Raymond Vernon biography, theory and books

Article by: Vincent van Vliet

Last update: September 17, 2024

Raymond Vernon (1913 – 1999) was Professor Emeritus at the Kennedy School of Government in the United States. Raymond Vernon is especially known for his Product Life Cycle Stages theory, also known as the International Product Life Cycle.

The biography of Raymond Vernon

Raymond obtained his Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) with honours from the College of the City of New York in 1933.

In 1941, Vernon obtained his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Columbia with his doctoral thesis ‘The regulation of stock exchange members’. After he had obtained his doctorate, Vernon worked almost 24 years in share trading and stock broking.

Next, he was engaged in improving the relations between the United States, Japan and Europe. He particularly proved his worth during the negations with Japan about exports issues.

Product Life Cycle theory

In 1959, Vernon joined Harvard Business School (HBS) as Faculty Director. There, he set up a large multinational enterprise research to study the direction from the United States.

The Product Life Cycle Theory

The research team looked at the aspects in terms of finance, organization, production, management, marketing and business-government relations. This produced several theories including that of the product life cycle.

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In the course of time Vernon wrote numerous books and articles about multinational management, doing business in other countries, relations with the Government etcetera. According to the Economist (1999), he is still regarded as the discoverer of Globalization.

In 1981, Vernon transferred to the Kennedy School of Government as a central figure between Business and Government and continued his research in the area of Globalization. He died at the age of 86.

Publications and books of Raymond Vernon

1999. In the Hurricane’s Eye: The troubled prospects of multinational enterprise.
1991. Iron Triangles and Revolving Doors.
1989. Beyond Globalism: Remaking American Foreign Economic Policy.
1983. Two Hungry Giants: The United States and Japan in the Quest for Oil and Ores.
1979. The Product Cycle Hypothesis in a New International Environment.
1977. Storm Over the Multinationals: The Real Issues.
1974. Big Business and the State: Changing Relations in Western Europe.
1971. Sovereignty at bay: The multinational spread of U. S. enterprises, Journal: The International Executive , vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 1-3.
1968. Manager in the international economy, Journal: The International Executive , vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 5-6.
1966. International investment and international trade in the product cycle, Journal: The International Executive , vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 16-16.

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Original publication date: 07/06/2013 | Last update: 09/17/2024

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Article by:

Vincent van Vliet

Vincent van Vliet is co-founder and responsible for the content and release management. Together with the team Vincent sets the strategy and manages the content planning, go-to-market, customer experience and corporate development aspects of the company.