Issue: № 5, 2026
Doi: https://doi.org/10.37634/efp.2026.5.4e
Transnationalization is one of the main trends in the development of the world economy, which actually shapes it. Nowadays, Transnational corporations (TNCs) are not just an integral part of the global economic system – they are in fact the global economy itself or at least a very significant part of it. TNCs are one of the most important phenomena of the world economy of the late 20th century, though the origins of this phenomenon should be sought much earlier. Full-fledged production abroad became widespread in the second half of the twentieth century, and therefore, so this was the period when the rapid growth of TNCs began. The number of really giant companies even today does not exceed several hundred, but due to their extensive structure and huge production volumes they practically dominate the world economy. The scale of TNC nowadays has become unprecedented: 69 positions in the ranking of the 100 largest economic entities of contemporary are being held by TNCs, while only 31 are sovereign states (for comparison - the number of TNCs on the list increased by 6 in just one year - in 2015 their number was 63). The combined revenue of the world’s 500 largest companies in 2024 was $41.7 trillion, more than the GDP of the EU and China combined and more than one third of global GDP. They directly employ 70.1 million people, more than the total population of countries such as the UK or France. In terms of their political power and influence upon global society, leading TNCs can compete with individual states, and in terms of economic indicators exceed most of them. The point is not only that for a large corporation, access to global markets is determined by its own development, i.e. the company overgrows its national market; there is also reverse relationship - most of leading TNCs have achieved their size due to active transnationalization, which allowed them to use all the advantages of transnationalization to ensure maximum efficiency and profitability. The centers of operations of leading TNCs coincide with the world centers of business activity, namely the USA, EU, Japan and PRC. In addition to the common features of all TNCs, corporations of each region have unique features due to their historical, cultural, mental and political characteristics.
Keywords : transnationalization, transnational corporations, TNCs, world economy, international economic relations, international business
References:
1. UNCTAD World Investment Report, 1993. URL: https://ss.rrojasdatabank.info/iteiia20072_en.pdf
2. Study: big corporations dominate list of world's top economic entities. the Guardian. 2016. Sep 12. URL: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/sep/12/global-justice-now-study-multinational-businesses-walmart-apple-shell
3. Fortune Global 500. URL: https://fortune.com/ranking/global500/