MNEs have been involved in Thai manufacturing since the early 1960s but despite this significant involvement their role in the industrialization process remains a controversial issue. This book has three main foci: to evaluate the impact of MNE involvement in Thai manufacturing to gain insight into the principal mechanisms by which MNEs contribute to the industrialization process and obstacles that prevent them from functioning more effectively to recommend policies for maximising the benefits from MNE involvement. The key hypothesis proposed by the author is that gains from MNE involvement are conditioned by the policy environment of the host country. The scope of MNE involvement studies uniquely covers not only FDI but also non-FDI. The study also draws together valuable conclusions and outlines policy lessons for other developing countries. Multinational Enterprises and Industrial Transformation will appeal to post-graduate and advanced undergraduate students in subject areas of international economics, industrial organization, economic growth, development economics and Asian economic development. Professional economists, policy makers and researchers working on industrial organization, international capital mobility and economic growth issues in developing countries will also find much to engage them within the book.

The world of multinational enterprises is changing dramatically. Their complex and dynamic international context presents them with special challenges - threatening their survival on one hand, and presenting them with unprecedented opportunities on the other. In this volume, international experts analyze different aspects of the transformations in global governance: ideological variations, trade governance, competition policy and the rise of civil society. They discuss the implications for multinational-government relations, multinationals' self-governance, relations with NGOs and issues of competitiveness. The book focuses on two forces integral to the process of globalization. The first is the evolution of inter-governmental organizations, such as the World Trade Organization, and various agreements pertaining to trade, environment, labor, competition and investment. The other equally important factor is the rise of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which have a significant impact on the strategies of multinational enterprises, governments and inter-governmental organizations. The contributors explore these forces in chapters detailing shifts in governance and their implications for multinationals, governments and society in general. This cohesive examination of an under-analyzed area will appeal to students and scholars of international business, and other researchers in management schools, think tanks, management consulting companies, government agencies, inter-governmental organizations, and NGOs.

Globalisation makes our world appear smaller: it is easier to connect, communicate and do business with people all over the world. But cultural differences remain and challenge globalized knowledge communication and transfer. This book examines cross-cultural management within multinational enterprises (MNEs), focusing in particular on how cultural differences influence the transfer of knowledge between different units within individual corporations. Based on detailed empirical analysis of 267 companies in Germany and Japan, it considers the relative effectiveness of inter-cultural and intra-cultural knowledge transfer; identifies the factors that inhibit or facilitate successful knowledge transfer; and suggests how management processes of MNEs can be improved. It demonstrates that although cultural differences do not necessarily influence the selection and transmission of knowledge overseas, they do have a strong impact on how that knowledge is received, integrated and put into practice locally. The book shows how knowledge is accepted differently in Europe and Asia and which factors have the strongest impact on efficient knowledge transfer. It suggests that to improve cross-cultural management MNEs should focus less on upgrading the technology that allows knowledge transfer, and more on the capabilities and beliefs of individual employees.

Conquering Global Markets offers assessments of the issues, statistics, cases, and best practices of mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and alliances throughout the world. Using information gleaned interviews with CEOs, the book provides insights into making global M&As successful.

1. 1 Background of the Study: Ef?ciency in Cross-Cultural International Business Management Ef?cient business management is crucial in achieving corporate (national or int- national/multinational) goals such as higher value, comprehensiveness, corporate governance, etc. Ef?cient business management can be achieved by resolving agency problems existing among different stakeholders in corporations. In inter- tional business, agency problems may exist between managers, owners, staff, and other stakeholders who come from different cultures. Therefore, there is a need in designing ef?cient management of international business by in?uencing the factors (the convergence factors) which cause differences in the interests and cultures of different stakeholders. International business refers to all commercial transactions between two or more nations. Because it comprises a large and growing portion of current world business practice, international business has received considerable attention in academic research (Daniels and Radebaugh 1998). International bu- ness differs in important ways from business conducted within national borders, and poses additional challenges to managers and investors in foreign countries (Mahoney et al. 1998). In this context, Black et al. (1999) state that effective management is increasingly recognized as a key determinant of success or failure, arguing that the success of international business in multinational companies depends most signi?cantly on the quality of management systems (Stroh and Caligiuri 1998). As international business involves people from different cultures, every business function including managing a workforce, marketing output, and dealing with regulators, has the potential to involve cross-cultural problems (Zineldin 2007).

