Global Competition Moulds European Multinationals’ Responses to Regionalization

  • John M. Stopford
Chapter

Abstract

Despite a completed Uruguay Round there remain many fears that the world economy may still fragment into adversarial trade blocs. In addition to the instabilities of the international system and the protective instincts of most governments, the behavior of some European multinationals adds fuel to those fears. These are the enterprises that actively bargain for continuing or newly imposed barriers to competition. Unlike their American counterparts, described by Louis Wells in a companion piece to this chapter as greeting the threat of trade blocs with a “big yawn”, there are pressures in Europe to take a more fearful view of the future. The origins of these fears lie in the strategies developed in the early years of firms’ international expansion. Yet the picture is confused, because there are many European multinationals that are equally as disinterested in how the world trading system continues to evolve.

Keywords

Foreign Direct Investment Trade Policy Multinational Enterprise Global Competition Harvard Business School 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Centre for International Cooperation and Development 1996

Authors and Affiliations

  • John M. Stopford

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