This book provides a deep understanding of state-owned multinationals (SOMNCs) and their role in global business. SOMNCs have emerged as a force to contend with in global competition, and their study connects several fields such as economics, political economy, international business and global strategy. This prestigious collection of articles presents insights into the interaction between government ownership and internationalization, and aims to provoke new research approaches and insights on the topic. The book includes some of the key contributions to our understanding of these firms and new commentaries explaining how to analyze them. This book is essential reading for academics and consultants looking to gain a clearer understanding of SOMNCs and how to research them.

Written as a result of a world-wide study of major multinational state-owned companies, this book examines the extent of the "state-owned multinational phenomenon". It identifies certain companies, analyzes their origins and describes how and where they operate abroad.

Examines the fundamental role played by international law in the regulation of State-owned entities from a human rights perspective.

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) combine economic activities resulting from their position on the market with non-economic functions determined by the state owner. In many of the world’s major economies, SOEs play an important role, and in some, such as China, India, Russia and Brazil, they are outright dominant. At the same time, the existence of SOEs is largely ignored by economic theory and the current figures on SOEs on a global scale available in the literature are questionable in terms of their methodological validity and thus they do not allow for a proper cross-country analysis. This book fills this research gap. It focuses on the scope and importance of SOEs in a broad group of the largest economies, primarily on a variety of quantitative estimates. It contains the results of an extensive and unique empirical study of 37 of the world’s largest economies over the period from 2009 to 2018. The findings showed that the average share of SOEs – measured by operating revenues and total assets – in the group of the largest 100 enterprises (Top 100) of a given country is nearly 30%, while in the Top 20 group it is even slightly higher. The authors present an econometric analysis showing the relationship between the scope of SOEs and the various economic and non-economic characteristics of the studied set of countries. The book also contains an in-depth discussion of selected key issues, such as the functions of SOEs in various types of economies, the role of SOEs in capital markets and the phenomenon of SOEs with foreign capital. This work is addressed to both academic economists, dealing with macroeconomics and economic policy, as well as researchers and analysts from various international organizations and think-tanks.

Globalization brings far more benefits to the U.S. economy than it takes away. In a timely response to books that fuel anxiety over globalization, William Gamble shows that both Europe and emerging economic powers like China and India have serious long-terms problems linked to their cultures, political structures, occasional instability, and state ownership of companies. These and other factors will eventually put a brake on the economic growth and manufacturing output of the Old World and hot emerging economies. As Gamble proves, American institutions, while imperfect, are stable, flexible, and dynamic—good news for U.S. workers and the economy overall. This book has the power to reframe the debate over immigration, protectionism, and trade imbalances. A steady stream of books, articles, and reports are ringing the death knell for American economic supremacy. The argument goes something like this: In a rapidly integrating global economy, technology and know-how travel at the speed of light, and nations with low-cost labor forces are replacing high-cost American workers in every industry. The next century will belong to China, India, a resurgent Russia, and other emerging regions. Hogwash, says Bill Gamble! Drawing from his research and many years in the trenches advising individual and institutional investors on legal, financial, political, and corporate issues, Gamble demonstrates that the forces of globalization are nothing new. Most important, as long as American institutions limit the power of interfering politicians and bureaucrats and protect free markets, the American economic system will guarantee resilience, competitiveness, and prosperity. The fundamental protections of property and free speech, a culture that promotes and rewards entrepreneurship, banking policies that make capital easily available, relative transparency in corporate accounting, universal access to education, and other elements, despite their flaws, are still more supportive of economic growth and wealth creation than can be found anywhere else. Through in-depth examples drawn from around the world and insights honed advising a diverse clientele, Gamble dispels common myths and misconceptions about American competitiveness and its future prospects. He also identifies potential threats to the U.S. system from within and assesses the ways in the U.S. ultimately stands benefit from the forces of globalization.

The development of the information technology (IT) industry in the Asia Pacific region faces two challenges. Firstly, can its established physical, technical, regional and governance infrastructures be adapted to meet the challenges embedded in the set of products and processes created by the IT industry? Secondly, as this adaptation evolves, which cities and regions will be best suited to connect to or lead global responses to these challenges? The chapters in this book have set out to explore these questions, providing details of change in a range of aspects of the IT industry such as mobile phones, software services, and flat screen design in regions in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India, China and Australia. The book also outlines the policy responses of national and regional governments in Singapore, India and China and India. These case studies provide a basis to understand effective strategies which could be formulated for the future. This book’s originality emerges from the fine detail provided about firms, in particular regions and cities, from research carried out by young scholars in the past two years. This makes it very useful for readers keen to understand the recent changes in this dynamic industry in a fast growth part of the world, and it will also help to shape thinking by policy makers on policy settings that can be applied.

This book presents case studies on the human rights performance of state-owned enterprises from four Latin American and three European countries, as well as foreign investments by Chinese state-owned enterprises on these continents. State-owned enterprises are considered among some of the worst perpetrators of contamination and corporate human rights violations around the globe, both domestically and abroad. This volume examines whether companies implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and how their state owners regulate or incentivize their human rights compliance. Studies cover different sectors ranging from finance to extractives and air transport in Brazil, Chile, China, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, and Mexico and allow contrasts between companies from countries with different degrees of human rights regulation, including due diligence and supply chain laws. The work shows that states are rather hesitant to implement the UN Guiding Principles “leading by example.” The book will be essential reading for academics, researchers, and policy-makers working in the areas of international human rights law, comparative administrative law, and corporate social responsibility.