Showing papers on "Multinational corporation published in 1978"

Transatlantic Investment by Multinational Firms: A Rivalistic Phenomenon?

Abstract: (1978). Transatlantic Investment by Multinational Firms: A Rivalistic Phenomenon? Journal of Post Keynesian Economics: Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 82-99.

International R&D : The Establishment and Evolution of Research and Development Abroad by Seven U.S. Multinationals

Abstract: This article summarizes the author's extensive investigation of the research and development investments made abroad by seven U.S.-based seven multinational organizations. The article describes the factors that affected the initial Investment in 55 RD the Exxon Chemical Company; International Business Machines (IBM); the chemicals and Plastics Group of Union Carbide Corporation; CPC International; Otis Elevator Company; and the Corning Glass Works. The article also discusses the evolution of the same 55 R&D units established abroad by these seven multinationals.

Direct foreign investment : a Japanese model of multinational business operations

Abstract: 1. Issues of Direct Foreign Investment 2. International Division of Labour: Basic Theories for Trade and Investment 3. The Theories of Foreign Investment: An Overview 4. Direct Foreign Investment: Japanese Model versus American Model 5. A Macro-economic Theory of Direct Foreign Investment 6. International Trade and Foreign Investment: Substitutes or Complements? 7. Transfer of Technology to Developing Countries: Japanese Type versus American Type 8. Direct Foreign Investment to Developing Countries: The Issue of Over-Presence 9. Direct Foreign Investment between Advanced Industrialised Countries 10. Japan's Resource Security and Foreign Investment in the Pacific 11. Giant Multinational Corporations: Merits and Defects

Financial Structure and Cost of Capital in the Multinational Corporation

Abstract: As the multinational corporation (MNC) becomes the norm rather than the exception, the need to internationalize the tools of domestic financial analysis is apparent. A key question is: What cost-of-capital figure should be used in appraising the profitability of foreign investments? This paper seeks to provide a comprehensive approach to analyze the cost-of-capital question. It begins by extending the weighted cost-of-capital concept to the multinational firm. It then builds on previous research to address the following related topics: national or multinational financial structure norms; the role of parent company guarantees; the costing of various fund sources particularly when exchange risk is present; the impact of tax and regulatory factors; risk and diversification; and joint ventures.

Multinational corporations and dependency: a dialogue for dependentistas and non-dependentistas

Abstract: Three assertions about relations between multinational corporations and host countries in the Third World frequently appear in the dependencia literature: 1) that the host countries receive too few benefits; 2) that foreign investment causes distortions in the local economies; and 3) that foreign investment distorts host countries' political processes. These propositions can be reformulated as testable hypotheses, to which non-dependency studies of oligopolistic competition, bureaucratic politics, and transnational relations are relevant. Identifying critical areas of disagreement between dependency and nondependency approaches may help scholars to design their research in such a way as to enrich the dialogue between dependentistas and non-dependentistas.

Multinational staffing and organizational functioning in the Commission of the European Communities

Abstract: Staffing the Commission civil service with nationals from all nine European Community member states is necessary for pragmatic and political reasons, but multinational staffing also creates serious problems for the organization. Requirements for nationality balance in the Commission civil service have negative repercussions for personnel policy as well as the civil servants' career prospects and morale; nationality-based informal organization often interferes with organizational performance; multinational staffing results in a multilingual civil service and thus creates language and communication problems; the interaction of persons from nine member states creates a potential for nationality-related friction; and civil servants may have divided loyalties to the Commission on the one hand and to their member states on the other. National representation in the ranks is taken most seriously in those Commission units that have important policy concerns. Hence expanding the Commission's powers will increase the saliency of the nationality issue in that organization.

Corporate Planning Practices in Japanese Multinational

Abstract: Corporate planning practices in 19 Japanese multinationals are examined in terms of a set of theoretical premises for corporate planning. Deviations of the existing practices from the premises are ...

Swedish Socialism and Big Business

Abstract: It is argued that during 44 years of Social Democratic government in Sweden an intimate co-operation developed between the government and large (multinational) corporations. This co-oporation was b...

Imperialism and Multinational Corporations: A Case Study of Nigeria

Abstract: In Nigeria as elsewhere, the giant multinational corporations are the basic units of imperialism in its contemporary neocolonial stage. The analysis of these monopoly "sharks" is critical to the understanding of the mechanisms through which Third World countries are exploited, manipulated, and perpetuated as the collective "wretched of the earth." This paper is essentially an attempt to document the character and role of these multinational agents of imperialism in Nigeria. In effect, it tries to provide empirical validation for the basic Marxist thesis that the serious problems of Third World countries like Nigeria can be traced directly to the operations of imperialist forces whose most powerful catalysts are the colossal multinational enterprises. These activities are closely coordinated with such other imperialist mechanisms as foreign investment, export-import trade, and foreign aid. They have generated and perpetuated the seemingly intractable problems of mass poverty, stifling foreign domination, savage exploitation, open starvation, debilitating disease, pervasive illiteracy, widening inequality, irrational waste, cultural degradation, and political instability in Nigeria and other Third World countries within the imperialist orbit. The historical origin of this collective malaise is nineteenthand twentieth-century colonialisation of Nigeria by British

