This paper introduces economic history as a new stream of IB research. It offers a long-term perspective on how international business has evolved over time, focusing on the interplay between multinational enterprise and the nation state. There is rivalry between nation states as well as competition between firms. These two forms of conflict interact. Nations use their leading firms as instruments of international policy, while leading firms rely on political and financial support from home nations. Using historical evidence and cross-country comparisons, the paper explains has the scale and scope in international business activity has changed dramatically over time.

中文翻译：

---

国际竞争和全球业务领导力：历史的视角

本文介绍了经济史作为IB研究的新潮流。它提供了关于国际业务如何随着时间演变的长期观点，重点是跨国企业与民族国家之间的相互作用。民族国家之间存在竞争，企业之间也存在竞争。这两种冲突形式相互作用。各国将其领先公司用作国际政策的工具，而领先公司则依靠母国的政治和财政支持。使用历史证据和跨国比较，本文解释了国际商业活动的规模和范围已经随着时间而发生了巨大变化。