Many researchers in international business (IB) refer to necessity when they theorize about the relationships between different concepts. However, necessary conditions involve a specific causal logic: they represent constraints, bottlenecks, or critical factors that must be overcome for a desired outcome to exist. Usually, this logic is not fully acknowledged, neither in theoretical thinking nor in empirical research. In this paper, we demonstrate the relevance of necessary conditions in IB research and discuss how an adequate consideration of necessity logic can advance the field. Furthermore, we introduce necessary condition analysis (NCA) as a new analytical technique that identifies necessary conditions in data sets. We illustrate its application by analyzing whether certain institutional factors are necessary conditions for inward foreign direct investment. Finally, we assess the value of necessity logic and NCA as novel approaches to think about causality and to analyze data in IB.

国际商务 (IB) 领域的许多研究人员在对不同概念之间的关系进行理论分析时都会提到必要性。然而，必要条件涉及特定的因果逻辑：它们代表了为达到预期结果而必须克服的约束、瓶颈或关键因素。通常，这种逻辑在理论思考和实证研究中都没有得到充分承认。在本文中，我们展示了必要条件在 IB 研究中的相关性，并讨论了充分考虑必要性逻辑如何推动该领域的发展。此外，我们引入了必要条件分析（NCA）作为一种新的分析技术，用于识别数据集中的必要条件。我们通过分析某些制度因素是否是外商直接投资的必要条件来说明其应用。最后，我们评估必要性逻辑和 NCA 作为思考因果关系和分析 IB 数据的新方法的价值。