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This chapter discusses how the framework exploring the connections between dominant institutions and the development of distinctive organizational capabilities outlined in earlier chapters could be extended to multinational companies (MNCs) by analysing how international companies from different kinds of market economy are likely to develop varied patterns of employer-employee commitment across national institutional regimes, and so generate different cross-border capabilities. The chapter first considers how MNCs from four ideal types of institutional regimes are likely to share authority with, and provide organizational careers for foreign managerial and skilled employees in the relatively weakly institutionalized international business environment. It then suggests how different kinds of MNCs that combine different degrees of transnational authority sharing and organizational careers develop different types of transnational organizational capabilities.

This chapter analyzes the role of MNCs in the development of the software industry in India, Ireland, and Israel. It shows that the evolution of software activities and the role of MNCs varied considerably across these three countries in terms of the timing of entry and the type of activities conducted by MNCs. Ireland MNCs provided the domestic industry with market access and trained managers. In Israel and India, MNCs provided finance, marketing, and managerial capabilities to domestic firms, but only after a regional software cluster had already developed. The analysis shows that people mobility and spin-offs appear to be significant, especially in Ireland. However, there was very limited evidence of MNCs technology externalities measured by patent citations.

It is important to note that human resource managers should consider their organization's institutional environment. This institutional environment is composed of a wide variety of dimensions since institutional influences may include region, locality, and other such important aspects. The nation state proves to be one of the most significant sources of institutional influence on the performance of various practices for HRM, and this is encompassed by what is commonly referred to as ‘national culture’ or the specific set of national institutions. Several literatures on organization have already illustrated evaluations of the cultural peculiarities associated with employment relationships in a nation state. This chapter provides a throrough comparative study of multinational chemical industry companies (MNCs) that are based in Holland and in the USA.

Here, the analysis moves on to consider what global corporate citizenship (GCC) means, and how it is related to constitutionalization. It looks at what type of companies claim corporate citizenship and from where they emanate. It provides a matrix system for classifying companies in terms of their attitudes towards GCC. It investigates the arenas and institutions that are promoting and monitoring GCC (the UN Global Compact, WEF, the US Chamber of Commerce, etc.). It deals with the current conceptions of GCC and differentiates the approach adopted in the book from these. It then discusses the idea of the persona of the corporate citizen and how this is constructed. This chapter contains empirical detail as well as conceptual clarification.

This chapter examines the growth of international administrative law, seen as part of the process of quasi-constitutionalization. The context for this is international investment matters, the first aspect of which concentrates on a case study of the OECD’s Guidelines for Multilateral Enterprises which has resulted in the setting up of National Contact Points (NCP) in all OECD countries to ‘promote’ the Guidelines. Based upon an analysis of the NCP process, this chapter analyses this rather neglected instrument for promoting ‘corporate citizenship’. It sets these NCPs in the context of global administrative law. The second aspect concerns the international investment regime that is developing in the shadow of bilateral investment treaties (BITs). These have proliferated in the wake of the demise of the attempt by the OECD to establish a multilateral investment agreement under its auspices.

In the context of the globalisation of production, MNCs have been most commonly depicted as the key vehicles of global transformation. This chapter opens up the presumed unity of the MNC to explore the social power relationships that constitute this ‘global actor’. Defined in terms of the relationships between corporate managers, financiers, shareholders, suppliers and a diverse range of worker groups, the firm represents a site of contest in the ascription of meanings and realities of globalisation.

Discusses how the non-western origin of Nawon, a multinational garment corporation located in Qingdao, China, contributed to creating a specific form of locally embedded globalization. The Nawon management’s argument for the superiority of global or universal managerial principles and practices hid its local characteristics that originated from the historical memories, politics, and culture of South Korea and China. From the main thread, this chapter introduces concepts of culture, ethnicity, nationality, and post-socialism to discuss the construction of a managerial hierarchy and workforce divisions at the workplace. The incessant pressure from the global chain of garment production to reduce production costs shaped and changed the factory regime of the company, which was caught in a web of collusion between global capital and local government and struggled to maintain its business in China. This chapter also discusses the conditions of (im)possibility of workers’ resistance against the factory regime.

Chapter Eight concludes the book by speculating on the future of Nawon and the groups of people involved in its operations. Since 2005, the Chinese government has amended its regulations on minimum wages to decrease the growing income gap between the rich and the poor. The government also tightened its supervision of multinational corporations, focusing on their working conditions. Recent developments at Nawon and Nawon Korea, its headquarters in South Korea, give us an insight into how an MNC decides whether to relocate under rapidly changing market situations. The management’s reaction to the policy changes and the wage hikes reveal the dynamics of global capitalism that lead investors to constantly move around the world, searching for favorable conditions for profit maximization. This chapter also highlights the increasingly troubled workers’ situation at Nawon, which was created by the factory’s deteriorating financial condition and a gloomy rumor about an impending factory closedown.

