Abstract: While the existing literature on the internationalisation of emerging economy (EE)  firms acknowledges the importance of institutional contexts, so far, insufficient attention has been paid to the possibility that such firms’ international activities may affect the institutional environments within which they operate. Instead of being passive recipients of institutional influence, firms can actively engage with governments and other actors to alter institutional conditions. In particular, treating institutions or governments as exogenous factors, most existing studies have exclusively focused on firms’ efforts to exploit institutional advantages or mitigate institutional deficiencies. However, little attention has been paid to the mechanisms through which EE multinational enterprises (MNEs) initiate institutional change, shape and transpose institutions in the internationalisation process, as well as the impact of internationalisation activities on the institutional evolution of both home and host countries.Thus, the emphasis of this Special Issue is directed towards unpacking the interdependence between institutions and EE MNEs. More specifically, it focuses on the role of EE MNEs in institutional evolution and examines interactive relationships between institutions and EE MNEs, as well as the mechanisms through which such interactions occur.