MNCs date back to the days of merchant adventurers, when the Dutch East India Company and the Massachusetts Bay Company traveled the world extracting resources and agricultural products from the colonies (Gilpin 278-79). Although contemporary multinational corporations (MNCs) do not command the armies and territories that their colonial counterparts controlled, they are nonetheless highly influential actors in today's increasingly globalized world. Gilpin discussed the evolution of multinationals through the lens of a number of business economic theories. Using Raymond Vernon's product cycle theory, the expansion of American companies abroad until the 1960s was presented as a way to preempt foreign competition and preserve monopoly positions, which was then possible because of the wealth and technology gaps that existed between the United States and the rest of the country. the world (282-83). Having bridged these gaps, Dunning and the Reading School's eclectic theory explained that the next stage in the evolution of multinationals was propelled by great advances in technology and communication, which made management internationalized both possible and viable (283). Michael Porter's strategic theory, on the other hand, argued that multinationals are now in the era of strategic management, in which activities and capabilities spanning boundaries allow it to "tap into the value chain" in positions the most advantageous (285-85). Gilpin made an interesting point, however: multinationals are often the result of market imperfections and unique corporate situations. In many cases, the decision to expand a company's operations to another country was a way to circumvent protectionist measures and trade barriers, or simply to curry favor with governments, as IBM practices (280 ...... middle of paper .. ....e citizens of the negotiating countries (locations 3523-27) The negative externalities caused by multinationals are most visible in the damage that has been inflicted on the environment. The Exxon Valdez oil spill and the Oki Tedi toxic waste spill are just two examples of multinational corporations causing serious environmental damage, whether by accident or as part of a business strategy. Environmental damage can have devastating effects not only on the community in which a multinational has established itself, but also potentially on the rest of the world. Environmental degradation, just like globalization, also extends across borders. and territories. Bibliography Gilpin, Robert. Global Political Economy: Understanding the International Economic Order: Princeton University Press, 2001. Print. Stiglitz, Joseph E. Making Globalization Work. New York: Norton & Company, Inc., 2007. Kindle eBook file.