Existing research into business travel and mobility within the social sciences has largely focused on measurement
and the identification of patterns to this phenomenon. However, a growing body of research has also identified
the complex nature of and reasons behind business mobility. It is clear that business travel fulfils many different
functions and the drivers behind it vary considerably between industry, job role and organizational context. This
contributes to a lack of clarity in definition of the concept and a blurring with non-economic forms of mobility. In
this respect, theories of business mobility provide limited assistance for transportation management practice.
This paper seeks to address this, arguing for a much more nuanced analytical framework through which to
understand the differential nature of business travel and mobility in the contemporary globalizing economy. It
engages criticallywith the existing literature, arguing that existing typologies of business mobility are insufficient
to fully understand how mobility is related to economic success at both the firm and regional economy levels. It
goes on to propose a reformulated typology and furthermore argue for the utility of a practice-centred and
outcome-oriented theoretical approach that will enable better understanding and management of business
mobility.