Variations in the regional distribution of cross-border activity of Swedish transnational corporations during the 20th century

Abstract

This article outlines variations in the regional distribution of foreign activity of eight of the most important long-standing Swedish industrial corporations during the last century. It focuses on foreign subsidiaries, employment and sales by these companies, to determine what were the principal long-term trends: globalization or Europeanization. A wave of Europeanization occurred around 1900–1929, when the companies began establishing their worldwide reach. Before the Great Depression, almost all had founded subsidiaries in both Europe and USA. During the 1950–79 period, all had established subsidiaries in all parts of the world. I show that geographical spread in Europe and the spread in the rest of the world have both been significant trends. During the latter part of the 2011 century, there was a considerable intensification of business activity outside Europe, which in most cases was accompanied by a relative decline of the share in foreign business activity of the home region.