Stay a step ahead of the global competition in food and fiber production, processing, and sales! Multinational Agribusinesses is an essential guide to the inner workings of companies with direct investments in the food and fiber system in the United States and the world. The book provides in-depth and up-to-date analysis of the crucial issues facing multinational enterprises involved in input and output supply activities, commodity investment, food manufacturing, and food distribution. An international panel of academics and researchers working in economics and agriculture presents strategic management and economic analysis of agribusinesses representing a variety of sizes and nationalities. Multinational Agribusinesses examines the key areas of concern to multinationals involved with food and drink processing and/or upstream industries, including recent trends, growth factors, innovations, product and geographic diversification, and intra-firm trade. The book presents updated statistics (total sales, agrifood sales, net income, employment figures, number of total businesses on overseas and home markets) on the world's 100 largest food multinationals, and updated tables on sell-offs, divestitures, and plant closures. Multinational Agribusinesses looks at enterprises in the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and Brazil, including Ajinomoto , Coca-Cola , Nestl , Ralston Purina , Unilever , Barilla , and the Charoen Pokphan Group . Multinational Agribusinesses provides managers with answers to the questions they consider every day, including: Why do some multinational agribusinesses grow faster than others Is product or geographic diversification conducive to good performance Are Japanese food multinationals a challenge to my business What industrial and geographical strategies are my competitors using Government officials in countries hosting multinationals can find answers to their questions, including: Is my food multinational taking its research and development facilities abroad Will foreign direct investment outflows reduce my country's export of food Are multinational agribusinesses from new source countries viable And Multinational Agribusinesses will supply academics with responses to theoretical inquiries, such as: Is the standard theory of the multinational enterprises applicable to food multinationals What are the specificities of food multinationals compared to other multinationals Multinational Agribusinesses is a unique resource for international business managers, officials from government or international organizations, and academics working in international business studies and agricultural economics.

Table of Contents:
About the Editor Contributors Acknowledgments Introduction (Ruth Rama) Chapter 1. The Rise of Global Enterprises in the World’s Food Chain (Selma Tozanli) Introduction A Dichotomous Globalization Process Sectoral Globalization: Refocusing on Core Business Activities The Changing Structure of the World’s Food Oligopoly Concluding Remarks Appendix Chapter 2. The Performance of Multinational Agribusinesses: Effects of Product and Geographical Diversification (George Anastassopoulos and Ruth Rama) Introduction Theoretical Background Diversification, Size, and Rate of Growth Economic Specifications Concluding Remarks Appendix Chapter 3. Innovation in Food and Beverage Multinationals (Oscar Alfranca, Ruth Rama, and Nicholas von Tunzelmann) Introduction Patented Innovation in Food and Beverage Multinationals The Globalization of Innovative Activities Innovators and Their Strategies Concluding Remarks Appendix Chapter 4. Foreign Direct Investment in U.S. Food and Kindred Products (Daniel Pick and Thomas Worth) Introduction Recent Trends in FDI What Is Foreign Direct Investment and Why? Determinants of FDI Future Research Chapter 5. Multinational Food Corporations and Trade: The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on Trade in the U.S. Food Industry (Andrew P. Barkley) Introduction Previous Literature An Empirical Model of the Impact of FDI on International Trade Data Regression Results Implications and Conclusions Chapter 6. External versus Internal Markets of the Multinational Enterprise: Intrafirm Trade in French Multinational Agribusiness (Emmanuelle Chevassus-Lozza, Jacques Gallezot, and Danielle Galliano) The Foundations of Intrafirm Trade Intrafirm Trade in French Agrofood Foreign Trade The Determinants of Intrafirm Trade in the French Agrofood Industry: Model and Results Conclusions Chapter 7. The Internationalization Paths of Australian and New Zealand Food MNEs (Bill Pritchard) Introduction Existing Research on Firm Internationalization The History and Political Economy of Antipodean Food Sectors Australia/New Zealand As a Base for Global Branded Food Companies: The Foster’s Group Using Australia/New Zealand As a Regional Base: Coca-Cola Amatil Leveraging Competitive Advantage: The Fonterra Story Conclusions Chapter 8. Regionalization, Globalization, and Multinational Agribusiness: A Comparative Perspective from Southeast Asia (David Burch and Jasper Goss) Introduction Approaches to the Study of TWMNEs Agrofood Multinational Companies in Asia: Unwieldy Giants or Nimble Opportunists? The Charoen Pokphand Group The Salim Group Southeast Asian Agrofood Multinationals: A Comparative Analysis Conclusions Chapter 9. Multinational Firms in the Brazilian Food Industry (Elizabeth Farina and Cláudia Viegas) Introduction General Overview of Foreign Direct Investments in Brazil and Latin America M&A: Main Strategy of Entry into the Brazilian Market The Brazilian Food Market As the Main Attraction for FDI Impacts on the Food Industry of Brazil Conclusions Appendix Index Reference Notes Included