The New Multinationals: Spanish Firms in a Global Context

A new breed of multinational companies is reshaping competition in global industries. For most of the 19th and 20th centuries, multinational firms came from the most technologically advanced countries in the world. Over the last two decades, however, new multinational firms from upper-middle-income economies (e.g. Spain, Ireland, Portugal, South Korea, and Taiwan), developing countries (e.g. Egypt, Indonesia, and Thailand), and oil-rich countries (e.g. United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Russia, and Venezuela) have become formidable global competitors. These firms do not necessarily possess technological or marketing skills. In contrast to the classic multinationals, they found strength in their ability to organize, manage, execute, and network. They pursued a variety of strategies including vertical integration, product diversification, learning by doing, exploration of new capabilities, and collaboration with other firms. This book documents this phenomenon, identifies key capabilities of the new multinationals, and provides a new conceptual framework to understand its causes and implications.

Table of Contents:
List of figures; List of tables; 1. The new multinationals; 2. Traditional and new multinationals; 3. Diversification and vertical integration in traditional industries; 4. Market access and technology in durable consumer goods; 5. Serving global customers in producer goods; 6. Learning by doing in infrastructure and financial services; 7. Competing in hard and soft services; 8. Toward a new theory of the multinational enterprise; Bibliography; Index.

About the Author :
Mauro F. Guillén is the Director of the Joseph H. Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania and holder of the Dr Felix Zandman Endowed Professorship in International Management at the Wharton School. Trained as a sociologist and political economist, he has studied multinational firms and the process of globalization for more than two decades. He is a recipient of best paper awards from both the Academy of Management and the American Sociological Association, and book awards from the Gustavus Myers Center and the Social Science History Association. In 2005 he won the IV Fundación Banco Herrero Prize, awarded annually to the best Spanish social scientist under the age of 40. Esteban García-Canal is Professor of Management at the University of Oviedo and a member of the Institute of Business and Humanism at the University of Navarra. His research interests center on interorganizational relations, organizational economics, and international management. He is also a consultant in international strategy and has experience in consultancy and executive education in Spain and Latin America. He is a member of the Academy of Management, Strategic Management Society and Academy of International Business.

Review :
'The new multinationals are fundamentally different from old ones because they face entrenched multinational incumbents. Mauro F. Guillén and Esteban García-Canal provide fascinating insights into how these new multinationals have nonetheless managed to emerge in a broad range of country contexts.' Pankaj Ghemawat, Anselmo Rubiralta Chair of Global Strategy, IESE Business School 'Spanish multinationals have shown the world that competitiveness is based on the innovation of an organizational and managerial kind. This book explains exactly how they have become global leaders in industries as diverse as wines, clothing, appliances, infrastructure, utilities, and banking.' Alvaro Cuervo, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Director of CUNEF and Board Member, ACS, BME and SONAE 'Over the last two decades, Spain has become a leading player in the world economy. In this book, Professors Guillén and García-Canal document the business side of this success story. They provide novel firm-level evidence showing how Spanish multinationals have turned out to be leaders in their respective sectors, across a diversified range of product and geographic markets, and an insightful contribution to the understanding of the foundations of the competitiveness of Spanish corporations. A must read for anyone interested in the process of globalization.' José Manuel Campa, Deputy Economy Minister, Government of Spain 'The sudden surge in outward direct investment by multinational enterprises from the so-called emerging economies is highly significant and demands concerted scholarly attention. Through their insightful assessment of select world-class firms from different industrial sectors in Spain and Latin America, Professors Mauro Guillén and Esteban García-Canal make an excellent and timely contribution. They convincingly demonstrate how these firms are not just following well-trodden paths set by the more established multinational but are instead charting their own paths through a wider array or managerial and organizational capabilities. A thought-provoking book. Both managers as well as students of multinational firms should find much in this book to stimulate them.' Anoop Madhok, Schulich School of Business, York University