The international corporate elite (1984)

Abstract

This chapter presents some network characteristics of both the international corporate elite and the interlocks they carry. If the theory of finance capital is correct, the interlocking directorates of the sample are predominantly carried by persons who have a position in at least one bank and at least one industrial company. The chapter distinguishes several types of interlocking directors. It focuses on the structural and institutional aspects of the study. The lines between firms will be distinguished according to the types of interlocks that constitute these links. The chapter considers multiple interlocks and then proceeds to distinguish interlocks according to the positions of the multiple director. The fragmentation of national corporate elites stands in contrast with the remarkable robustness of the transnational network even without an increase in the number of transnational interlocks. While the national networks have thinned out, the processes of transnationalization have continued.