Looking around the world today, the process of economic globalization is obviously accelerating. Economic and technological exchanges and cooperation are deepening worldwide, and economic globalization competition has brought profound and extensive impacts to countries around the world. In the competition of economic globalization, multinational companies with strong competitiveness occupy a very important position. In-depth study of the relationship between multinational corporations and economic globalization, and understanding of the role of multinational corporations in international economic competition, is of great practical significance for accelerating the cultivation of my country's large-scale multinational corporations, building aircraft carriers in the wave of economic globalization, and improving the competitiveness of our country's economy. .
Multinational corporations are an important driving force of economic globalization
Economic globalization is a process in which countries around the world adopt various methods to transcend space and social limitations in order to realize their own interests. The development process of coordinated understanding and action in the fields of production, trade, investment, finance and other fields. The basic feature of economic globalization is the universalization of economic and social connections and competition among countries and the diversification of their methods. Economic globalization is a major change that has shaken many fields of the international community, causing profound changes in the concepts, methods and space of contemporary human economic life. When analyzing and studying the development process of economic globalization, multinational corporations have always played an important role in promoting it. 1. The global business strategy implemented by multinational companies is an important foundation for accelerating the process of economic globalization. Enterprise competitiveness is an important reflection of industrial competitiveness and even national competitiveness. Multinational corporations are the main force of modern enterprises and an important part of the comprehensive national strength and competitiveness of countries around the world. The current economic competition between countries is unfolding on a global scale with unprecedented scale and intensity through the global business strategies implemented by multinational companies. In response to market changes and competition needs, some well-known multinational companies are based on the world, implement global strategic arrangements for production and operations, and incorporate the markets and resources of other countries into their global arrangements. In order to realize their global business strategies, many multinational companies have turned their domestic multinational companies into worldwide head offices, set up production bases and sales agencies around the world, established international business information networks, built a global research and development system, and actively participated in the international economy. Cooperation and competition. In the process of implementing global business strategies, multinational companies actively promote the localization of overseas companies to win recognition and support from the host country's government and the public, improve the company's visibility and competitiveness; promote the internationalization of business resources, and promote business management knowledge and technology patents Operating resources such as marketing methods, financing channels, information networks and management organizations are transferred to the host country to improve the ability of local managers to master and utilize the company's operating resources. In order to support the production of factories around the world with scientific and technological progress, multinational companies vigorously promote the internationalization of research and development, set up research and development bases abroad, hire foreign scientific and technological talents, cooperate with foreign research institutions, and combine production and scientific research locally. According to the United Nations' "World Investment Report 2000", there were 15,000 multinational companies and 35,000 branches in the world in 1980. In 2000, there were 63,000 multinational companies and 700,000 branches. The total output value of multinational corporations has exceeded 30% of the total output value of the industrial world. Judging from the average transnational index of multinational companies, that is, the average of the three ratios of foreign assets/total assets, foreign sales/total sales, and foreign employees/total number of employees of multinational companies has currently reached 37%. Among them, the largest 100 multinational companies The company's transnational index has reached 54%. Facts have shown that the global business strategy of multinational corporations is essentially an economic globalization strategy, and multinational corporations play an important role in promoting economic globalization strategies. 2? International investment by multinational companies is a favorable condition for accelerating the process of economic globalization. International investment is the basis for international economic and technological cooperation. With the accelerated development of the world economy, multinational companies have become the main carriers of international investment. The international investment of multinational companies is, on the one hand, the actual need to expand financial capital globally and monopolize the world market; on the other hand, it is the inevitable requirement for the internationalization and socialization of production. Some large multinational companies have carried out large-scale and systematic investments abroad, established investment holding companies abroad, and uniformly managed investment enterprises. Foreign direct investment by multinational companies has obvious chain competition effects. As long as one multinational company invests and expands abroad, in order to maintain its own resources and market share at home and abroad, other multinational companies will also compete to invest and expand abroad.
