ABSTRACT
Multinational enterprises (MNEs) are regarded as the engine of globalisation. Between 1990 and 2012, the growth of international investment by MNEs has proceeded at a faster pace than the growth of world trade. The world's largest multinational enterprises, mostly from developed countries, have a long history of evolution in business and organisation since the 19th century. The current era of globalisation has witnessed the emergence of a group of the world's largest multinational enterprises. The emergence of America multinational enterprises started from the transformation of the colonial traders to American foreign investors with deep commercial connections with the UK during the 17th and 18th century. The historical evolution of the largest MNEs demonstrates a distinctive characteristic that is conditioned by their national origins as well as host countries' accommodation of foreign direct investments (FDI). This chapter presents two cases of MNEs to look in detail the tremendous transformation of strategy and structure – IBM and CEMEX.
