The Editors are two monumental scholars. A. D. Chandler can be considered as the father of the business history whereas B. Maslish is the Doyen of the New Global History.
This book is organised into three parts that are framed by an introduction and a conclusion co‐signed by Chandler and Maslish. The book open by Leviathans represents a path‐breaking effort to look multinationals corporations in the round, emphasizing especially their scope, history, development, culture and social implications, and governance problems (p. i). The book considers that MNCs are not only economic entities but a global phenomenon that play a major role in the globalisation that is conditioning significantly each of us and our societies. In their introduction, Chandler and Maslish precise that their aims is to secure a better grasp of the phenomenon of present day globalisation (p. 15) with focussing on multinational corporations. They suggest that business history is an appropriate approach to study current globalisation because business history transgresses a purely economic perspective to tackle MNCs in their political, social, cultural and environmental context. Therefore, MNCs are product of societies but they also fabric societies. The reference to Hobbes is to stress that MNCs are not only economic entities but also, and may be mainly, political entities with grand – scale of power and influence on individuals society, culture and environment The part I “The scope of the Multinational Phenomenon” is made of four chapters. It is the historical part of the book. Brain Roach opens the fire (Chapter 1: “The scope of the multinational phenomenon”). On the basis of the description of Unilever, Roach presents what are MNCs, discusses of their economic significance and tries to explain they growth. He concludes on their political influence and their social and environmental responsibilities. The Chapter 2 “Multinational enterprise to 1930: discontinuities and continuities” by Mira Wilkins makes a duo with the Chapter 3 “Multinationals from 1930s to the 1980s” by Joeffrey Jones since both summarize the literature on the history of MNCs. Notice that the breaking historical point for the authors are the 1930s. In Chapter 4 “Innovative multinational forms: Japan as a case study” Sei Yonekura and Sara MacKinsey contrast the Occidental models of MNCs with the Japanese model. The part II “Cultural and social implications of multinationals” sets two chapters. Neva R. Goodwin discusses about “the social impacts of multinational corporations: an outline of the issues” (Chapter 5). According to her, MNCs were socially acceptable until 1970. After this date, they have generated wages –and largely incomes‐ inequalities and employment insecurity. Bruce Mazlich and Eliott R. Morse's Chapter 6 “A global elite? “deals with a very important point to understand the relations between society and business. By analysing the list invitees to the 2000 World Economic Forum of Davos, the authors suggest that the global elite is made of four groups. The part III “Governance of Multinationals” is open by the well known shareholder activist Robert A. Monks' Chapter 7 “Governing the multinational enterprise: emergence of the global shareowner”. Without surprise the only question that counts about MNCs is which political and legal institutions to guarantee and even to “hegemonise” the shareholder interests since a good society is a society tailored for shareholders, shares being the alpha and omega of the human life. With Zhu Jia‐Ming and Elliot R. Morss' Chapter 8 “The financial revolutions of twentieth century” the reader comes back to a more substantial food since their wrote a very strong and complete study about the changes that affected the global financial sector that informed the globalisation. The Chapter 9 “Multinational corporations: the protest movement and the future of global governance” by Stephen J. Kobrin make an interesting comparison between the academic criticisms of global economic development and the global (civil) opposition to globalisation. To finish, notice that this book is associated with Medar Gabel & Henry Bruner (2003): “Global Inc. An Atlas of the Multinational” New York, in which the geographical dimensions of the MNCs are visualized.
This important book contains some weakness. First, an attentive reading suggests that most of the contribution have been written between 1999 and 2001 for a book published in 2005. Second, the impacts of MNCs on host countries systems of governments, social structures, and culture are partly tackled. Thirdly, the book, as Chandler & Mazlish recognize it, refers largely to the US context with some excursion to Japan. Yet, this book point out the elites as an enter key to study the MNCs phenomenon. Globally, the book brings more questions that answers. If the reader can have good ideas of the history of the (American and Japanese) MNCs, their impact on societies and their relations with industries like financial markets it lakes a reflexion about the societal nature of MNCs and more precisely on their political nature or dimensions as the reference to Leviathans suggests. In conclusion, the volume is a pioneer one, not to expensive, well distributed, and full of references. Therefore, it could become a reference book.