Therefore, in recent years, multinational companies have very obvious strategic intentions of investing abroad in response to market changes and competitors with the goal of long-term development, and their investment momentum has become increasingly strong. The main purpose of increasing foreign investment is to obtain local resources and markets more conveniently through foreign investment. Foreign investment by multinational companies is generally concentrated in developed countries and regions. The United Kingdom, Canada, and the Netherlands absorb nearly 40% of the United States' foreign investment. At the same time, direct investment in emerging markets has also increased rapidly in recent years. Direct investment by U.S. multinational companies in China increased by 26.9% and 18.9% respectively the year before last and the year before last. Foreign investment is mainly concentrated in manufacturing, finance and insurance, real estate and petroleum industries. This not only brings high profits to multinational companies, but also closes the economic ties between countries and promotes the development of economic globalization. According to the United Nations' World Investment Report 2000, as of the end of 1999, the stock of foreign direct investment by multinational corporations reached US$5 trillion. In 1999, global foreign direct investment outflows reached US$800 billion, an increase of 16% over the previous year. In 1999, developing countries and regions absorbed US$208 billion in foreign direct investment, an increase of 16% over 1998. In 2000, the total global foreign direct investment inflow hit a record high, reaching US$1.27 trillion, an increase of 18% over 1999. According to United Nations forecasts, global foreign direct investment in 2001 was approximately US$1.1 trillion. Although global foreign direct investment has decreased in 2002, it will still remain above US$1 trillion. At present, foreign direct investment by global multinational companies accounts for about 90% of global direct investment. Large-scale investment by multinational companies has greatly promoted international capital flows, created conditions for countries to attract foreign investment, and connected the economies of various countries more and more closely. 3? Cross-border mergers and acquisitions carried out by multinational companies are an effective means of accelerating the process of economic globalization. Mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances between multinational companies are important features of economic globalization in the late 20th century and are the product and result of fierce competition in the international economy. In order to seek development and growth in the global market, multinational companies use their own advantages to adopt various merger and acquisition methods such as overall acquisitions, restructuring holding acquisitions, capital increase holding acquisitions, and stock subscription acquisitions. They vigorously carry out mergers and acquisitions abroad and continue to implement industrial integration. Expand the scale of operations. Mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances are not simple business transactions between enterprises, but a comprehensive integration of corporate strategy, culture, personnel, data and information and other resources. Through mergers and acquisitions, the legal person status, governance structure, cultural concepts, management mechanisms, and business directions of the merged and acquired enterprises have undergone fundamental changes. Cross-border mergers and acquisitions are the fastest and most effective means for multinational companies to obtain other countries' tangible and intangible assets and competitive strategic advantages. In fact, multinational corporations are international enterprises that promote international production. The expansion and pattern of international production are largely driven by mergers and acquisitions by multinational companies. According to statistics from the United Nations' "World Investment Report 2000", from 1980 to 1999, the total number of merger and acquisition agreements reached between domestic enterprises and between domestic enterprises and foreign enterprises increased at an average annual rate of 42% worldwide. As the economic strength of multinational companies continues to increase and global economic competition intensifies, the scale of mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances between multinational companies continues to expand. Since the late 1980s and 1995, there have been two merger and acquisition upsurges in the world. The value of cross-border M&A transactions increased from US$75 billion in 1987 to US$720 billion in 1999. There were 109 huge M&A transactions in 1999. In 2000, the total value of global mergers and acquisitions transactions reached US$1.1 trillion. Although the scale of global cross-border mergers and acquisitions decreased in 2001 due to the slowdown in world economic development and the "9/11" incident in the United States, it still maintained a strong momentum of development. The growing cross-border mergers and acquisitions have expanded the operating scale of multinational companies, promoted the adjustment and reorganization of the global economic structure, increased the relevance of related industries and products, and accelerated the economic participation of various countries in the process of economic globalization. 4. International trade carried out by multinational companies is a powerful driving force for accelerating the process of economic globalization. The development of international trade provides impetus for the process of economic globalization. At present, multinational companies have become the main body of international trade.
International trade carried out by multinational companies not only increases the cross-border flow of goods and resources, but also makes the markets and production of different countries increasingly interdependent. Economic resources such as commodities, capital, labor, information, technology, etc. are transcended through international trade. National borders are being reconfigured increasingly. In fact, the world's most important industries and tertiary industries have been integrated into the integrated international production and distribution services of multinational companies. In recent years, the international trade of multinational companies has developed rapidly, and the scale and scope of trade have continued to expand, promoting the development of production and consumption around the world and in some regions. At present, the trade volume of multinational companies accounts for 40% of the total global trade. Intra- and mutual trade between multinational companies accounts for more than 60% of world trade volume. In 2000, the sales of multinational companies increased from US$3 trillion in 1980 to US$14 trillion, which was more than twice the total trade between countries. The export of goods and services by overseas affiliates of multinational corporations was US$3.167 billion, accounting for 46% of the world's exports of goods and non-factor services. The global trade strategy implemented by multinational companies not only expands their own development space, but also effectively promotes the formation of the global market system and promotes the development of economic globalization.
Practice shows that with the development of the world economy and the advancement of science and technology, multinational companies in various countries continue to form, develop and grow, and have increasingly become the core and leader of the economic development of various countries and even the world. Competition among multinational companies has become an important aspect of economic globalization. Powerful multinational companies and their increasingly fierce competition are the most active, direct and important driving force in the process of economic globalization.
Intrinsic motivations for multinational companies to promote economic globalization
Inspecting some famous multinational companies, we can find that: in participating in international economic competition, some multinational companies not only accumulate their own economic Strength, formed its own corporate brand, and cultivated and created corporate values. Corporate values ??are the forerunner of corporate business operations and an important ideological basis for corporate development strategies and business philosophy. Although the values ??of many multinational companies are summarized and expressed differently, their core is: everything is for the pursuit of maximizing profits. A well-known multinational company regards "pursuing growth and never saying enough" as a vivid summary of its corporate values. It is driven by this kind of corporate values ??that multinational companies actively participate in and relentlessly promote the process of economic globalization while constantly pursuing corporate development and growth. This is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
——The growth-first and growth-oriented corporate development concept drives multinational companies to promote the process of economic globalization. Driven by this concept of development, multinational companies take growth as their fundamental goal and their primary goal, and relentlessly pursue faster and better results. With the development of multinational corporations, their capital and accumulation are highly concentrated, and their monopoly is further strengthened, resulting in excess capital. Under such circumstances, in order to achieve rapid growth, multinational companies continue to improve their global positioning, formulate and implement global business strategies, actively export capital abroad, and utilize global production capabilities. In the process of accelerating development and realizing the rapid growth of their own interests, some large multinational companies have transferred their capital and excess production capacity abroad when their own resources and markets are already quite narrow. The endless pursuit of rapid "growth" and "growth" by multinational companies drives them to expand their scale, rush out of the country, and go global, so that their operations and development gradually break through the boundaries of space, region, nation, and system, thus providing a platform for participation and advancement. Economic globalization provides internal driving force.
——The corporate competition concept of breaking boundaries and acquiring resources drives multinational companies to advance the process of economic globalization. Resources are the basis of economic and social development. Global economic competition is, in the final analysis, a competition for the effective use of global resources. The speed of development and economic strength of a multinational company depend to a large extent on its share of global related resources and the extent of its development and utilization. Therefore, with the accelerated growth of multinational companies, the concept and pursuit of resources has emerged: breaking the restrictions between countries and obtaining resources that provide the greatest benefits at the lowest cost. In order to quickly obtain a combination of regional resources, enhance the strength of the economy in international competition, and achieve their own acquisition of resources, multinational companies have been engaged in a war for resources without gunpowder, and have adopted various measures such as investment, mergers and acquisitions, and trade. They use various means to obtain and divide the resources they need from other countries.
It is the pursuit and competition of resource interests by multinational companies that has accelerated the flow of resources around the world and pushed the world economy into an era of closer connections and interdependence.
