In this theoretically original work, two distinguished authors explore the mutual interdependence of states and firms throughout the world. They show how global structural changes - in finance, technology, knowledge and politics - often impel governments to seek the help and cooperation of managers of multinational enterprises. Yet, as Professors Stopford and Strange demonstrate, this is constrained by each country's economic resources, its social structures and its political history. Based on grass-roots research into the experience of over 50 multinationals and more than 100 investment projects in three developing countries- Brazil, Malaysia and Kenya - the authors develop a matrix of agendas. They present the impact on projects of the multiple factors affecting the bargaining relationships between the government and the foreign firm at different times and in a variety of economic sectors. In conclusion they offer some guidelines for actions to both governments and firms and some points to future interdisciplinary research.

Volume 1 = Historical and conceptual foundations ; Volume 2 = Dispute settlement in the world ; Volume 3 = Administered protection ; Volume 4 = The Uruguay round and beyond.

Firms are central to trade policy-making. Some analysts even suggest that they dictate policy on the basis of their material interests. Cornelia Woll counters these assumptions, arguing that firms do not always know what they want. To be sure, firms lobby hard to attain a desired policy once they have defined their goals. Yet material factors are insufficient to account for these preferences. The ways in which firms are embedded in political settings are much more decisive. Woll demonstrates her case by analyzing the surprising evolution of support from large firms for liberalization in telecommunications and international air transport in the United States and Europe. Within less than a decade, former monopolies with important home markets abandoned their earlier calls for subsidies and protectionism and joined competitive multinationals in the demand for global markets. By comparing the complex evolution of firm preferences across sectors and countries, Woll shows that firms may influence policy outcomes, but policies and politics in turn influence business demands. This is particularly true in the European Union, where the constraints of multilevel decision-making encourage firms to pay lip service to liberalization if they want to maintain good working relations with supranational officials. In the United States, firms adjust their sectoral demands to fit the government's agenda. In both contexts, the interaction between government and firm representatives affects not only the strategy but also the content of business lobbying on global trade.

Presents a multidimensional perspective of globalisation in Southeast Asia. Looks at political, economic, security, social, and cultural dimensions of globalisation and local responses, showing evidence of complex interfacing between the global and the local, championing the need for a multidisciplinary approach to globalisation studies.

Globalization has created new opportunities and challenges for late industrialization. This book identifies underlying factors for latecomer firms to catch up as system integrators, or upgrade as suppliers in fast-globalizing industries. With in-depth case studies, several perspectives on firm growth are integrated into a comprehensive framework.