Since the 1950s, subsidiaries of the most prestigious foreign multinationals have played a key role in Brazilian economic development, thus creating a very competitive domestic market. On top of this, government interventions in the last few decades have been inconsistent and contradictory, resulting in a series of economic crises. Only the most resilient Brazilian firms have been able to survive and prosper in this challenging environment. This book, first published in 2011, analyzes a variety of leading Brazilian multinationals and examines their competencies and competitive strategies in a variety of different settings. It develops an innovative analytical framework based on international business, international operations management, and international human resources management. This framework is then applied not only to Brazilian multinationals, but also firms from Latin America, Russia, India and China. This provides novel insights into the rise of Brazilian multinationals and the increasingly important role played by emerging economy multinationals in the global economy.

Praise for Directory of Global Professional Accounting and Business Certifications

"In a globalized world, employers are confronted by a bewildering variety of professional qualifications, some valid, some less weighty and some spurious and fraudulent. This excellent compilation enables the reader to touch base with such organizations and explore their true credentials through access to their whereabouts including Web sites. It is additionally pleasing that updates will be provided via the publisher's own Web site."
--Professor Dr. Gerald Vinten Deputy Principal, Thames Graduate School, Ilford, London

Past president, chairman and committee chair, and member of several professional bodies (including the Institute of Internal Auditors, Royal Society of Health, CIPFA, and AAT)

"I've often wondered what the 'alphabet soup' after some colleagues' names means and how impressed I really should be. Now I can find out!...This directory will be a valuable reference guide for human resource professionals and anyone else who wants to know what those letters mean and how seriously to take them."
--James Roth, PhD, CIA, CCSA President, AuditTrends

"The "Directory of Global Professional Accounting and Business Certifications" by Lal Balkaran is an indispensable reference source for anyone involved in the international accounting, auditing, and business professions. It is global, comprehensive, accurate, and easy to use. It is like having a personal contact book to all the world's professional organizations."
--Belverd E. Needles Jr. Ernst & Young Alumni Professor, DePaul University

Organized as a directory for easy reference of accounting and business designations, designatory letters, and contact information of all disciplines, "Directory of Global Professional Accounting and Business Certifications" contains over 960 bodies administering well in excess of 2000 designations and designatory letters in 145 countries. This handy, yet comprehensive, directory also provides an index with a country-by-country listing of the professional designations that exist there.

Indian firms have grown explosively over the last two decades since India adopted wholesale neo-liberal policies in 1991. Nayak attributes the expansion of these Indian firms and their multinational businesses to the owners' ability to manoeuvre and mould key agents in the external environment rather than to the internal management of the firm.

Privatization of state-owned enterprises and liberalization of trade and investment flows were two of the cornerstones of the structural reforms implemented by governments across Latin America in the 1990s. Spanish multinational enterprises were attracted by these reforms into industries such as banking and finance, telecommunications, public utilities and oil and gas and by the late 1990s, Spain passed the United States as the main origin of foreign direct investment flows in Latin America. Building on the know-how developed in previous decades in Spain, Spanish multinationals became major player in these sectors that constituted the backbone of the Latin American economies.

