This text uses in-depth data from a range of different countries to provide a framework for understanding international business dynamics. The authors and their collaborators extend Porter's theory of industry-based global competition to explore competition between firms at three levels: the structural (industry/economy); the regional (diversity of patterns in geographic areas); and the strategic (individual firms and managers). They characterize the dynamics of this competition as "force fields" operating simultaneously at global, local and individual levels. The integration of these three levels provides a powerful tool for analyzing how international competition between firms works.