This paper compares the corporate political strategies employed by multinational enterprises, MNEs (accept existing institutional boundaries), with those of emerging economy multinational enterprises (change institutional environments, i.e., co-evolution), EMNEs. Based on a mixed methods study, the paper combines quantitative data from 1,128 market authorizations in the US food industry with qualitative data from 31 interviews. Thereby, the paper illustrates that the engagement with institutional environments of EMNEs is vastly different from MNEs; EMNEs engage in co-evolution resulting in different conditions (first mover advantage, authority relation) and application of corporate political strategies. This study adds to existing International Business research on co-evolution.
