Page 108 - Introduction to Business

82 PART 1 The Nature of Contemporary Business

DaimlerChrysler AG, a German
multinational enterprise with dual
headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany
and Auburn Hills, Michigan, has
factories worldwide. This plant in
Sao Bernardo is one of two manu-
facturing plants in Brazil. It pro-
duces Mercedes-Benz trucks and
buses sold primarily in the Latin
American market.

international trade and investment rules and regulations began a process of liber-
alization. In the early part of the twentieth century, the profit-motivated MNEs
were primarily raw material seekers. Most of them were from the industrialized
countries of Europe and North America and were in search of primary products like
crude oil and minerals (iron ore, copper, bauxite, gold, coal, etc.), which were
largely to be found in such developing regions as the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin
America, and Australia. With the introduction of assembly line production by Ford
in 1903, U.S. companies like Ford and General Motors sought to actively penetrate
the European market by acquiring (purchasing) some of the small car companies in
Europe and expanding their operations. Although U.S. MNEs still play a dominant

EXHIBIT 2.12
The World’s Ten Largest Companies (2003)
The United States’ MNEs dominate the world business scene.

Market Value
Rank Company Sector Country ($ billion)
1 Microsoft Software United States 264
2 General Electric Electrical equipment United States 260
3 Exxon Mobil Oil & gas United States 241
4 Wal-Mart Retailing United States 234
5 Pfizer Pharmaceuticals/biotech United States 196
6 Citigroup Banking/finance United States 184
7 Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals/Biotech United States 170
8 Royal Dutch/Shell Oil & gas Netherlands/ 149
United Kingdom
9 British Petroleum Oil & gas United Kingdom 144
10 IBM Computers & software United States 139
Source: “FT Global 500: How the Corporate Titans Line Up,” Financial Times, May 28, 2004. Special Report, p.13.

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