Europeans promoted many alternatives to what became in the 1990s ‘neoliberal globalisation’. In the 1970s and 1980s, they promoted a vision of globalisation that was a compromise between liberty capitalism, solidarity capitalism, and community capitalism with its STABEX programme in 1975, which aimed to stabilise export revenue for some associated countries in the Global South. Thatcher’s policy with Nissan or shipyards shows that even a neoliberal leader such as she could practice neomercantilism, but in a much less systematic and showy manner than in Colbertist France. For all that, there was no common promotion of ‘European preference’, despite numerous talks. A minimal promotion of community capitalism emerged through the notion of ‘normative power’. The failure of the most ambitious projects should not obscure the weight of (often EC-level) protectionist regulations in numerous international markets during the 1970s and 1980s. This came in sectors such as agriculture, steel, textiles, and automobiles, before the advent of a more neoliberal form of globalisation after the completion of the Uruguay Round of the GATT (1986–1994).

During the 1960s and 1970s the economic nationalism that had accompanied the growth of foreign direct investment in Latin America evolved into academic theories of dependency. This stimulated increased questioning of the role that multinationals played in the region, the introduction of policies to regulate their activities, and, at times, nationalization. This chapter examines the social consequences of foreign direct investment in resource extraction and in manufacturing. Foreign companies appeared to have gained much more from exploiting Latin American resources than local societies, which had experienced significant social and environmental harm. The balance sheet for foreign direct investment in manufacturing was more complex. It stimulated positive changes in consumption patterns and employment. However, multinationals also displaced local entrepreneurs, and they largely ignored their impact on public health and the environment. These issues remain salient in the first decades of the twenty-first century, especially with the resurgence of multinational investment in extractive activities and grassroots opposition to it.

This chapter examines the historical evolution of the relationship between multinationals enterprises and global value chains, highlighting their role in shaping global capitalism. Since the late nineteenth century, multinationals have used global value chains to integrate resources, labor, and markets, reinforcing economic specialization while promoting technological transfer. However, these processes have also entrenched inequalities, reinforced economic dependencies and exacerbated social disparities. The chapter traces the development of global value chains from the first global economy to post–World War II industrial expansion, exploring how multinational strategies both influenced and were shaped by technological advances and geopolitical changes. It also addresses the impact of recent trends such as a slowdown in global economic integration and geopolitical tensions, which have triggered a shift toward regionalization and the restructuring of global value chains.

This chapter shows that the use of bribery and corruption was a well-established multinational strategy over a long period. A striking number of ostensibly respectable industry leaders have engaged in grand corruption. Armaments and commodity trading were particularly prone to corruption, and the practice appears to be particularly prevalent in Africa. Grand corruption arose especially when business involved large contracts with governments. Bribery was fueled by the pervasiveness of corruption in the host economies in which multinationals operated, but the multinationals were active agents in facilitating corruption. The practice of bribery and corruption by multinationals was often the result of miscreant corporate cultures rather than rogue individuals. Governments were often permissive of corrupt practices by their multinationals, especially in Europe where bribes were tax deductible until recent years.

This chapter studies the historical evolution of the relationship between multinationals and dictatorial regimes. The chapter covers the first global economy (1860s–1930s), World War II, the Cold War (1948–1989), and the post–Cold War authoritarianism (1989–2010s) and shows that dictatorial regimes and foreign multinationals supported each other when the dictators’ political and economic agendas converged with the multinationals’ corporate goals. When these agendas stopped converging or if the multinationalss did not generate economic growth or political stability, the dictators were willing to violate existing contracts regardless of ideological affinities with the foreign investors. Moreover, multinationals were not passive actors in regime change processes that brought dictators to power, but actively promoted coups and legitimized post-coup dictatorial regimes when the previous democratic regime threatened their operations. The early twenty first century witnessed the rise of multinationals originating in dictatorial regimes, which adds a layer of complexity to these dynamics.

This chapter explores how multinationals were both embedded in gender norms and actively shaped representations of masculinity, femininity, and domesticity. Multinationals influenced gender roles through the products they marketed to male and female consumers, their gendered labor organization in production sites and company towns, and their hiring practices, which either expanded or restricted opportunities for women. Rather than following a single pattern, multinationals often created hybrid systems, adapting to local gender norms. Through case studies on household technologies – such as Singer sewing machines and Tupperware – and consumer and cultural products – such as Barbie, cosmetics, films, and gendered labor structures in company towns and managerial hierarchies – the chapter highlights multinationals as “gender accomplices.” It examines the factors that led them to reinforce rather than challenge existing norms, shedding light on their role in both maintaining and shaping gendered social structures.

This chapter examines the evolving relationship between multinationals and taxation, highlighting the historical dynamics of tax planning, avoidance, and regulation. The history of multinationals and taxation is marked by ongoing tensions between corporate strategies, state interests, and international regulatory efforts. From the nineteenth century onward national tax systems – initially designed for domestic economies – struggled to adapt. Early tax policies varied, with some countries taxing companies based on residence and others taxing based on the source of income. By the interwar period, rising corporate tax rates and concerns over double taxation led multinationals to develop sophisticated tax planning strategies. The post–World War II era saw the proliferation of offshore financial centers, often in newly decolonized nations seeking investment. From the 1980s, globalization and financial deregulation intensified tax competition, enabling multinationals to shift profits and reduce tax liabilities. In response, international organizations have sought reforms, but tax arbitrage remains a persistent challenge and a key element of global capitalism.

