Introduction: Toward State Capitalism 3.0

The rise of multinational corporations (MNCs) from emerging markets has been a major development during the last decade. Publications such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Global Investment Report, the Fortune Global 500, and the FT Global 500 indicate the increasing share of these companies among the world’s largest multinationals. This development not only relates to the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China; e.g., Petrobras, Gazprom, Tata, Sinopec) but also comprises companies from countries such as South Korea and Thailand (e.g., Samsung, PTT). Explaining the rather sudden rise of these companies has become somewhat of a growing industry over the last years (Brennan, 2011; Sauvant et al., 2010). Various international business scholars have developed or modified long-established analytical instruments in order to account for the rise of these companies. Theories such as the eclectic paradigm (Dunning, 1986) or the product cycle model (Wells, 1983) have been extended in order to account for the rise of these companies while others such as the Linking, Leverage, Learning-approach (Mathews, 2002b; 2006a) have been proposed to address this novel phenomenon.