- Home
- A-Z Publications
- Transnational Corporations
- Previous Issues
- Volume 19, Issue 3, 2010
Transnational Corporations - Volume 19, Issue 3, 2010
Volume 19, Issue 3, 2010
Transnational Corporations is a policy-oriented journal that serves as a specialized forum for the publication of research on the activities of transnational corporations and their implication for economic development. Articles accepted for publication in this issue report on the following research themes: political economy and the contribution of Stephen Hymer; export and local sales patterns of United States and Japanese TNCs in East Asia; Chinese FDI in the Sudan; and Russian TNCs.
Language:
English
-
-
The political economy of globalization: Revisiting Stephen Hymer 50 years on
Authors: John Dunning and Christos N. PitelisWe discuss issues pertaining to the political economy of globalization in the context of the seminal contribution by Stephen Hymer. While Hymer’s contribution to the theory of the transnational corporation and foreign direct investment is widely recognized, his contribution to the political economy of what he called “multinational corporate capital” has received less attention. In this paper, we revisit some of the issues he raised, notably uneven development, global governance and central planning in the context of post-Hymer scholarly thinking and the shifting global landscape. In so doing, we also speculate on the challenges and future of globalization.
-
-
-
Exports and local sales Patterns of United States and Japanese multinational enterprises in East Asia
Author: Nobuaki YamashitaThis paper examines the local market and export orientation of the affiliates of Japanese and United States transnational corporations (TNCs) in East Asian countries using up-to-date affiliate-level panel data for the period 1989–2005. The main results suggest that the export strategies of TNC affiliates reflect the distinct national characteristics. Japanese affiliates in East Asia, especially in China, have a higher propensity to export to the home country compared with United States affiliates. United States affiliates in China have a higher propensity to export to third-country markets. On the other hand, the share of local sales for these two groups of foreign affiliates have become similar over time.
-
-
-
Developing country FDI and development: The case of Chinese FDI in the Sudan
Author: Huaichuan RuiThis paper examines the development implications of Chinese investment in the Sudan to enable a better understanding of the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) from developing countries. By examining China’s early investment in the Sudan by the Chinese National Oil Corporation (CNPC) and the consequent cascade effect on the Sudan’s significant economic growth during the decade between 1997 and 2007, this paper highlights how progress was achieved through interaction between Chinese FDI and host institutions. It demonstrates that developing country FDI can make positive contributions to development particularly in developing countries, due not only to its capacity appropriate for developing countries, but also to its strategies and mindset more adaptable to the development needs and institutional environment in the host country. While extant research often emphasizes how institutions make FDI’s impact on host countries differ and how institutions in developing countries should be improved in order to attract FDI, this research indicates that proactive adaptation of strategy by transnational corporations (TNCs) to fit local needs and institutions may be more effective for improving institutions and consequently the development in host countries.
-
-
-
Research note: Urgent tasks for research on Russian TNCs
Author: Alexey V. KuznetsovRapid cross-border expansion of Russian firms in the past decade has stimulated much research interest in Russian foreign direct investment (FDI), especially since 2003. This paper identifies several problems in the existing literature which still persist, in spite of the significant progress in research on Russian transnational corporations (TNCs). The paper stresses the importance of Russia’s unique recent history and its implications for the choice of investment destination for Russian firms. This paper concludes by suggesting that studies focusing on a more nuanced influence of the State on large as well as small and mediumsized Russian TNCs should be undertaken.
-
-
-
Book reviews: Global electrification. Multinational enterprise and international finance in the history of light and power, 1878-2007
Authors: William J. Hausman, Peter Hertner and Mira WilkinsOver the last decade or so, huge transnational corporations (TNCs) operating in the electricity sector – as well as in other infrastructure sectors including communications, transportation and water – have emerged to occupy important positions in the rankings of the world’s most important TNCs. In 2009, firms including EDF, Suez, RWE, Endesa, Veolia and National Grid, listed in the UNCTAD ranking of the world’s non-financial largest TNCs (UNCTAD, 2009). Indeed, the UNCTAD team was quick to pick up on the importance of infrastructure services in FDI, addressing the topic in the World Investment Report: The Shift Towards Services (UNCTAD, 2004), and again, more specifically on the infrastructure services, in the World Investment Report: Transnational Corporations and the Infrastructure Challenge (UNCTAD, 2008). A key concern coming out of this latter report was the unevenness of FDI in infrastructure by sector and country, the major upshot being that, despite a global surge in investment in these sectors, some developing countries now face significant under-investment in particular infrastructure sectors. This dilemma was analysed again at the UNCTAD “First Symposium on FDI for Development” in March 2010. Infrastructure services can claim to be a special part of the economy. Not only do they provide basic services to households and communities – water, transportation, communications and energy – but also provide the infrastructure upon which the rest of the economy depends to function. Growing internationalization of infrastructure ownership brings opportunities and challenges: today, privately or publicly-owned utilities based in a foreign country may be partially or wholly responsible for the provision of electricity to those living in another. Since household electricity has been considered a basic service for much of the twentieth century, and has also historically been considered a strategic sector for governance, this development is complex and fascinating.
-
-
-
Multinational enterprises and the global economy
Authors: John Dunning and Sarianna M. LundanThis is the second edition of the celebrated volume by Professor John H. Dunning, first published in 1993, which has now been not only updated but also enriched with the addition of a number of new topics. This addition was not least due to the expertise of the co-author, Sarianna Lundan, in the institutional aspects of international business and the internal governance of transnational corporations (TNCs). It is a comprehensive synthesis of all the theories in International Business based on extremely rich data evaluation in almost all fields of TNC activities and their environment. It is a “creative masterpiece which unbundles the DNA of the field of international business” as described by Alan Rugman in his assessment of this volume.
-
Most Read This Month
Article
content/journals/2076099x
Journal
10
5
false
en