Global or Stateless Corporations are National Firms with International Operations

Are multinational, transnational, or global corporations truly stateless? By applying a number of criteria—geographical spread and scope of operations, ownership, control, people, legal nationality, and tax domicile—one must conclude that they are national firms with international operations. The home nation remains the primary source of a corporation's international competitive advantage, so that weakness at home is unlikely to be compensated by overseas operations. Moreover, it is often simply not feasible for a company as a whole to shift its home base (as distinct from shifting its headquarters). The firm needs its home nation just as the nation needs its home-based firms.