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Transnational corporations: How do they keep it all together?. Being everywhere, effortlessly. This is a myth, a big fat lie. One thing TNCs do well: bargain with host countries One thing TNC’s may not do well: Have complete control of global production.
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Transnational corporations:How do they keep it all together? • Being everywhere, effortlessly. • This is a myth, a big fat lie. • One thing TNCs do well: bargain with host countries • One thing TNC’s may not do well: Have complete control of global production. • Management and coordination of internalized vs externalized transactions.
How do they keep it all together?Organizing Production • Internalized production • Globally concentrated production. • Host-market production. • Product specialization for global or regional market. • Vertically integrated production. • Inter-firm relationships • Subcontracting (outsourcing) • Commercial subcontracting: OEM (original equipment manufacturing) vs ODM (original design manufacturing • Industrial subcontracting: OEM (manufacturing) only. • Strategic Partnerships • Franchising
Spatial organization: BMW • Corporate headquarters: Munich, Germany • R&D • Internationally integrated R & D facilities: Core technologies: Southern Germany and Austria • Locally integrated R&D facilities: Southern California, Singapore and Tokyo, Local design issues, emissions testing • Assembly: Germany for EU, UK for UK • Components: BMW made in Germany. Third party often follow assembly plants. • Logistics: Center in Germany coordinates parts distribution. Run by a third-party logistics firm.
Example: Apple MacBook. • Apple places an order with Taiwan’s Quanta (production in Shanghai). • Quanta purchases from Intel (chipsets), Seagate (hard disks), Samsung (memory), Delta (power supply) Chungwa Picture Tubes (screens) • Laptop made and express shipped to customer.
Key Point • Managing a transnational is difficult, there are many possibilities, and different strategies may not work in all places and at all times.
NIDL • New International Division of Labor: • Transfer of low-skill, labor intensive processes to LDCs, while retaining high-skill, capital intensive processes in MDCs. • Critiques of NIDL • Traditional IDL (resource extraction) is still very significant and has actually grown (esp. agribusiness) • FDI remains dominated by investments between rich countries. • Rapid growth of TNCs from the LDCs • Much of the world’s FDI is in service sector and primarily serves local markets • Significance of cheap labor is overstated compared to regulation, government policy, business climate, etc.