In Bargaining with Multinationals , Loewendahl scrutinises the relationship between multinational companies, regional development and governments, using an international political economy framework of bargaining between government and multinationals. He critically analyses the role of foreign investment in economic development, and examines how governments can link inward investment to regional economic development. Based on extensive use of data, interviews and case studies of Siemens and Nissan's UK investment, the book shows why MNCs have invested in the UK in the past, how they bargained with the government, and what the impact was on the national and regional economies. In particular, through linking the strategy of multinationals to the location advantages of the UK, it is argued that labour flexibility and incentives were crucial to investment decisions. Loewendahl recommends a framework to integrate endogenous and exogenous approaches to developments; and proposes a greater role for the region and the EU to control incentives and monitor multinationals.

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What makes a country attractive to foreign investors? To what extent do conditions of governance and politics matter? This book provides the most systematic exploration to date of these crucial questions at the nexus of politics and economics. Using quantitative data and interviews with investment promotion agencies, investment location consultants, political risk insurers, and decision makers at multinational corporations, Nathan Jensen arrives at a surprising conclusion: Countries may be competing for international capital, but government fiscal policy--both taxation and spending--has little impact on multinationals' investment decisions. Although government policy has a limited ability to determine patterns of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, political institutions are central to explaining why some countries are more successful in attracting international capital. First, democratic institutions lower political risks for multinational corporations. Indeed, they lead to massive amounts of foreign direct investment. Second, politically federal institutions, in contrast to fiscally federal institutions, lower political risks for multinationals and allow host countries to attract higher levels of FDI inflows. Third, the International Monetary Fund, often cited as a catalyst for promoting foreign investment, actually deters multinationals from investment in countries under IMF programs. Even after controlling for the factors that lead countries to seek IMF support, IMF agreements are associated with much lower levels of FDI inflows.

One of the most significant developments in recent years has been the emergence of global markets, which has triggered opportunities for multinational firms to seek business across national borders. Global markets offer unlimited opportunities. But competition in these markets is intense. To be globally successful, companies must learn to operate and compete in multiple environments which may be different from the home environment. One important prerequisite for success in foreign markets is the ability to negotiate properly. Global business negotiations are affected by the cultural backgrounds of the negotiators, comprising language, cultural conditioning, negotiating style, approaches to problem solving, implicit assumptions, gestures and facial expressions, and the role of ceremony and formality. Therefore, negotiators assigned to deal with their foreign counterparts need a lot of learning and skills. With training and practice such learning and skills can be enhanced. The proposed book offers a practical guide to acquire negotiating skills. The purpose of this book is to provide consistently effective strategies and systematic approaches to negotiations that will dramatically improve international managers as negotiators. The book provides sufficient familiarity with negotiating styles that will help managers identify their unique strength and weaknesses, thus enabling them to interpret and comfortably use the latest advances in the field of negotiation in dealing internationally.

Aimed at senior undergraduate and post-graduate students following courses in International Business and Industrial Relations this book examines the labour market effects of multinational business. In reflecting the complexity and dynamism of developments in this area, the book makes clear the need to underpin analysis of the labour market effects of multinational business with conceptual understanding of the theory of multinational enterprise.