Conducting Research in International Business Through a Complex Adaptive Systems Lens

Sokol Celo () and Mark Lehrer ()
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Sokol Celo: Suffolk University
Mark Lehrer: Suffolk University

Management International Review, 2025, vol. 65, issue 4, No 6, 767-788

Abstract: Abstract This paper responds to growing calls within the international business (IB) research community for methodological innovation to better address the field’s inherent complexity. It explores how insights drawn from complexity science—particularly the concept of complex adaptive systems—can enhance IB research. Through a review of relevant literature and case studies, the paper demonstrates how complexity theory can inform new research paradigms and schools of thought in IB. At the same time, it argues that even a basic understanding of complexity theory can help IB scholars achieve greater conceptual clarity and develop more robust theoretical explanations in their ongoing work.

Keywords: Complexity theory; Complex adaptive systems; IB theory; Research methodologies; NK/NKC model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11575-025-00588-2

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