How National Corporate Governance Systems Affect Global Integration
Multinational companies (MNCs) vary in both their use of global strategy and in the systems of corporate governance in which they operate. In this paper, we develop a theoretical framework and set of propositions to show that differences in national corporate governance systems will influence the behavior of corporate actors, which in turn explains the ability of MNCs to achieve global integration. In particular, we conceptualize our comparative model for MNCs by drawing on an actor-centered institutional theory perspective, focusing on five key governance actors: employees, shareholders, boards of directors, top management teams, and governments, to predict MNC's ability to achieve global integration in terms of global strategy and organization. We show that despite increasing convergence pressures, nationally embedded institutional characteristics continue to shape the globalization strategies of multinational companies