Blue Economy and collaborative strategies: A critique of multi-national enterprises

The concept of a blue economy has been advanced by many countries as a new economic frontier aimed at the development and utilization of blue ocean resources. To effectively develop a blue economy, capital intensive infrastructure, human and intellectual resources are required although they have been found to vary between countries or regions due to economic or natural endowments. A theoretical analysis of relevant theories including Foreign Direct Investment and eclectic model, Transaction Cost, and Stakeholder theories was undertaken. Further, a critical conceptual analysis covering fifty-five articles on blue economy and collaborative strategies with multinational enterprises (MNEs) was conducted in an attempt to develop an appreciation of the blue economy and collaborative strategies with MNEs. The conceptual analysis was carried out under conceptual, contextual, theoretical, and methodological lenses to establish if any gaps exist and if they do, how they can be addressed. From the analysis, it was established that 24 of the 55 articles reviewed discussed maritime and blue economy-related subjects. The other 31 articles covered subjects related to collaborative strategies with respect to MNEs confirming that the concept is still developing. The analysis concluded that the concept of blue economy adopts a multi-dimensional approach borrowing from strategic management, finance, and economics. Moreover, it was concluded that collaborative strategies could contribute to the development of countries through leveraging blue economy resources. Further research was proposed to address the gaps identified from the synthesis of the paper.