The Nature of the Transnational Firm Book

There has been an explosion of interest in the theory of the transnational corporation, partly in response to the increasing importance of such organizations in the world economy. The enormous size of transnational firms and the nature of their activities make them an obvious cause of concern for consumers, other producers, nation states, and international organizations. In The Nature of the Transnational Firm, the increasing importance of the study of transnational or multi-national firms within economic research is shown to reflect another significant change: the rise of the internationalization of a markets approach. According to this theory, transnationals arise due to the existence of "market" failures, more specifically to the relatively high costs "naturally" attached to market transactions. The contributors argue that such costs are internalized by the transnational, which thus can be seen as an institutional device for economizing on market transaction costs. This book reflects the universal nature of the study of these firms, and includes work by theorists who have made important contributions to the literature. The Nature of the Transnational Firm is a unique volume, incorporating major existing contributions to the theory of the transnational while providing new insights and areas of potential development.Read More