The current international business environment is characterized by two contradictory but at times mutually supplementary trends. Regionalization is part of the process of globalization, but it can also be a counter force to globalization as stakeholders act to protect their perceived interests. This book expands the debate on this interesting topic

This timely book investigates the importance of national culture as it applies to the strategic management of multinationals. The author focuses on backward linkage strategies within US, Japanese, Taiwanese and Korean microcomputer multinationals investing in Europe. In particular, both market-driven and resource-driven strategic orientations are depicted in new and established firms. The main premise of the book is concerned with the backward linkage strategy of US and Asian Pacific firms, and is therefore based on a specific set of relevant core cultural values rather than a universal set of values. The material in this volume is derived from directly and indirectly collected data, and in addition, unstructured face-to-face interviews with representatives from multinational firms headquartered across different cultures. This volume will provide academics, researchers, students, business consultants and strategists a new perspective on business strategy as well as an up-to-date source of industry material.

The surge in outward foreign direct investment (FDI) by Indian firms in the past ten to fifteen years raises a host of interesting questions. This edited volume is a valuable resource for all scholars interested in India's emerging multinational enterprises. The contributors explore the rapid growth of Indian multinationals and provide valuable insights into the patterns and trends of their outward investments and the factors that led to their emergence in the global FDI market. They also look at their continuously evolving strategies the in global economy and what the outcome has been for their host country in trade, technology, and employment.

In today's globalized world there is a need to investigate new trends in the global economy which impact on Europe. The emergence of these southern multinationals in Europe is one such phenomenon. This book explores the existing trends and trajectories of these companies, the evidence of their impact and their strategies and processes.

Since the 1970s, there have been many changes to the ways in which Japanese firms have conducted business. The editors of this volume examine the strategies of Japanese subsidiaries in the new global economy and present, in four parts, a comprehensive picture of the nature of Japanese multinational enterprises.The book addresses the overall nature of Japanese investment in international markets, and its broader implications for corporate performance. The entry mode choice and its relationship to performance is then examined, in an attempt to establish overall trends in the performance of various modes. The focus then shifts explicitly to joint ventures since nearly half of all Japanese subsidiaries take this form. Finally, the management strategies that Japanese firms have used in their foreign subsidiaries are investigated. Japanese Subsidiaries in the New Global Economy utilizes empirical analyses based on a very large, longitudinal data set, coupled with state of the art conceptual development. This volume provides a complete current picture of the international strategy of Japanese firms, which will be both useful and informative for researchers, scholars and policy makers in international business, international economics, foreign investment, joint ventures and expatriate management.

This book uses both political and democratic studies perspectives as well as economic, philosophical and managerial to provide a practical insight into the issues like the extensive economic power of large enterprises and changing balance of power between public and private sector, regulation and the governance of large private entities.

Even casual observers will be familiar with the Cherry Blossom or Sakura trees of Japan. When in full bloom the sight is spectacular. This amazing visual is preceded by several weeks of behind the scenes development as the buds grow. Sadly, from the time of full bloom until the blossoms have scattered only takes a week or less. In the longer cycle of nations and business, the authors unfortunately see a similar transitory pattern for Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs). Japanese companies seemed to be in full bloom in the mid-90s but now show serious signs of losing their standing in the landscape of global players. The authors explain how and why this is happening, but perhaps more importantly, examine what can be done to improve the situation in the future.

International business for the modern firm has to compromise the need to use limited resources and achieve efficiency in the global marketplace. This book examines these issues from the viewpoint of the internationalized SME, the big multinational and the local subsidiary drawing on research conducted in different countries.

"Multinational Corporations and Global Justice: Human Rights Obligations of a Quasi-Governmental Institution" addresses the changing role and responsibilities of large multinational companies in the global political economy. This cross- and inter-disciplinary work makes innovative connections between current debates and streams of thought, bringing together global justice, human rights, and corporate responsibility. Conceiving of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from this unique perspective, author Florian Wettstein takes readers well beyond the limitations of conventional notions, which tend to focus on either beneficence or pure charity.
While the call for multinationals' involvement in the solution of global problems has become stronger in recent times, few specifics have been laid down regarding how to hold those institutions accountable in the global arena. This text attempts to work out the normative basis underlying the responsibilities of multinational corporations--thereby filling a crucial void in the literature and marking a milestone in the CSR debate.

