governments, and the foreign expansion of firms -- including small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and those operating in the service sector -- based in small and open economies. His research contributed to several salient research directions, including the behavioral theory of the firm, emerging-market multinationals, international entrepreneurship, the service economy, and non-market strategies.Aharoni was also an influential educator, having served as the founding dean of two top business schools in Israel. He was deeply engaged with the Israeli business environment -- particularly senior executives of start-up companies -- and a highly-valued advisor to the Israeli government. In honor of these contributions, Aharoni was the first management scholar in Israel, to be awarded the prestigious Israel Prize in 2010. Few scholars have had such meaningful impact on research, practice, and policy.