——The corporate marketing concept of proactively attacking and exploring markets drives multinational companies to advance the process of economic globalization. Making full use of the "two markets", especially increasing international market share, is an important condition for achieving rapid economic growth. For many multinational companies, survival and development in the emerging global corporate market have become key strategic issues, driving them to continuously explore new market areas and expand market space. Some well-known multinational companies have established modern marketing concepts, realized the transformation from "product-centered" to "customer-centered", and took the initiative to explore the global market. Establish a global marketing team and set up a networked marketing agency. Develop borderless services, consolidate traditional markets, and develop emerging markets. Use digital means to occupy a broader market space with higher efficiency. Establish a win-win awareness between enterprises and users, meet user needs as much as possible, and increase influence in the local market. In opening up markets, multinational companies have not only gained space for their own survival and development, but have also become bridges and links connecting the world market, closely interconnecting the markets of various countries, increasing market scale, and accelerating the pace of global market integration.
——The corporate reform outlook that is unwilling to accept the status quo and desires change drives multinational companies to advance the process of economic globalization. Change is the driving force for creating performance and accelerating development. Some multinational companies regard change as an opportunity and condition for growth. In order to accelerate corporate development, they continue to promote changes in operating systems, management systems, marketing methods, etc. according to changes in the international market, enhance their ability to respond to market risks, and improve corporate competitiveness. . In the late 1990s, some well-known multinational companies took the lead in reforming their management systems and marketing methods, and implemented a new round of adjustments to their industrial structure and product structure. This not only enhanced their own development vitality, but also promoted the reform and development of economic management systems in some countries around the world. Adjustment and optimization of economic structure. The non-stop major business changes of multinational corporations with chain-promoting effects are often the inducement and prelude to changes in the competitive landscape of the world economy. Each new round of major business changes has a profound impact on global economic development in terms of market operation, resource allocation, technological progress, etc., and promotes economic globalization to develop in wider areas and at a higher level.
——The corporate innovation concept of expanding new industries and filling gaps drives multinational companies to advance the process of economic globalization. Scientific and technological progress and innovation are not only the fundamental driving force for accelerating economic growth, but also the key to improving the international competitiveness of the economy. Science and technology determine the development direction and future of multinational companies. No matter how strong its scientific and technological strength is, a multinational company cannot do without the support of scientific and technological progress worldwide. This requires multinational companies to firmly grasp the development trends of human science and technology, actively participate in the world's new scientific and technological revolution, and absorb and adopt new scientific and technological achievements. Some world-famous multinational companies regard technological innovation as the core strategy of corporate development, using innovation to promote growth and technology to stay ahead. Through investment, mergers and acquisitions, etc., we enter developing business areas and continuously fill gaps in product categories and technologies. Increase investment in science and technology, strengthen corporate research and development capabilities, and cultivate corporate innovation capabilities. Implement the global talent strategy, spare no expense to reward elite talents, motivate outstanding talents, and attract top talents. The rapid scientific and technological progress and innovation of multinational companies have on the one hand intensified competition in the international market in terms of technology, talents and products, on the other hand they have promoted technological connections and economic cooperation between countries, and improved the modernization of finance, telecommunications and business networks. level, playing an important role in promoting and deepening the development of economic globalization.
——The enterprise cooperation concept of unlimited collaboration and unbounded services drives multinational companies to advance the process of economic globalization. Under the conditions of increasingly fierce international economic competition, if a country or an enterprise wants to obtain a broader market and more customers, it must continuously strengthen external cooperation and services. Expanding collaboration and services has become a prerequisite for accelerating corporate development and growth. Today's world-famous multinational companies have formed a new global economic cooperation concept: collaboration without borders, services without borders, communication without borders, and the development curve of cooperation and services is drawn before the growth curve of corporate interests. Strengthen the borderless collaboration of internal institutions within the enterprise, improve the operational efficiency of the enterprise, and eliminate blind spots in management and supervision. Externally, we will continue to expand global cooperation and accelerate the expansion of service markets around the world.
Deeply understand customer service requirements and seek new ways to meet market needs. Use e-commerce to promote enterprise service creation and develop a variety of service business portfolios around the main business. This all-round, multi-level, multi-field cooperative service concept and method not only creates more opportunities and favorable conditions for the development and growth of multinational companies, but also pushes global cooperation and services to a more adaptable economy. A new stage is needed for globalization. (Part 1)