A pioneering legacy built over decades: Celebrating a landmark year for International Business

2026 marks an exceptional year for Henley’s International Business (IB) department, bringing together two major milestones: the 50th anniversary of the highly influential book The Future of the Multinational Enterprise by Mark Casson and Peter Buckley; and the 10th Reading International Business Conference. The culmination of both events provides the perfect moment to reflect on the department’s pioneering legacy in shaping the global field of IB.

Making sense of multinationals

Published in 1976, The Future of the Multinational Enterprise laid the foundations for internalisation theory and transformed the way scholars and practitioners understood multinational firms. Its emphasis on the internalisation of imperfect markets and the strategic logic of global expansion influenced generations of IB research and policy thinking.

Professor Mark Casson, still an active professor at the University of Reading today, continues to contribute to this evolving field, underscoring the book’s enduring impact: “When working on The Future of the Multinational, I looked at international trade theory, and I found that there was no recognition that multinationals even existed so it was clear that we weren’t going to find an economic answer to the issues about what’s going on by just looking at mainstream theory.”

Along with John Dunning’s OLI (Ownership, Location and Internalisation) paradigm published in 1979, these theories are the pillars of the Reading School of International Business and still underpin modern multinational enterprise (MNE) strategies today.

Building on a legacy

This year’s 10th Reading International Business Conference takes inspiration from the intellectual legacy left by Buckley and Casson’s book. With the theme 'Reimagining International Business: Is there still a link between theories and impact?', the conference explores whether current IB learnings and practices continue to meet the needs of a rapidly shifting global environment.

The event maintains Henley’s tradition of lively intellectual debate, featuring sessions on MNEs in a bipolar world, stakeholder complexity, and the role that time plays in multinational organisations. Notably, the opening session will honour the 50th anniversary of Buckley and Casson’s seminal work.

Professor Davide Castellani, Head of the International Business and Strategy at Henley, reminds us that: "Without the seminal contributions of various academics at the University of Reading - contributions that led to the creation of the department I head up today - the field of international business would not exist. As the world changes, international business research at Reading continues to evolve and shape the field."

Professor Rajneesh Narula, Director of the Dunning Centre for International Business, reflects: “At 20 years old, the Centre is very much in its prime. It offers a fellowship scheme that brings leading and emerging scholars in IB to Henley; a series of masterclasses taught by the most notable figures in the field, which have attracted hundreds of doctoral students from around the world each year; a boutique conference dedicated to the exchange of ideas; and the establishment of a global hub with affiliated centres in Africa and Latin America.”

Breaking new ground

Henley’s IB department has long been recognised as a leader and pioneer in its field in research as well as in teaching, with the master’s programme in International Business among the earliest of its kind when launched in 1983. The programme featured a core IB curriculum shaped by academics who become influential figures in the discipline, such as John Dunning, Bob Pearce, John Cantwell, Geoff Jones and, later, Alan Rugman and Rajneesh Narula.

Courses linked theory to real‑world institutions, global trade, and shifting geopolitical landscapes, strengthening the employability of graduates through academic and practitioner networks. This legacy continues today, with an MSc in International Business and a dual degree MSc in International Business and Digital Transformation with Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Management, ranked 12^th in the world in the QS International Trade Rankings 2026.

As we celebrate these milestones we also look forward to the continued contribution and influence in the field of International Business. The legacy built over decades remains central to understanding and shaping the multinational enterprises of today and tomorrow.