Multinational Corporations and the Politics of International Trade in Multidisciplinary Perspective

Abstract

From the technical analyses of wide ranges of scholars to the public discourse backlashes against globalization, there is a huge volume of work historicizing, quantifying, and problematizing the complex role of multinational corporations (MNCs) in international trade. The body of literature is so large that most readers rely on disciplinary boundaries to narrow the catalog, causing them to miss out on important synergies across fields. By bringing the work of historians, lawyers, and political scientists working on MNCs and international trade into conversation, we offer an expanded perspective. Our collective contribution highlights the political dimensions of MNCs within the frameworks of global economic governance, in which corporations seek to influence trade policies amid rising protectionism and coordinate their activities within industry associations while regulators struggle to hold MNC parent companies accountable to international human rights violations across their value chains. Especially in this moment of re-evaluation — and possible de-globalization following the shock of COVID-19 — our multidisciplinary analysis explains how MNCs exerted political power over trade regimes in the past, by what means they seek to shape regulatory frameworks in the present, and what the possible futures might be for big business operations in a more or less global economy.

Globalization Impact on Multinational Enterprises

“…Host governments, therefore, have a major role in ensuring continuous facilitation to improve the domestic market system. Moreover, countries should adopt policies and measures to ensure that domestic enterprises are not displaced by FDI [69,70]. As the economy improves and the competitive business system develops, the most efficient emerging multinational enterprises will be able to venture abroad [17].…”

“…Zhang et al [151] Mixed All methods † 22 Adam et al [54], Alfaro and Chen [152], Andreoni and Scazzieri [153], Ascani and Iammarino [154], Ballor and Yildirim [70], Bhaumik et al [155], Birkinshaw [76], Carpenter and Sanders [156], Edgerton [157], Hillemann et al [158], Jacobs et al [159], Lessard and Teece [34], Luo and Tung [160], Katz [161], Kraemer and Gibbs [23], Meyer et al [162], Oladottir et al [3],…”

Market shaping MNCs in emerging markets - stakeholder engagement and the role of embeddedness

“…These corporations are strongly driven by their goals to achieve economies of scale and scope through global integration and standardization. MNCs foster robust relationships with both business and non-business actors, wielding the power to significantly influence national and global economic development (Ballor & Yildirim, 2020). Such organizations pursue a strategy of embeddedness within local national contexts, enabling them to shape institutional environments.…”