FGVcei’s objective is to provide for the creation and spreading of basic and applied scientific knowledge, in conjunction with organizations that are interested in the subject of international business. The intention is to draw together basic and applied research in a way that is mediated by the organizations. The Applied Research Center will serve as a vehicle for interaction between companies, institutions, public agencies, researchers and students that are interested in the subject of international business.

International business covers the management of companies and aspects of their strategies, performance and institutional relationships. Geographically, the focus will be on Brazil and its relations with other countries, especially the BRICS emerging countries.

The object of the studies will be companies and their relationships with the external environment. These companies include: a) foreign multinationals already established in Brazil, or that want to set up here; b) Brazilian multinational companies, or those that are starting out on their internationalization process. The external environment will be considered to the extent that it affects companies. The main dimensions to be studied are: economic, financial, social, institutional, political and cultural. Therefore, the object of the studies promoted by the Applied Research Center will be companies and their interactions with the various relevant dimensions of the external environment.

The study object of the Applied Research Center, therefore, will not be formulations or analyses of economic policy, international relations or foreign trade. Such issues, however, will be considered at various levels of analysis to the extent that they affect the strategies and organization of companies.