Mapping Developing Countries’ SMART Internationalisation Policy for Inward Foreign Direct Investment: A Scoping Review Protocol

This scoping review protocol aims to map SMART (Sustainable, Measurable, Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent) policies in the competition for inward foreign direct investment (IFDI), with an emphasis on emerging economies. According to the World Investment Report 2025, global FDI declined 11% to $1.5 trillion in 2024, the second consecutive drop, amid rising rivalry, prompting governments to adopt SMART tools such as transparent incentives, e-government/one-stop services, digital monitoring, evidence-based regulations, and ESG compliance frameworks to attract capital and minimise risks. Drawing on fragmented evidence from public policy, international business, and development studies, this protocol examines the heterogeneous effects of FDI, shaped by institutional quality, governance, and regulation. The review supports a broader investigation into how institutions promote positive spillovers, including employment, wages, equity, health, education, sustainability, and R&D intensity, while addressing inequalities aligned with dependency theory. Adhering to the JBI methodology and PRISMA-ScR/PRISMA-S reporting guidelines, the review will search peer-reviewed and grey literature across Scopus, Web of Science, EconLit, UNCTAD, and OECD sources, without date limits, as of January 2026. The inclusion criteria focus on empirical/conceptual studies linking SMART policies to inward FDI and social outcomes. Data charting will include bibliographic details, definitions, institutional metrics, and impacts, with thematic synthesis, descriptive statistics, and bibliometric analysis via VOSviewer/Biblioshiny to uncover patterns and gaps. The study will be registered on OSF for transparency and quality assessment. The results will support the development of a conceptual framework for SMART FDI policies, provide policy recommendations to achieve sustainable gains in emerging markets, and identify research priorities.