Transnational Enterprises Research Articles

The Global Value Chains and the Evolution of Chinese Economic Model

According to the Word Bank in the first 38 years of China Economic Reform took 700 million people out poverty line in China at same time benefiting the Global South economy due to the integration of the Transnational Enterprises Global Value Chains with China. Chinese government understood the economic rational of Global Value Chains, Flying Geese Model and Foreign Direct Investment Theories and introduced policies to attract foreign capital, technology, production, and foreign buyers, placing China as the final stage of the production networks in Asia and also transforming China in the biggest buying market of many resources and energy suppliers from less developed countries in Asia, Africa and South America. But a new model of Chinese economic development even more interconnected and interdependent with the world is now on move. Even quite before the world acknowledge the protectionist mindset of the US in Trump era, Chinese President Xi Jinping launched in 2013 a very ambitious initiative under the name of “One Road One Belt the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road” to enhance a new stage of world globalization, which together with two complimentary initiatives the “International Production Cooperation” and “Third-country Market Cooperation” and in complementarity with the “Made in China 2025” and “Internet Plus” plans will lead China to develop Global Value Chains leaded by Chinese companies and integrating countries of Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America.

Computer Simulation Evaluation of Financial Risk Based on Cuckoo Search and SVM Algorithm

With the rapid development of science and technology, there are more and more large-scale transnational enterprises, which also cause many financial risks. The financial risk level of listed companies will directly affect the sound development of the financial market, which requires listed companies to do a good job in financial risk assessment. However, most of the current financial risks rely on financial statements and other forms, which will be difficult to form a good early warning mechanism. Through the cuckoo search algorithm and SVM algorithm, we can form a new intelligent evolutionary algorithm, which can carry out multi group search and adaptive step size. Through the improved method, we can optimize the parameters of SVM model, which will be applied to the company financial risk assessment. Through the improved cuckoo search algorithm, we can improve the accuracy of financial data classification and prediction, which will better improve the financial environment. First of all, this paper analyzes the algorithm based on cuckoo. Then, this paper analyzes the SVM algorithm. Finally, some suggestions are put forward.

Cultural risk and management strategy for Chinese enterprises' overseas investment

Cultural differences between countries are the primary causes of cultural risk for foreign direct investment. The risk is associated with differences in language, religious belief, legal origin and other factors, in which values play a recessive and influential role. The paper shows that the potential cultural risk is minimal in the ASEAN region and transnational enterprises can adopt the investment strategy taking Chinese culture as the dominant culture. The potential cultural risk in Central Asia, South Asia and Commonwealth of Independent States is moderate, and transnational enterprises can adopt the investment strategy taking the integration of Chinese culture and host culture as the dominant culture. However, the potential cultural risk is great in Central and Eastern Europe and the Western Asia region. Therefore, transnational enterprises should adopt the investment strategy adaptive to host culture as the dominant culture.

Study Technological Innovation based on Cultural Dimension

Taking the technological innovative ability of Chinese multinational enterprises as the research subject, discusses the cultural dimensions of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, long-term orientation, collectivism, time concept, hierarchy and the influence of cultural distance on technological innovative ability. The results show that power distance, long-term orientation, collectivism and masculinity positively affect the technological innovation of Chinese transnational enterprises and cultural distance negatively affects technological innovation of Chinese transnational enterprises and has a greater impact.

Build, share and transfer new skills in transnational enterprises: issues and constraints

Following working evolutions of the last decades (delocalization, implantation, globalization), the companies are trying to adapt themselves and develop more and more innovating products. They are trying to anticipate the effects of those mutations in order to develop new organizational models, based on flexibility and structural transversality (Bobillier-Chaumon, 2003). This study determines the way Romanian and French employees construct, gain and transfer new abilities and, most importantly, how they are employing their work and abilities in order to maintain the organization (Engestrom & Middleton, 1998; Rabardel & Samurcay, 2006; Wisner, 1985). We conducted 24 interviews (with Romanian and French employees of a French multinational company) and 2 half-days of workshops in order to understand the nature of the activity in place (processus, vocabulary, working rules, instructions). Our first results focus on the link between the collective and the knowledge transfer, as well as the adjustment of their actions and interventions.

INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSAL INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION IN BUSINESS SPHERE

The article focuses on the functioning of the international universal institutional mechanism for the protection of human rights in business sphere. The importance of the statutory bodies of the United Nations, the officials who are empowered to make decisions on many issues related to a wide range of subjects of international legal relations, including the protection of human rights in business sphere, is emphasized, in particular: the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Security Council, the Secretary-General. The role of the Human Rights Council as a body of the United Nations, which is responsible for promoting the universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, in the creation of specialized, narrow-profile human rights protection structures in business sphere has been defined. The powers of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises have been described, with an emphasis on the significance of “Protect, respect and remedy” framework proposed by him. The attention is paid to the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. The importance of the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights as a dialogue center for the cooperation on business and human rights issues is highlighted. The emphasis is placed on the mandate of the Open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, which provides the development of a legally binding instrument for regulating the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises in international human rights law. It is emphasized on the tasks performed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in business and human rights issues, and its cooperation with specialized bodies in this area; its role in the promotion and implementation of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights is highlighted.

