Puzzles and Truths About Indian Outward FDI: Toward a More Relevant and Nuanced Research Agenda on Emerging Market MNEs

The different institutional environments and levels of development within a country may account for unintuitive outward investment. This article discusses the “Puzzles and Truths about Indian Outward FDI”, and explains why Indian firms invested earlier than their BRIC counterparts in R&D and skill-related businesses and in developed markets. Implications for a more relevant and nuanced research agenda are discussed. A multi-theoretic approach and a more nuanced analysis at the sub-national and city levels to explain the differences among BRIC emerging market multinationals’ investments abroad are desired.