Purpose

The dialectics of liabilities of foreignness (LOF) and assets of foreignness (AOF) have led to further explorations of what it means for an organisation to be foreign. This paper reviews, synthesises and contextualises recent research on both the challenges and benefits of foreignness, to develop a balanced and integrated view of this international business concept.

Design/methodology/approach

This review aims at mapping the key concepts, theories, methods and contexts in the literature and organising the key findings in an antecedent-outcomes-strategy framework, explicitly comparing LOF and AOF to explore their interrelationships. Drawing on a sample of 126 journal articles, NVivo was used to code and identify key thematic areas.

Findings

The review confirms a shift in the literature towards acknowledging the notion of AOF. Using different theoretical lenses, it identifies, reviews and discusses antecedents, consequences and strategy implications of LOF and AOF. It argues that foreignness will continue to be a fundamental concept in international business research and suggests that AOF and LOF deserve an equally central place in an integrated analytical framework of foreignness in international business strategy.

Originality/value

The paper is the first systematic attempt to integrate the literature on LOF and AOF. The systematic comparison across drivers, outcomes and strategies allows for a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of foreignness and the underlying phenomenon of foreignness. The authors also explore the paradox perspective on foreignness.

中文翻译：

---

负债与资产之间：25 年国际商务涉外性研究的批判性回顾

目的

外来责任（LOF）和外来资产（AOF）的辩证法导致了对组织外来意味着什么的进一步探索。本文回顾、综合和背景化了最近关于外国的挑战和好处的研究，以发展对这一国际商业概念的平衡和综合的看法。

设计/方法/方法

本综述旨在映射文献中的关键概念、理论、方法和背景，并在先行-结果-策略框架中组织关键发现，明确比较 LOF 和 AOF 以探索它们的相互关系。NVivo 以 126 篇期刊文章为样本，用于编码和识别关键主题领域。

发现

该评论证实了文献中的转变，即承认 AOF 的概念。它使用不同的理论视角，识别、回顾和讨论 LOF 和 AOF 的前因、后果和战略意义。它认为外来性将继续成为国际商业研究中的一个基本概念，并建议 AOF 和 LOF 在国际商业战略中的外来性综合分析框架中应具有同等的核心地位。

原创性/价值

该论文是第一次系统尝试整合 LOF 和 AOF 的文献。对驱动因素、结果和策略的系统比较有助于更好地了解外来性的优缺点以及外来性的潜在现象。作者还探讨了关于外来性的悖论观点。