A Research On The Relationship Of Multinational Corporations And Global Value Chain

As an individual research area,theories on TNCs are being researched from 1960 s and 1970 s. It was emergenced and developed onthe basis of traditional international trade and direct investment. The theoretical research of transnational companies isusually starts from the micro perspect. The development of the theories are accelerated by the stability of global economy as well the increased foreign direct investment, together with the stable political environments.The theory on Global Value Chain originated and developed in the 1980s; it was developed and got prosperious with the new international division of labor as well the increase of multinational corporation’s international business activities. This theory is used to describe the phenomenal that under the new international economy- the new pattern of international division of labor,production procedure are fine–sliced and scattered to the places where it has an comparative advantage.The theories on MNCsformattedearlier than the theory on global value chains, the systematically theory are developed along with globalization, the deepening division of labor as well the development of the global investment; in the process of formating the theoretical system, the research on the new pattern of the global division of labor that aims to study the deepening and the refineryof the internation labor division, which caused the production procedure that was “fine-sliced ”to where it has an comparative advantage in, all these researches constructed the base of global value chain theory research.But, there are still few researches has combines the research of the MNCs with the research of the GVCs, because they belongs to different research areas. That is to say, compares to the research on the MNCs’, the research on GVC focus intensely on micro aspect rather than micro aspect.The thesis aims to fulfill the research gap that caused by the research of the MNCs as well the GVCs from the perspective of the relationship between them. First, the thesis clears the conceptions and theoritcal framework on multinational corporations,global value chains, and analysis the relationship between them: based on multinational corporation’s theory, what’s the impact of the multinational corporations on the formation and development of the theory of global value chain; from the perspective of the global value chain,what’s the influence of the corporate governance between the lead firms and the follow-ups on the development of the structure and development of the global value chain as well the international production network under the gloval value chains constructed by the main transnational corporations in developed countries. The thesis focuses on the phenomenon ofthe corporations from developing countries’ that “locked-in”in the lower part of the GVC by the transnational corporations from developed countries. The Chinese input-output tables, Trans-nationality Index et al. are used to measure the position of Chinese corporations in different GVCs and the result shows that:since processing trade and OEM constructs most of the approaches that Chinese multinational corporations join the GVC, which causes it’s stagnated in the low value-added part of the global value chain. While as the fast economic boom in China as well the rapid growth rate of Chinese transnational corporations promoted by China’s “going out” policy and the need of expansion of themselves, they became more activated in the GVC, the interactions between them and the leading firms will also affect the structure and the form of the global value chain. Subsequently,with the case study from the developed countries, emerging countries and developing country’s transnational corporations, the thesis comes to the conclusion that dominantingan value chain or upgrading in the value chain networunder the construction of the "new economy development pattern" promoted by Chinese government will be an feasible and effectiveway for Chinese corporations and industries upgrading in GVCs. The thesis also gives the corresponding recommendations for Chinese corporations as well their industries’ upgrading. Finally,the thesis forecasted the trend of development of relationship between GVC and the TNCs in the framework of the new international division of labor.