The Regional Multinationals : MNEs and 'Global' Strategic Management

Alan M. Rugman explores alternatives to the popular model of increasingly globalized business, and explores the widespread evidence of regionalised business practice among the world's top 500 companies. Detailed case studies and real-life examples flesh out the theory and practice of regionalisation in multinationals.

Although many firms label themselves 'global', very few can back this up with truly global sales and operations. In The Regional Multinationals Alan Rugman examines first-hand data from multinationals and finds that most multinationals are strongly regional, with international operations in their home regions of North America, the US or Asia. Only a tiny proportion of the world's top 500 companies actually sell the same product and deliver the same services around the world. Rugman exposes the facts behind the popular myths of doing business globally, explores a variety of regional models and offers an authoritative agenda for future business strategy. The Regional Multinationals is the essential resource for all academics and students in International Business, Organization and Strategic Management, as well as those with an interest in finding out how multinationals really work in practice and how future strategy must respond.