Cross border Innovation activities of MNEs: a commentary

In this Commentary, the two chapters by Cantwell and Marra (2022) and Mukherjee, Makarius, and Gaur (2022) who write about the cross-border innovative activities of mature Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and emerging market MNEs respectively are considered. The evolutionary lens adopted by Cantwell and Marra prompts reflection on Penrosian dynamic capabilities of MNEs and the role that cross-border innovation plays in the exploitation and augmentation of those dynamic capabilities. In contrast, the snapshot perspective employed by Mukherjee, Makarius, and Gaur emphasizes the variety of strategies available to emerging MNEs to build their dynamic capabilities. Both chapters underplay the role of product markets in defining and limiting innovation activity but the different vantage points also prompt reflection on how today’s emerging market MNEs and their cross-border innovation activity should be regarded.