Global Business Environments

Global business environments encompass internal and external stakeholders that affect the operations of multinational companies (hereafter referred to as “multinationals”). Multinationals are firms that make investments to produce and/or market products and services in foreign countries.

Several theorists such as Jagdish Bhagwati and Steven Hymer have identified the reasons for the rise of multinationals and the benefits and costs that they bring to global environments. Generally, the theories of multinationals have identified multinationals as possessing intangible assets, including brand names, investments in research and development, ability to engage in financial arbitrage, managerial expertise, and control over logistics and distribution channels; these intangible assets, theorists have argued, give multinationals advantages over local companies' knowledge of local markets and conditions. Theories of multinationals can focus on either internal ...