Politically connected EMNCs in a (de)globalising world: A review and future research directions

Emerging market multinational corporations (EMNCs) have emerged as significant global players, driven by their home country political connections that present both opportunities and challenges. Despite the insights gained from current studies, we still lack a clear conceptualisation of diverse political connections and the distinctiveness of politically connected EMNCs. Our study conducts a comprehensive review to bridge those gaps. We identify and compare two types of political connections, delve into major theories and highlight their main focus, key arguments, mechanisms and outcome predictions. Consequently, we propose a context-mechanism-outcome framework across three contextual levels, emphasising theoretical convergence and divergence between politically connected EMNCs and advanced market multinational corporations (AMNCs). We also spotlight disruptions caused by deglobalisation and their implications for those EMNCs. We conclude by proposing an agenda to reorient future research on this important and timely topic, especially in light of the deglobalisation trends that are reshaping the international business landscape. •A clear conceptualization of political connections.•An in-depth comparison of theories applied in literatures of politically connected EMNCs and AMNCs.•Emphasis and reorientation to the recent deglobalization disruptions.•Unpacking major theoretical perspectives and their interplay to aid a multilevel analysis.•Proposal of an integrated context–mechanism–outcome framework.