This chapter examines the rise of the FDI-attraction paradigm at the national level and the emergence of local investment-seeking states in the 1990s. It explores in detail the varied strategies that city governments employed to attract foreign investors to launch the campaign of FDI attraction, ranging from tax cuts and land and utility discounts to industrial zone establishments. At one end of the strategic continuum are local governments that prioritized large, leading multinationals that have been playing the role of the “dragon’s head” at the top of the global value chain, whereas, on the other end are cities where bureaucrats brokered deals with small-scale foreign firms established by “guerilla investors” at the bottom of the value chain through flexible arrangements.

The objective of this book is not to discuss whether natural resources turn out to be good or bad, but rather to address a related issue: the problem that countries face in setting up a credible and stable regime for private investment to exploit these resources. Even if governments have the capacity to develop the resources on their own, many lack the technical knowledge to do so or the large sums of capital required to undertake the investments. For these reasons, countries may rely on multinational corporations (MNCs) to discover and develop these resources. In doing so, they become a host country (HC) to a foreign firm, and the assistance of a second party introduces an attendant conflict of interest. A central and persistent problem here is the limit on the enforceability for contracts with a sovereign government, unlike contracts between private parties.

In this chapter we investigate the organization of competition among subunits in multinational corporations (MNCs) with the intent to explore how headquarters encourages and organizes for competition and when and why competition is handled by subunits that cooperate. The organization of competition by headquarters among the subunits is characterized by special conditions due to the formal hierarchical organization and access to legitimate tools to instil competition. Competition arises around three sources: allocation of resources, system position and headquarters attention, and the allocation of subsidiary mandates. Empirical findings from six MNCs are used to illustrate the adoption of cooperative and non-cooperative behaviours among subunits as outcomes of headquarters implementation of different tools to organize for competition. The findings also show that headquarters is not only a fourth—but also a third—party as it adjudicates many of the competitive situations that it organizes among its units.

This chapter addresses a central research question of how socio-political factors explain a high level of land acquisition in the state of Tamil Nadu in India that is coupled with intensive industrialization. It answers the question by paying attention to the ideas of policymakers on inclusive industrial schemes and societal structure presenting the upward mobility of low-caste groups in both political and economic spheres in the state. It argues that the state’s commitment to land making and industry making has met the needs of citizens favouring urbanization, thereby contributed to industrial development. Fieldwork findings collated from a bargaining process between the state, society, and foreign capital for land acquisition at a special economic zone for a tyre-manufacturing foreign company strongly support the argument. It particularly stresses the significant role of bureaucratic elites who are proficient at dealing with land acquisition with knowledge and efficiency. The bureaucratic efficiency increases the capacity of the state in making industrial development transferrable.

India is currently the world’s second most populous nation and the third largest economy on a purchasing power parity basis. These are impressive statistics for a country that attained independence in 1947, and only began liberalizing and opening up its economy in 1991. However, Indian firms are not yet represented on a global stage, and are relatively few in number with respect to their US, European, Japanese and most recently Chinese counterparts. In this chapter we provide a historical overview of the Indian MNC from independence to present times. We draw on institutional, industry, and firm factors to explain their evolution and discuss the way forward for Indian MNCs including challenges and opportunities. We also provide some suggestions for governments and industry to further facilitate the growth of the Indian MNC.

Indian enterprises have attracted attention by acquiring much larger enterprises in the developed world and turning them around. We argue that their competitive advantage lies in their accumulation of skills for managing large multi-location operations across diverse cultures in India and in their ability to deliver value for money with their ‘frugal engineering skills’. The acquisition-based strategy of internationalization adopted by Indian enterprises by acquiring strategic assets for jump starting their internationalization, is helped by their skills in cross-cultural management honed in India and their sensitivities to the workers right from the beginning help in addressing the challenge.

Based on editors’ research, this chapter presents the key findings on organizational history and culture, the internationalization process and philosophy of the five Indian MNC case study companies, some seemingly unique elements of Indian way of management, and future outlook for India Inc. in its quest for global expansion.

Based on editors’ research, this chapter presents the research findings of four Indian multinationals on three distinct but related sections: strategic intent, control and coordination, and international HRM (IHRM) strategy with specific reference to global staffing and mindset.

This chapter explains how SGCC engaged in learning and innovation and how, in so doing, it changed the rules of the game. It focuses on how SGCC ‘innovated’ around its UHV projects. Government policies on science and technology development provided an incentive structure within which firms operated, but often quite differently. The research strategy adopted by SGCC was project-driven, inclusive, and supportive in collaboration, built on a technology innovation chain of education, research, application, and production. It centralised resources allocation and management of standard applications for patents and intellectual property rights. In so doing, it reshaped the rules of game in technology innovation with universities and manufacturing industries.

This chapter discusses the history of the relationship between the United States and India, from their common heritage as former British colonies with great diversity, and a common faith in capitalism and democracy. However, the natural synergies that derive from their common background have not translated into common geopolitical or economic collaboration. In order to identify such a common economic path forward, the book interviews 62 leaders of business, non-profit, government, academia and media. The chapter summarizes their answers, common themes that arise from their comments and how the book is organized to reflect their thoughts.