Transnational corporations in twenty-first century capitalism: An interview with Grazia Ietto-Gillies
Critical Perspectives on International Business
ISSN: 1742-2043
Article publication date: 25 February 2014
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss economic and social issues of contemporary capitalism through the views and works of Grazia Ietto-Gillies who has a long experience of research in these fields. The issues relate to strategies of TNCs, to globalization and transnationalization, to internationalization indices, to linkages between innovation and internationalization, to uneven development, and, finally, to issues related to the economics profession and the dissemination of research in the twenty-first century.
Design/methodology/approach
In-depth interview; use of relevant literature to support statements by interviewer and interviewee; qualitative analysis of issues discussed.
Findings
The article links together under the same theoretical umbrella the following issues: a theory of TNCs based on strategic approach towards labour, governments and suppliers; the development of an internationalization index based on the geography of TNCs' networks; and the possible impact of internationalization on innovation. Uneven development is linked to current problems in Europe. The need and opportunity to reconsider the economics profession and the peer review system in the digitalization era is presented.
Research limitations/implications
The article is based on the views of the interviewer and the interviewee. Their views are backed by their own previous research as well as by research by other scholars cited in the article.
Practical implications
The interview draws policy implication in relation to TNCs and other actors who interact with them such as labour and governments. There are also policy implications in the economic and social spheres regarding the implications of TNCs' strategies and the aftermath of the 2007/2008 crisis.
Originality/value
At the methodological level the article highlights the advantages of in-depth interviews. Specifically, it allows the interviewee to give an overall perspective on her research and to show how the various strands are connected and how they developed through the decades of her research. It allows both interviewer and interviewee to link the issues to a variety of literatures in the economics, sociology and politics fields.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Christoph Dörrenbächer and Joanne Roberts for useful comments on an earlier draft.
Citation
Sprague, J. and Ietto-Gillies, G. (2014), "Transnational corporations in twenty-first century capitalism: An interview with Grazia Ietto-Gillies", Critical Perspectives on International Business, Vol. 10 No. 1/2, pp. 35-50. https://doi.org/10.1108/cpoib-09-2013-0034
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited