Research examining emerging economy inward and outward foreign direct investment (FDI) flows is on a significant upward trajectory. In this bibliometric analysis covering 806 articles published between 1994 and 2019, we map key aspects of its contours. Our analysis proceeds in two sequential phases involving a performance analysis, followed by a thematic analysis. Our performance analysis unveils fundamental elements of the structure of the knowledge base. Our subsequent thematic analysis identifies three focal topics arising from identifiable shared qualities characterizing this literature. Firstly, we distinguish scholarship focused on inward FDI into emerging economies formed by two particular classes, namely ‘innovative FDI’ and ‘capital flows’. Our second theme covers outward FDI from these emerging economies and also comprises two specific classes referring to the ‘institutional environment’ and the ‘theoretical framework deployed’. Our final theme relates to an integrated body of knowledge explicating aspects of the location choice decision. Building on this analysis, we isolate a number of opportunities for future research.

研究新兴经济体的流入和流出外国直接投资 (FDI) 流量呈显着上升趋势。在这份涵盖 1994 年至 2019 年间发表的 806 篇文章的文献计量分析中，我们绘制了其轮廓的关键方面。我们的分析分两个连续阶段进行，包括性能分析，然后是主题分析。我们的性能分析揭示了知识库结构的基本要素。我们随后的主题分析确定了三个焦点主题，这些主题源于这些文献的可识别共享品质。首先，我们区分专注于流入新兴经济体的外国直接投资的学术研究，它们由两个特定类别构成，即“创新型 FDI”和“资本流动”。我们的第二个主题涵盖了来自这些新兴经济体的对外直接投资，还包括两个具体类别，分别是“制度环境”和“部署的理论框架”。我们的最后一个主题涉及解释位置选择决策方面的综合知识体系。在此分析的基础上，我们隔离了许多未来研究的机会。