"International Management" focuses on the most crucial challenge faced by managers of multinational companies today - that of the generation and transfer of knowledge across national settings, organizations and networks.

The text takes an interactive approach to exploring this knowledge challenge. Each chapter consists of three parts: -
A theoretically-grounded presentation of a particular aspect of international management
A case study from the real world of international management that is designed to illustrate the theory
Case assignments that assist the student in relating the theory to the case.

In addition, the closing chapter contains a discussion of four particular challenges facing multinational companies in the coming decade, illustrated through a series of readings.

As well as a wide range of multinational companies, the text spans a variety of national settings and draws upon contributors based in a diverse range of countries. Countries featured directly include China, Denmark, Finland, France, India, Ireland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA.

This is the first handbook to provide an overview of the major research perspectives in cross-cultural management and to look at how they can be applied to real-world situations. The volume is distinctive in bringing together perspectives previously considered independently, placing the work of management experts alongside contributions from leading cross-cultural psychologists, sociologists and economists. The editors have consciously selected cutting-edge contributors from a variety of countries.

The structure of the handbook reflects a systems feedback model of management. Beginning with the influence of national cultures on managerial and employee behavior, the volume goes on to cover strategy, structure, human resources, motivation, rewards and leadership behavior, interpersonal processes, and corporate culture and values. This allows the reader to see the issues within a dynamic and systematic context. The relationships between the chapters are elucidated by commentary from the editors.

This authoritative volume will be welcomed by managers, researchers and students seeking insight into cross-cultural issues and problems in and across organisations.

This book makes use of rich empirical data from the supply chain of three fundamentally different industries, aerospace, beverages and retail. It develops an original analytical framework - the 'cascade effect'-to explain recent dramatic changes in industrial concentration across the whole supply chain of these three industries. This provides an original insight into the determinants of industrial structure in the epoch of globalization. It also has significant theoretical implications, as well as practical policy implications, especially for firms and policy-makers in developing countries.

"International Business and Society" is the first text to explore the breadth of business and society topics - corporate social performance, business ethics, business-government relations, stakeholder management, and issues management/public affairs - within the broader context of the international environment.

The book takes knowledge and understanding developed within uni-societal studies of business and society and extends the frame of reference to the international arena. To facilitate this exploration, the authors offer many new frameworks and conceptualizations such as the "institutional ideological model" and "stakeholder power bases" while they continue to address the more conventional topics of the field.

-Gives a new perspective on the politics of drug supply

-Will interest those involved with the management of medicines at any level

-Indispensable for students of public health

The global economy is changing rapidly and multinational corporations (MNCs) are at the forefront of this transformation. The book provides novel and profound analyses of how MNCs and emerging economies are related, and how this relationship affects the dynamics of the global economy. In particular, the authors deal with the nexus between multinationals, emerging economies and innovation from a variety of different perspectives. Innovation is regarded as a core driving force in the global economy but the authors show how it can impede as well as encourage sustainability. Multinationals and Emerging Economies brings together insights from business studies and economics, and combines concise theoretical discussion with empirical analyses of unique data. Researchers and graduate students in the fields of international business, international economics, international relations, innovation studies and strategy will find much of interest to them throughout the book. It will also be an invaluable tool for policy-makers in economics and commerce.

Public relations experts and crisis management personnel have done an excellent job over the years of drawing attention to the grand scope of risks associated with crisis. Particularly in the present challenging economic conditions, organizations have become aware of the costs of crises and are willing to put forth effort and resources in crisis prevention. In this book, the editors and contributors offer significant insight into the critical considerations of crisis preparation as well as the importance of anticipation and pre-crisis planning. Pre-crisis planning has been a part of crisis management ever since scholars and practitioners began researching it. This book presents some of the most detailed and thorough insights published to date and serves as an example of where future research can go.