Contextualising the individual in international management research: black boxes, comfort zones and a future research agenda

In this paper, I call for further contextualisation of the individual in international management research. In this 'opinion piece', my goal is to stimulate debate and elicit a thoughtful reaction. Accordingly, this paper aims to provoke and excite, rather than review and summarise. On the basis of my own work and the work of my colleagues, I critically reflect on arguments previously made in this line of research, and illustrate the nuances that become apparent when we (a) purposefully introduce individual heterogeneity into the research model and (b) use context heterogeneity as a source for theorising and avoid post hoc contextualisation.