Multinational Enterprises in Less Developed Countries: Cultural and Economic Interactions

Abstract

This paper analyses the operations of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in less developed countries (LDCs) in terms of the interplay between two types of culture. The MNE, it is claimed, personifies the highly entrepreneurial culture of the source country, whilst the LDC personifies the less entrepreneurial culture of the typical social group in the host country. This view places MNE-LDC relations in an appropriate historical perspective. It is the entrepreneurial culture of the source country which explains why in the past that country had the economic dynamism to become a developed country (DC). Conversely, the limited entrepreneurial culture of the host country explains why it has been so economically static that it has remained an LDC. The current problems perceived by MNEs in operating in certain LDCs — and also the problems perceived by these LDCs with the operation of foreign MNEs — reflect the difficulties of attempting to bridge this cultural gap.