What Matters Most? A Review of MNE Literature, 1990‐2000

Based on a review of over 450 articles on multinational enterprises published in leading management journals from 1990‐2000, we identified eighteen issues that had engaged the attention of academic scholarship and evaluated their topical relevance. Ironically, very few of them addressed two of the most pressing issues facing business and society at the turn of the last millennium: terrorism and socio‐economic inequality. These glaring omissions suggest a gap between academic scholarship that focuses on “what is,” and research that speculates as to “what could be.” Suggestions are offered on how to close this important gap in the fi eld of international business.