Foreign direct investment is the way by which transnational corporations increase

Foreign direct investment is the way by which transnational corporations increaseits profitability by getting the share on a new foreign market, by reducing the production costs or by exploiting other factor inputs (such as availability of raw materials for production and others). The drivers, or push and pull factors, exist both in home and host countries. The aim of the article is to present the role of foreign direct investment and transnational corporations in the economy of Slovakia. The article is divided into three parts. In the first part is explained the economic view and the main motivators for foreign direct investment. In the second part we present the impact of foreign direct investment on the host country Third part of the article is presented the analysis and evaluation of foreign direct investment and transnational corporations in the economy of Slovakia. The paper was elaborated as a part of VEGA project 1/0654/11 „Innovative small and medium enterprises as a part of knowledge-based economy in Slovakia“.