ABSTRACT
Global corporations set standards and rules in many market sectors directly via the contracts that are used to pattern the supply chain. This chapter employs the lens of a governance function undertaken by corporations, which is characterized by explicit and implicit power relations. It deals with more than the technical management of efficiency in network interactions. Hence, the understanding both of global governance and the political economy of the global corporate sector can be enhanced by adding the complementary view. The chapter briefly sets out what the global corporation is, highlighting some important legal and political issues. It explores the forms of power that it can deploy across its production and supply networks before examining some current debates about the impact of the corporation's governance of its network. This approach underpins the argument that we can gain extra traction on the political economy of the global corporation by understanding it as an institution of global governance itself.