Foreign Private Investment in India 1920–1950

Abstract: OVERSEAS investment by developed nations in the less industrialized economies of Asia, Africa and Latin America is an important part of modern international economic history Such investment has long been recognized as a potent force in integrating the international economy It has also been placed at the heart of most theories of the expansion of European empires in the nineteenth century and it is seen as a major part of the 'neo-colonialism' that is widely thought to have characterized the world economic and political structure since 1945 This article will examine private foreign investment in India in the first half of the twentieth century, spanning the gap between the 'imperial' and the 'neo-colonial' epochs Although the changing pattern of international investment in India is thought to be an important subject, little empirical research has yet been done on it The literature to date is based largely on generalized statistical material, which is not always quite as clear-cut as it appears to be1 Many of the categories used to analyse the subject-'portfolio' investment, 'direct' investment, 'multinational' companies for example -are at present very loosely defined2 Changes in the formal organizaThis research has been supported, in part, by a project grant from the UK

Segmental Disclosures by Multibusiness Multinational Companies: a Proposal

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the segmental disclosures by multi-business multinational companies Several bases are available for identifying segments The company may be segmented in terms of the industries in which it operates, the product lines or services offered, the markets served, or the geographical areas in which it is involved Alternatively, the segments may be identified in accordance with the organization structure of the enterprise such as by division, department, branch, or subsidiary The distinction between industry and product line is blurred in practice because industrial classification reflects an aggregation of related products and services The identification of segments consistent with the company's subsidiaries, divisions, departments, or branches offers an alternative basis for disclosure When the organizational unit does not coincide with an industry, product line, market, or geographical area, disclosure by these means may be regarded as inconsistent with the needs of external users

Ethics in an International Business Context

Abstract: This study focuses on the ethical conduct of multinational enterprises. Based on investigations and revelations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) involving about two hundred multinational firms, the study summarises some of the factual material on unethical conduct, and stresses the necessity to differentiate between multinational firms that initiate unethical practices, and those that simply become victims of extortive demands. The largest part of the study deals with specific proposals which have been advocated as means to correct unethical practices by multi‐national firms: (a) international agreements on corrupt practices; (b) unilateral restrictive legislation; (c) regulatory measures by administrative agencies; (d) inter‐governmental agreements on codes of conduct; and (e) corporate codes of conduct as affirmation of company policies on ethical issues.

Coordination of multinational R & D: A Swedish case study

Abstract: The need to coordinate multinational R & D increases in many corporations which want to take advantages of scale, synergy and multinationality on a world-wide basis. The Swedish engineering corporation SKF has tackled this problem as an early internationalized but lately diversified corporation working in mature technologies and markets. Substantial coordination has been achieved through a heavy resource commitment in a foreign corporate R & D lab, and a subsequent build-up of a rather elaborate system for R & D management throughout the corporation. The structure and processes of the system are described, together with experiences of coordinating effects, and a project case is given. The chosen mode of coordination is finally compared with situations in other industries.

Transfer Prices and Profit Maximization in Multinational Enterprise Operations

Abstract: Multinational enterprises are able to affect the profits reported by their subdivisions by altering transfer prices of goods shipped between affiliates. This paper shows that the profit maximizing price is a function of the level of ownership in the subsidiary, the dividend payout ratio of the subsidiary, the effective marginal tax rates in both parent and subsidiary countries, and the tariff on the goods transferred. In general, it is found that Multinational Enterprises appear to set transfer prices to Canadian subsidiaries so as to maximize the overall profits of the enterprise.

Technology Transfer by Multinational Companies: Their Role in India

Abstract: T HE PURPOSE of this paper is to examine the technology transfer role multinational companies (MNCs) have played in the economic development of less developed countries (LDCs) in general and in India in particular. While the US is often considered an example of how in the past (sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries AD) an underdeveloped country (the US) used foreign capital and technology for rapid economic development, the subject has attracted increasing amounts of attention and controversy lately because of the widening gap in the level of economic development among countries in this second half of the twentieth century. There are wide variations in the perceived role of MNCs in LDCs ranging from one extreme that MNC presence in LDCs is mutually beneficial 1 to the other extreme that MNCs are powerful entities extending the economic imperialism of their home countries to continue the economic exploitation of the poorer countries in this postcolonial era. 2 A third middle view is that MN Cs can be both bad or good for an LDC depending on the particular circumstdnces.:~ In addition to holding views that are often diametrically opposed to one another, participants in this debate often display considerable, if uncharacteristic, emotional attachment to their particular viewpoint or ideology. However, regardless of which theory one believes, the impact of MNCs on host country development can be tremendous as emphasised by the Eminent Persons Study done for the United Nations. 4 In addition, as Exhibit I indicates, there has been a very close relationship between the political relationship between two countri~s and the direction, scope and nature of private foreign direct investment.