Where is Home for the Global Firm?

Not so long ago, multinational firms were associated with a specific national identity. Caterpillar was a prototypical U.S. company. Honda was a classic Japanese company. The location of headquarters of these and other firms served as proof, and nations took pride in the achievements of their homegrown companies.

But all that is changing as firms shape and adapt to global markets.

Says HBS professor Mihir A. Desai, "The defining characteristics of what makes a firm belong to a country—where it is incorporated, where it is listed, the nationality of its investor base, the location of headquarters functions—are no longer bound to one country. Why are these changes taking place, and what are their consequences?"

As an expert on international corporate and public finance, Desai presents a practical framework for firms to respond in his working paper "The Decentering of the Global Firm"