The Financial Capital of Multinational Companies

The relevant question that ought to govern research into the multinational (international) corporation could be enunciated in these terms: what are the differential or specific factors that account for the process of

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multinationalisation” (internationalisation) of a firm, and its performance or results compared to a domestic company? (Durán 2005). The answer — should there be one — to this question will evince the fundamental differences between a multinational company and a domestic one. Such differences or singularities are conditioned by the variables proper to all things multinational, which, in our opinion, can be summed up in the following three: foreign exchange risk, country risk and decision complexity (Durán 2005). Given the evolution of these variables, the analysis should be framed in the context of globalisation and the geographical expansion of firms (Buckley/Ghauri 2004). There have been relevant scientific contributions in the field of foreign direct investment and multinational companies (MNC). Contributions dealing with the various functional areas — strategy, organisation, marketing, finance, production, human resources — and their international projection have been relevant, too.