Multinational Corporations by Stopford

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MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS by Stopford * Assumption: MNCs completely free to move across boundaries * Partially true, some MNCs are “locked” in the specific place due to related assets or specialized infrastructure – e.g. Silicon Valley * MNCs may be dependent upon the skills of specialized teams of local workers – e.g. Volkswagen in Brazilian innovation center * Assumption: MNCs are creatures of their home countries * Not always do MNCs put national interests above all else – e.g. Japanese MNCs protecting lower-cost international assets at the expense of local ones * MNCs place higher priority on the innovation process - regardless of where that process is centered – e.g. Tokyo is home to IBM’s personal computers * MNCs are becoming stateless – e.g. promotion of foreign nationals to top management * Assumption: All MNCs are large corporations * No, most of the firms that operate internationally employ fewer than 250 people * Not necessarily “the bigger the better” – e.g. problems of big banks’ mergers, small upstarts in the oil industry challenge big traditional players, flexible organizational structures can better respond to diverse consumers’ needs * Assumption: MNC markets are impenetrable to rival companies * No, MNCs that possess organizational hierarchies suited to the creation and deployment of human resources and intangible assets - such as patents or brands - can enter the traditional long-built industry and succeed on it in just a few years and take business from larger incumbents – e.g. Microsoft, Cisco * Some giants lack ability to quickly develop strategies and learn new skills in order to create the necessary flexibility in the supply chain – while many smaller companies excel in that * Assumption: Only some industries are going global * No, no sector in

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