ABSTRACT
In 1986, the economist Wilfred J.Ethier, in seeking to explain the existence of multinational enterprises (MNEs), concluded that “internalization appears to be emerging as the Caesar of the OLI triumvirate” (Ethier 1986, p. 803). I did not agree with this statement then; nor do I do so now. The OLI triad of variables (ownership, location and internalization, discussed below) determining foreign direct investment (FDI) and MNE activity may be likened to a three-legged stool; each leg is supportive of the other, and the stool is only functional if the three legs are evenly balanced. In so far as the third leg completes this balancing it may be regarded as the most important, but there is no reason to suppose one leg performs this task better than another.
