Migrants, migration policies, and international business research: Current trends and new directions

Migrant and migration policy (MMP) issues have often influenced important international business (IB) research questions, but the last 20 years have seen the emergence of new or “renewed” MMP issues tied to changes in migrant demographics, wealth, skills, home-country provenance, host-country attitudes, and international governance. Articles in the inaugural special issue of the Journal of International Business Policy address those issues, connect them to classic IB research questions, and then develop theory and evidence to inform current IB scholarly debates and guide IB executives, investors, and the public policy-makers overseeing those business activities. Our introductory article provides an overview of new and renewed MMP issues addressed in the special issue. It defines foundational MMP concepts and trends, compares classic IB and current MMP research questions, summarizes the eight articles included in the special issue, and offers suggestions for advancing research in both fields.