The Neo-imperialist Logic of Global Capitalism in A Banker for All Seasons by Tariq Ali

The research attempts to evaluate the nexus between neoliberal global capitalism and neo-imperialism as portrayed in Tariq Ali’s play A Banker for All Seasons (2008) from a Marxist Postcolonial perspective. It applies the theory of World System and Dependency to examine the polarization of the globe into the core, imperialist and peripheral, colonized capitalist economies through the evolution of a capitalist world system in the last five centuries. In the same light, the present study scrutinizes the perpetuation of dependency in the postcolonial, peripheral states by the development of US-centric transnational enterprises which, supported by the national capitalists and neoliberal agenda, economically exploit masses across the globe. A textual analysis of Agha Hasan Abedi’s character in the play highlights the way the global Bank of Credit and Commerce International founded in Pakistan ran neo-imperialist operations and plundered the hard-earned money of its small depositors, benefitting the big capitalists.

Production planning with transshipment in a global supply chain under different carbon trading mechanisms

To cope with the supply-demand mismatch in the global market, transnational enterprises usually adopt the strategy of lateral transshipment. This paper studies the production planning, transshipment and carbon trading problem of a large transnational manufacturer in a global supply chain. Two countries are involved in the operation of the transnational manufacturer, where different carbon trading mechanisms are implemented. Operational decisions of the transnational manufacturer are optimized in a mixed integer programming model with the purpose of maximizing its total profit. Then, we analyze the influence of the difference between carbon trading mechanisms on the transnational manufacturer, retailers, the countries involved and the global supply chain. Theoretically, our research enriches the research streams of lateral transshipment and carbon cap-and-trade policy. Moreover, managerial insights are provided for global supply chain members and international emission reduction regulators, which contribute to the smooth operation of global supply chains and enhance emission reduction. Especially, the conditions under which local governments should emphasize on economic development or environmental protection are revealed.

Addressing the human rights conduct of transnational corporations through international institutional bypasses

ABSTRACTCan different attempts by the international community to improve the human rights (HR) conduct of transnational corporations (TNCs) be characterised as international institutional bypasses (IIBs) of the global HR system? That HR system produced the highly controversial Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights (Norms), and the United Nations (UN) Commission on HR lacked the institutional legitimacy to lead such radical reform. With the HR system deadlocked by controversy, pressure to address the negative HR dimensions of globalisation mounted and bypasses emerged for norm experimentation outside the system: the Kimberley Process for Conflict Diamonds (Kimberley Process), the UN Global Compact (UNGC), and the Guiding Principles on Business and HR (Guiding Principles). After UN reform, and after the bypasses had thoroughly explored non-legal means of addressing HR and business, the subject matter returned to the HR system and the HR Council.

A dynamic dual model: The determinants of transnational migrant entrepreneurs' embeddedness in the UK

Effective embeddedness in the host country is an important issue for immigrant and transnational entrepreneurs. However, prior research has mainly focused on subsidiaries’ local embeddedness of multinational companies (MNCs). While a limited number of studies have examined transnational enterprises, few have explored how transnational entrepreneurs embed in the host country where they immigrate to. Employing 7 in-depth case studies of Chinese small transnational enterprises operating in the UK, we construct a dynamic dual process model which consists of 3 dimensions: structural embeddedness; institutional embeddedness; and cognitive embeddedness. Our findings make a theoretical contribution by offering insights into how transnational migrant entrepreneurs embed in a dual cross-border business environment.

The Transnational Activities of German Trade Unions and Works Councils: From Foreign Policy to Active Engagement

An imbalance at the heart of the German economy – habitual current account surpluses – has a crosscutting impact on unions in the tradeable goods sectors. Export surpluses boost employment, but they also necessitate capital outflow. Decades of investment abroad by German transnational enterprises has created global supply chains where costs are lower and employee representation weaker. Production abroad has exposed German managers to far more confrontational employment relations regimes than the social partnership practiced at home. These trends portend to increase German firms’ leverage over domestic unions. To meet these challenges, German trade unionists have experimented with exporting power. This contribution evaluates five cases: (1) efforts by the German metalworkers union (IG Metall) to coordinate collective bargaining with unions in neighbouring countries; (2) IG Metall's assistance in unionization drives in the US auto industry; (3) IG Metall's undertakings to strengthen the Hungarian mechanical engineering union; (4) the work by IG Metall and the Siemens enterprise works council to obtain a neutrality agreement for US unions; and (5) cooperation between the German service employees union, ver.di, and the Communications Workers of America to organize T-Mobile USA. The research shows that unions still have an extraordinarily difficult time exporting power beyond national borders.

