Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
6.
Globalization and multinationals in
a historical process
6.1 INTRODUCTION
Any discussion dealing with issues relating to globalization faces the
problem of what exactly is meant by the term. 'Globalization' is used on a
daily basis in the popular press and all forms of cultural dialogue, and with
regard to almost every social and economic issue we currently face. The
term can be interpreted in a variety of different ways, carrying either or
both positive and normative connotations, depending in large part on our
perceptions and the vantage point from which we are considering these
issues. It is not a single phenomenon or process, but a catch-all concept to
describe a wide range of forces at work (Steger 2003; MacGillivray 2006).
It has been defined very differently according to the social science within
which it is applied. Already, almost two decades ago, Paul Streeten (1996)
had, half in jest, collected the various definitions in the literature. One
largely applied is that provided by Giddens (1990, p. 64): 'the intensifica-
tion of world-wide social relations which link distant localities in such
a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring any miles
away and vice versa'. Thus, one may think of globalization as a high (and
increasing) degree of interdependency and interrelatedness among differ-
ent and geographically dispersed actors and places. In principle, therefore,
there may be a higher level of globalization even keeping constant the level
of international transactions and operations. In other words, globalization
and internationalization are not perfectly synonymous (Archibugi and
Iammarino 1998, 2002; Cantwell and Iammarino 1998).
A first point of dispute has been to establish the overall importance of
global forces in social life in the sense of the question - does true globaliza-
tion exist or not? This in principle would require the identification of the
different types of globalization and an estimate of their weight according
to geographical location, industrial sectors, social groupings, and so on. In
a nutshell, since the late 1980s/early 1990s there have been those maintain-
ing that globalization has come effectively to dominate the greater part of
economic life (Ohmae 1990; Chesnais 1994; Barnet and Cavanagh 1994;
Brecher and Costello 1995; Perraton et al. 1997) and those who have been
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