The theory of international business pre-Hymer

This paper examines the theory of international business before 1960 when Stephen Hymer wrote his seminal thesis. It is shown that there existed a considerable amount of theory, but this was uncodified, unsystematic, fragmented and not institutionalised in a single academic discipline. Hymer achieved his insights in a parsimonious fashion, but this has resulted in some interesting and relevant theory being subsequently ignored. It is of considerable benefit to international business theorising to revisit this earlier theory and to recognise its insights.