Illicit Transnational Enterprises and the State

This article aims at contributing to the current debate over the effects of illicit transnational activities on states. Recent avenues of conceptualizing transnational organized crime call for defining it as an economic activity with the scope of profit, rather than a criminal activity. Illicit transnational business activities largely follow the trends in development of legal business. The transnational criminal enterprises emerged in parallel to the growth of multinational corporations, making use of the same opportunities as legal business did. The article discusses violence by illicit enterprises and reviews current theoretical debate on the linkages between illicit enterprises and the state. The paper then proceeds with an empirical analysis of the effects of the presence of illicit enterprises on state weakness. We have hypothesized that weak states may have higher presence of criminal businesses. The findings generally confirm significant correlation between the two variables. State fragility is positively correlated with the presence of organized crime. Testing these results against empirical evidence partially confirms the findings. However, this correlation might be weakened by the observation that the presence of illicit enterprises alone does not determine state fragility or strength.

Brand Management, Competitiveness and Business Performance in Mexican Small Service Businesses

Brand management is considered in the current marketing literature as one of the most important business strategies, not only by researchers and academics but also by professionals in the field of marketing, which can allow the growth in the level of competitiveness of small service enterprises, as well as have a significant increase in their level of business performance. Moreover, brand management has usually focused on big transnational enterprises and there are relatively few investigations that have focused on small firms. There are even less research papers that have made emphasis in small service businesses. Therefore, with a sample of 150 small service businesses, the aim of this empirical research is the analysis and discussion of brand management at the level of competitiveness and business performance in small service businesses in a country with an emerging economy, which is the case of Mexico. The results obtained show that brand management has positive, significant effects in the level of competitiveness and the level of business performance.

The engagement of diaspora in transnational social enterprises

Many migrants nowadays feed various forms of transnational engagement with their countries of origin. Focusing on the increasingly important dimension of transnational entrepreneurial spaces, in th...

Huawei and ZTE in Malaysia: The Localisation of Chinese Transnational Enterprises

ABSTRACTWhile much research has been undertaken on firms’ internationalisation, much less has been written on internationalisation’s other side, localisation. Yet with the rise of emerging economies, especially Chinese transnational corporations, localisation has become an increasingly significant. This article examines the localisation experience of two Chinese telecommunications enterprises – Huawei and ZTE – in Malaysia. By holding these factors constant (the ceteris paribus assumption), several dimensions of localisation are revealed. They are product, workforce, technology, organisation and management. Firm-specific factors matter both in accounting for inter-firm similarities and differences in the manner they localised. Enterprise ownership is also important in explaining firm performance and host countries’ perception of these firms. Leadership styles of these enterprises’ founders also matter. Together, these factors affect the differential pace of firms’ internationalisation and localisation.

21世紀型グローバル成長戦略のロードマップ(2009年全国大会統一論題 21世紀型グローバル成長戦略)

21世紀型グローバル成長戦略のロードマップ(2009年全国大会統一論題 21世紀型グローバル成長戦略)

Corporate Social Responsibility in India: A Human Rights Perspective

CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility has become the buzzword for corporate sector. Often CEOs of the companies use this abbreviation in their speech to speak about their companies’ social concerns. CSR is no longer only associated with the philanthropic functions of a company; rather it has acquired an ingrained status in the corporate culture. CSR has become a barometer to test the permeation of a company into society. Society, now, to an extent judges a company on the basis of its CSR Quotient. CSR now is turning to Corporate ‘Strategic’ Responsibility, where a corporate does a strategic investment in its CSR initiatives. No longer has it remained a voluntary exercise; and at times even is pressurized by various stakeholders. CSR is a container concept which encompasses many different ecological, social and economic issues. Human Rights as a CSR concept took prominence during 1990s as oil, gas and mining companies expanded into increasingly difficult areas. In 2005 UN Secretary General Kofi Annan appointed Harvard Professor John Ruggie to present a report on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. Ruggie presented his Guiding Principles, popularly known as ‘Ruggie Framework’ (Protect, Respect and Remedy) which was endorsed by UN Human Rights Council. The basic approach of Ruggie Framework is that “the corporate responsibility to respect human rights cannot be met by words alone; it requires specific measures by means of which companies can ‘know and show’ that they respect rights”. The responsibility of the corporation to respect human rights forms one of the three pillars of Ruggie Framework, the other two being, the duty of the State to protect against human rights abuses and the shared duty to remedy. OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (2011) also advocates for respect for human rights. It may be noted here that the term “responsibility” rather than “duty” is meant to indicate that respecting rights is not currently an obligation that international human rights law generally imposes directly on companies, although elements of it may be reflected in domestic laws. A company’s responsibility to respect applies across its business activities and through its relationships with third parties connected with those activities – such as business partners, entities in its value chain, and other non-State actors and State agents. In India, over the last two-three years there has been debate over the compulsory CSR initiatives and in fact the Draft Companies Bill 2011 provides for a constitution of a CSR Committee for companies having net worth of Rs. 500 crore or more or turnover of Rs. 1000 crore or more or a net profit of Rs. 5 core or more (Clause 135). Ministry of Corporate Affairs came up with the Corporate Social Responsibility Voluntary Guidelines in 2009 which has been developed further as “National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business (2011)” which has nine principles, one of which is “Business should respect and promote human rights”. There is a development from one line to a page on human rights in the guidelines. The present paper would examine these developments and the prospective actualization of the concept in Indian context particularly in light of human rights abuses involving corporations (e.g. Union Carbide Bhopal, Enron’s Dabhol power project, Tata’s Singur, Vendanta in Orissa).

