The significant growth of international business began in the middle decades of the 19th century and accelerated once more from the early 1970s until the present, when the globalization of business has become a catch-phrase. Both the rate of growth and structure of international business have undergone dramatic changes over time. In particular, different sectors have dominated at different stages. First the primary sector gave way to manufacturing: now global business growth is led by the service sector, which has seen the most dynamic growth in foreign direct investment in recent times. This is an introductory textbook for students of international business, that traces these developments and their implications for the future direction of world economic growth. The combination of wide-ranging comparative data with a thematic, conceptual approach, should make this a useful introduction to the field.