In the debate on the impact of multinationals on society, the “labor question” has occupied a prominent role for many decades. Surveying this debate, the chapter starts by outlining the main challenges posed by multinationals, in particular with regard to their ability to continuously reshape their production geographies. The main part of the chapter addresses two core issues. First, it provides a literature survey on the labor impact of multinationals, distinguishing between the Global South where the impact of multinationals occurred in the wider context of colonialism and, later, decolonization, and the Global North where discussion of the “labor question” revolved around issues of offshoring and labor relations practices. In the second part, the chapter analyzes the role of organized labor (especially trade unions) in multinationals, placing equal emphasis on domestic strategies and efforts to establish transnational bodies for interest representation.

This chapter explores how multinationals have collectively defended their interests by actively participating in clubs and associations at both national and international levels. It highlights how multinationals pragmatically adapted their political strategies to sustain global operations, from the age of empires in the nineteenth century through the collapse of the first globalization, World War II, decolonization, the second globalization, and the resurgence of economic nationalism after the 2010s. Political challenges, including wars and pressures from governments and international organizations—such as the 1970s attempts to regulate multinationals —were key drivers of their political activism. The chapter examines the broader societal impacts of these efforts, including the consolidation of business influence in host and home economies, the global diffusion of standards, the institutionalization of regulations that facilitated and protected international investment, and tax reductions, particularly through the elimination of double taxation.

This chapter demonstrates that multinationals have been major contributors to environmental challenges. Before 1960 multinationals were clustered in natural resources and in developing countries, where they contributed to deforestation, poisoning soil and water systems, and the creation of monocultures resulting in biodiversity loss. Oil companies were a driver of climate change because of the industry’s role in greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile the spread of consumer goods multinationals encouraged conspicuous consumption and wasteful packaging. After 1960 rising environmental awareness and government regulations in the West led some multinationals to adopt sustainability policies, yet major oil companies deliberately obscured climate science to delay regulation. After 2000 many multinationals engaged in greenwashing while continuing harmful practices. Despite corporate commitments, shareholder value maximization often overrode genuine environmental responsibility. Environmental damage committed by multinationals continued, especially in countries where regulation and enforcement were fragile.

This chapter examines the relationship of global business and society by examining the historical role of multinational corporations in international market integration. After discussing how multinationals have played a role in integrating international markets since the nineteenth century, it focuses on multinationals and market integration in the European single market, in which multinationals both advocated for and navigated around dimensions of regional market integration. This chapter then considers the contexts of other regional trade agreements, including NAFTA, ASEAN to MERCOSUR/L. Finally, this chapter assesses the impact of multinationals and market integration on society and what backlash against both multinationals and trade frameworks reveals about the social consequences.

This chapter analyzes the role of multinational enterprises in driving both globalization and deglobalization waves historically. Emerging from industrialized Western economies, multinationals played a key role in expanding global capitalism after 1840 by transferring financial, organizational, and cultural assets across borders. They took various forms and proved highly resilient, withstanding shifts in policy regimes and often reinforcing rather than disrupting institutional and societal norms that restricted growth outside the West. Their ability, and motivation, to locate value-added activities in the most attractive locations means that they have often strengthened clustering and reinforced gaps in wealth and income. The most successful non-Western economies since the 1960s – Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and later China – limited foreign multinationals or required technology transfers to local firms. Multinationals frequently contributed to global challenges rather than solving them, yet their overall impact was a complex mix of positive and negative factors.

This Companion volume presents the latest research on the history of multinationals and their impact on society and the environment. While often associated with large corporations like Ford or Coca-Cola, multinationals are defined not by size but by their ownership and control of assets in multiple countries. A key contribution of business history research has been to highlight the remarkable diversity in multinational strategies and organizational structures over time and to provide nuanced perspectives on the complex and often polarized debates surrounding their operations, showing how equally diverse and far-reaching are the impacts of multinationals. Understanding their historical role provides valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders navigating today’s economic landscape.

Belgium has a strong beer culture and enormously diverse beer production with many unique styles. This chapter discusses Belgian beer, beer culture, and beer law. This includes topics such as the Abbey and Trappist beers, and the strong tradition of pairing beers with specific beer glasses – both of them topics characterized by litigation.

The chapter considers the different levels of power, starting with the family and the extended family (the clan) and the local articulations of the state (communes, provinces, regions). The federalist state (a lively tradition in Italy, since Cattaneo) is opposed to the centralist state (the French Napoleonic model). In the globalized economy, multinational enterprises play an important role, occasionally up to the point of conditioning statal policies; the attitude towards them changes over time. State confederations, such as the European Union, and alliances, such as NATO, are also important. Political confrontations in the international arena involve different elements, from the traditional East–West opposition to the so-called clash of civilizations (i.e. religions). Migrations are also considered. The evolution of the international monetary system and the growing role of the European Union are also illustrated.

This chapter argues that it is important to get the numbers right, to know the sources of information on international trade- and financial flows and multinational activity, And to familiarise yourself with the basics of accounting identities as this may lead you to avoid common pitfalls. We discuss the relationships between the current account and the capital and financial account of the balance of payments, as well as the information this provides on multinational activity. We review the funding options for multinational activity and provide information on the developments of the main financial flows in the world. We conclude that there is a pattern in the development of international capital mobility, which was already high at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century, then declined substantially in the interbellum to rise again from approximately 1980 onwards.