Joseonjok and their evolving roles as mediators in transnational enterprises in Qingdao, China

This paper looks at the role played by Joseonjok (Korean Chinese who live in China) as mediators between newly arrived Korean entrepreneurs and Han Chinese migrant workers in the context of Qingdao, China. Based on archival analysis and ethnographic fieldwork, the paper demonstrates that the interactions and conflicts among Joseonjok (who are second- and third-generation transnational migrants), newcomer Korean entrepreneurs and Han Chinese migrant workers reflect the dynamics of geopolitics and the transnationalism process. The study found that Joseonjok’s mediating role diminished as Korean entrepreneurs and Han workers learned to adapt to each other, a development that prompted Joseonjok to consider other options.

On the Transformation of Enterprise Operation Mode in the Era of Cross-border E-commerce - Taking Sam’s Club as an Example

With the rapidly development of information technology, international business activities rely on e-commerce is also growing, e-commerce to reduce the time and space constraints of international business activities, transaction efficiency, market space to expand, so that international business activities to reduce costs and more convenient. For the traditional transnational chain retail enterprises, to keep up with the development trend of network information and large data, timely large-scale transformation of e-commerce in order to better respond to industry competition, maintain market position. This paper chooses the Sam's Club which is representative of the traditional multinational chain retailing enterprise Wal-Mart, and analyzes the history, present situation and future trend of Sam's Club's development. Sam’s club comes into the global network of economic competition era. The marketing model of Sam's Club also will change. E-Commerce marketing model is one of its development model, its establishment for the Sam's Club provides important survival and development platform, and promote Sam's Club by the traditional marketing model to the e-commerce environment. Sam's club change from the traditional marketing model to the marketing mode of electronic business environment. This paper analyzes the factors that influence the change of marketing mode of Sam's club under the e-commerce environment, which is SWOT, namely, the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. Specifically, based on the theory of marketing model and e-commerce, the paper analyzes the influence of e-commerce environment on Sam's Club's marketing model, and constructs the theoretical model and puts forward hypothesis by analyzing various influencing factors. Finally, the regression analysis of the whole model, Sam's club members to achieve e-commerce marketing model of what changes occur, such as the change of membership system, platform changes and product changes. At the end of this paper, the problems be put forward that should be paid attention to in the process of the transformation of the marketing mode of Sam's club under the electronic commerce environment, and hopes that the development of Sam’s club will be better and better.

Vulnerabilidad, derechos humanos y empresas | Vulnerability, human rights and business

RESUMEN. El presente trabajo trata de mostrar cómo algunos de los presupuestos teóricos de una concepción tradicional de los derechos, como el modo en el que operan la autonomía y la racionalidad y la forma en la que se articula la separación entre lo público y lo privado, han permitido que resulte fácilmente justificable que las corporaciones y, entre ellas, las empresas transnacionales, sean titulares de derechos humanos, pero también han operado como obstáculos para atribuirles obligaciones. Tales presupuestos han de revisarse para que los derechos humanos sirvan efectivamente para proteger a los seres humanos y no tanto a las ‘personas’ en el sentido jurídico. ABSTRACT. This work is aimed to show how some of the theoretical premises of a traditional conception of rights (such as autonomy, rationality or the public/private separation) have allowed an easy justification of the human rights for corporations, and for transnational enterprises as corporations. However, these assumptions have also hampered the justification of human rights duties for these entities. These ideas should be reviewed to make human rights protect human beings over ‘legal persons’.