Reinterpreting Multinational Enterprises through a Revitalized Transnational Social Space Perspective

This Research in the Sociology of Organizations volume offers innovative theoretical and methodological contributions to research on MNEs. We are living in extraordinary times – marked by shifting geopolitics, rising nationalism, rapid advances in artificial intelligence, and other transformative forces – that are reshaping MNEs both internally and externally. In response, it is crucial for researchers to reconceptualize and rethink how we study MNEs as complex, dynamic organizations. This Research in the Sociology of Organizations volume contributes to that effort by introducing the transnational social space perspective, offering valuable insights into the evolving role of MNEs in addressing grand societal challenges. It also fosters critical reflection on the future of MNEs in a rapidly changing world.

At a time of growing populist nationalism and the resulting turbulence surrounding international trade and global value chains, this book is both timely and stimulating. While the 'rule-based international order' is under increasing threat and becoming weaker, this book focuses on the role of transnational social spaces within and alongside MNCs in shaping their dynamics and destiny.

The editors and contributors are leading experts in international business and management studies, offering an innovative and coherent perspective on transnational social spaces as powerhouses that influence, restrict and balance individual, collective and organizational action dynamics.

With its inspiring new perspective, this book is essential reading for students and scholars of international organizations, as well as managers and politicians involved in shaping the course of MNCs in an era of growing global disorder and challenges.

This fascinating volume provides a different way of looking at business and at transnational communities by merging the literature on multinational corporations with the literature on transnational social spaces. The papers demonstrate how useful this approach can be for addressing crucial issues like sustainability, corporate malpractice, nationalism and economic revitalization. The book allows researchers to consider ways in which MNCs can, and do, address grand challenges in a way that takes the needs of all stakeholders, local and global, into account, as well as developing new typologies and new models and maps of transnational business organization. A must read for academics interested in multinational corporations or in global social organization.