The gradual integration of nations within our globalizing world is strongly related to the economic networks formed by multinational headquarters and their various subsidiaries located across the globe. Although the corporate reach of multinational corporations (MNCs) is clearly global, the geographical scope of their activities remains limited. Focusing on the network of ownership relations between the global Fortune 100 MNC headquarters and their subsidiaries, it is shown that global corporate activity remains unevenly distributed across the globe. Besides showing that richer countries are better connected within the global system than the poorer countries, the authors also reveal considerable differences in connectivity within the group of rich countries. Based on various determinants, these variations in network connectivity are explained.

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doi.org/10.1068/a43213, hdl.handle.net/1765/23749
Environment and Planning A: international journal of urban and regional research
Erasmus Research Institute of Management

Wall, R., Burger, M., & van der Knaap, B. (2011). The geography of global corporate networks: the poor, the rich, and the happy few countries. Environment and Planning A: international journal of urban and regional research, 43(4), 904–927. doi:10.1068/a43213